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A Young Man's Dream
Giuseppe Amendola gets very emotional when he talks about the Fiat
500: "I learned how to be a mechanic in Italy by working on this model.
My youth was wrapped up in this car."
Giuseppe Amendola (left), a young mechanic in Italy
Unknown photographer
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Also known as the Topolino (Mickey Mouse) because of its small
size, the Fiat 500 would continue to play a role in Mr. Amendola's life.
When he arrived in Ottawa in 1968, he met Keith Collins, who owned a 500
Model A, which he had purchased from an Italian ambassador in 1948.
Giuseppe Amendola and the Fiat 500
Model A
Photo: © Bruno Schlumberger,
The Ottawa Citizen
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Neglected since 1956, the car was in a state of total disrepair. That
did not deter Giuseppe Amendola, who did his best to convince his friend
to sell him the relic. He finally got his wish, 28 years later, in 1996.
As soon as he got the car, he began to restore it.
Fiat 500 Model A during restoration
Photos: © Giuseppe Amendola
He worked on it
evenings and weekends for three years, and still remembers that special
day in June 1999: "The car was finished. I poured myself a drink,
pulled up a chair, sat back and admired it."
Fiat 500 Model A restored
Photo: © Giuseppe Amendola
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