"Why do I love Kenya? Simple, because I grew up here".
For Giovanni Parazzi, Italianness was something closely tied to Africa, to Ethiopia where he was born, a land he still called Abyssinia. The vicissitudes of a distant war had taken his father Vittorio and his family, with his sister Luciana, to Kenya.
And in Watamu, where he had chosen to live after having studied and dedicated himself to advertising, consulting and much more in Nairobi, having lived in South Africa, Sri Lanka and having launched himself into hundreds of adventures, often flying his beloved plane, or doing long bike rides among the elephants of the Arabuko Sokoke Forest, he spent most of his life.
That life that at the age of 79 was taken away by a respiratory disease that seemed to have won, as in one of his many adventures of which he told with a lightness that touched the soul, always leaving as a gift some teaching. An adventurer of other times but always anchored with lucidity to his present and to that of the people around him.
It was not uncommon that, even in his last years, Giovanni went around to associations and schools to tell about his decades of Kenya, interweaving them with the history of this country, of which he was a careful investigator and objective storyteller. He never lost his curiosity, the pleasure of being together with young people of any nationality. The important thing was to enjoy life and the true spirit of Africa.
For years he was also the Italian consular assistant in Watamu, contributing to the promotion and growth of the tourist destination, always with the idea of making it an international attraction, as he knew how to be, active with his wife Nicky in safeguarding the marine heritage and always willing to talk about his experiences. He will also be remembered, in recent times, as one of the founders of Watamu Against Crime, an association that for years has worked alongside the institutions to assist and implement the security of residents and tourists of Watamu.
Above all, he was Giovanni Parazzi, a charge of vital energy, gentle and ironic. One of the most successful grafts between Italy and Kenya. To his wife Nicky, to his sister Luciana, my and Leni's great affection, and to his children Paolo and Chiara a big hug.