Á valdi örlaganna

Vinzenz Maria Demetz, Sigurður Demetz in Icelandic, was born in the town of St. Ulrich in the Dolomites, which are located in the southern part of the Alps. Today this area is part of Italy, but in 1912, the narrator’s year of birth, it was under Austrian rule. He recounts his upbringing in this small mountain village as the son of a merchant and a prominent figure in local community life. He describes his own and his friends’ youthful escapades, skiing trips, mountain climbing, first loves, and domestic life. Later in life he became a tenor, performing operatic roles widely, including at La Scala in Milan. In 1955 he moved to Iceland.