In 1921, my Austrian great-grandfather Richard Pig decided to immigrate to the USA and changed his surname to Sanders. More than fifty years later, Richard's grandson Christian went to Italy and met Francesca. They had three children. As my parents couldn't agree on a name for me, they let my two older siblings decide. They thought of their mutual friend, with whom they had played during their summer vacation in Italy, and I was named after him: Matteo.

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