A COUPLE from the same Southern Italian village who did not meet each other until they were both in Dursley celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.

Guiseppe and Maria Troiano, of Burnt Oak, Dursley, both came from the small Italian village of Foiano.

They married in St Dominic’s Church, in Dursley, on November 21, 1964, recently celebrating 50 years of happily married life.

Growing up in Foiano, in Southern Italy, the Troianos never spoke to one another, though their families did know each other.

Mrs Troiano said: “There were two brothers and I never knew which one was which. I never spoke to him when we were in Italy.”

It would not be until later, when chance would bring them together in Dursley, that they would come together and eventually wed.

Mrs Troiano was the first of the pair to travel to England, moving to Chelmsford, in Essex, in 1958, after finding work in a hospital.

Slightly later, Mr Troiano, 77, came to Dursley from Italy in 1961 after hearing he would be able to get a job at Lister’s factory.

It was in 1964 when Mrs Troiano came to Dursley to visit her sister that the pair first met. For Mr Troiano it was love at first sight.

He said: “We went to the cinema together but I wasn’t looking at the film I was looking at her.

“I asked if she would marry me and she didn’t say yes or no, so I continued to write to her and see her when I could.”

Following a short romance of three meetings over a period of four months they decided to get married, and settled in a home in Dursley, where they remain to this day.

When asked how they sustained their marriage for such a long period of time the Troianos are pragmatic.

Mr Troiano said: “When you’re married it’s about working together. That’s what we do. We don’t go one left and the other right, we’re in the middle.

“People now will get married and split up after three months. What did they realise? You have to understand the responsibilities and know that at times it will be hard.”

Mrs Troiano added: “He is my husband. I have never known another man. We work together and never argue over money or anything like that.”

The couple raised a family of three children and now have five grandchildren.

Still in love, they can often be spotted venturing into Dursley hand-in-hand while shopping or visiting friends.