Love Story (Luigi and Mokryny)

Jedinečný příběh o vroucí lásce mezi ukrajinskou ženou a Italem, která překonala desítky let odloučení, aby se nakonec po válce znovu setkali. Ukázka toho, že v životě je možné opravdu všechno pokud člověk věří a využije všechny možnosti. The sculpture of an elderly man and woman locked in a tight embrace is located in Kyiv near the Bridge of Lovers. It is a symbol of everlasting love between an Italian and a Ukrainian woman whom the war brought together and then separated. Luigi Pedutto and Mokryna Yurzhuk met during the Second World War in 1943 in an Austrian camp for prisoners-of-war. He was a soldier, and she was a forced labourer. For two years they were together, but when the war ended, the Soviet authorities did not allow Mokryna to travel to Italy with her beloved Luigi. And so, the lovers were separated for 60 long years. The amazing story of their love became known thanks to the popular TV show “Wait for me” (Чекай на мене). In 2004, Luigi found Mokryna thanks to that program… and they started meeting every year – Mokryna visited Luigi in Italy, and he came to see her in Ukraine.

Moving love story between Luigi (POW) and Mokryny (displaces worker). The sculpture is at the entrance/exit of the bridge. More about the story :- Luigi Pedutto and Mokryna Yurzhuk met during the Second World War in 1943 in an Austrian camp for prisoners-of-war. He was a soldier, and she was a forced labourer. For two years they were together, but when the war ended, the Soviet authorities did not allow Mokryna to travel to Italy with her beloved Luigi. And so, the lovers were separated for 60 long years.

"God gave me Mary like the sun" So said Luigi in the studio of the program "Wait for me" at the Meeting of Lovers 65 years later. You need to appreciate every moment, and try to have time to do what you really want. He recognized the dimples on her face, although wrinkles had long settled on the woman's face. "Maria, you are beautiful! How beautiful you are, ”whispers Luigi. And if life in the homeland deprived a woman of romanticism, brought up in her a strong-willed character and a real attitude to things, the Italian remained an emotional boy in love. Luigi Pedutto and Mokrina Yurzuk Love Story! Another love story, which the whole world learned about through the Internet and the "Wait for Me" program, shocked those who believe in true feelings. They met when, it would seem, it was unreasonable to think about love - war, devastation, separation from family and friends ... Luigi and Mokrina met in Austria, in a POW camp. He is Italian, she is Ukrainian, abducted from her homeland for forced labor. Mokryna had a one-year-old daughter in her arms. The young woman was brought here already pregnant, and the girl was born in the camp. Luigi helped the young mother as much as he could: he took care of the baby, shared food, which he already had little, but still more than the Slavic rabbi, who lived starving behind barbed wire with her daughter ... These two became everything to each other: lost families, the warmth of home, the support of a friendly shoulder! And one day, a young couple with a child in their arms decided to flee: taking advantage of the fact that due to the close approach of the Red Army troops, the camp was not as well guarded as before, they fled. We wandered in the woods for a long time, then hid in a corn field ... However, the war was not the main obstacle to their further happiness, but - what a paradox! - its end. The steel vices of the Soviet regime, into which Mokrina fell again, did not allow her to reunite with her lover. She was not allowed into Italy, and Luigi was denied entry to the Soviet Union. The parting was difficult: they both cried when they were literally torn apart to drive thousands of miles. Luigi seemed to be forever losing the one he affectionately called Maria! Luigi secretly cut off a strand of her beloved's hair, and she scratched her address on a random piece of paper ... He kept this shabby scrap all his life - as well as a randomly taken photo where they were taken together ... Time slowly healed wounds, erased from memory favorite faces ... It was necessary to live further. And they lived - both had families. Mokrina gave birth to two more beautiful girls, and Luigi had a son. But something kept bothering him. And even when he lived to be ninety, he was still sure that Mokrina was still waiting for him! The fact that they met almost sixty-five years ago seemed a real miracle not only to them, but also to those who sat in the studio and those who worried about them in front of TV screens. There were tears not only in the eyes of Luigi and his Maria, the whole studio wiped away tears, even those for whom filming the show was a normal cry. Luigi finally found his Maria - old and gray, but all with the same young eyes, the same voice that he remembered so well, and, most importantly - with the same dimples on his cheeks! They did not have much earthly happiness left, and they both knew it. It was too late to change anything in life. He still managed to make her an offer - and although she did not agree, he did not lose hope to call her his wife. A few days before departure for the one who was waiting for him, Luigi Pedutto died of a heart attack. His heart could not stand ... The story of the Italian Luigi Pedutto and the Ukrainian Mokryna Yurzuk so impressed everyone who learned about her that a monument was erected to this couple in Kyiv, above the Dnieper, on the Bridge of Lovers, who carried their great love throughout their lives. And now those who are just beginning their family life go to him: Brides in white dresses and grooms holding their hands, looking at the monument, swear to love just like Mokrina and Luigi.

An extraordinary love story! Very dramatic! A beautiful monument is an extraordinary place!

The monument dedicated to the reunion of my Italian uncle and Ukrainian aunt after 60 years. Their stories are very emotional ..