Born in Trieste under the Austro-Hungarian flag, Oliviero Petzmann grows up in Constantinople, where his father's work for Austrian Lloyd connects the family to ships, languages, and distant shores. At home they speak Triestine. At school he must learn German. Beyond their windows, trams climb toward Pera and the Golden Horn glitters beneath the evening sky.Then the First World War enters their household. His father is called to military service, bread grows scarce, aircraft threaten the city, and his mother falls dangerously ill. Survival depends on resourcefulness and the loyalty of friends whose own lives are increasingly precarious.As empires collapse and borders change, Oliviero finds his vocation among engines. From fire trucks to a president's motorcar and a Russian's Rolls-Royce, machinery offers work he understands and a future he hopes to shape. Nationality proves less straightforward. In Turkey, his citizenship limits his livelihood. In Italy, officials question his belonging, and a decree orders the family surname "reduced" to Pezzi.Inspired by Oliviero Petzi's biographical recollections, Between Empires follows a young man into adulthood through the upheavals of the early twentieth century. Rich in atmosphere and gentle humor, it explores family, displacement, dignity, and the making of a life when the meaning of home keeps changing.
