Two little girls, from two very different worlds, encountered in an Italian piazza, and well wishes to both as they begin their journeys

This night in Lecce, Italy, is warm and fragrant, the sky an indigo arch pierced with bright stars.

It smells of freshness, of burgeoning leaves and flowering shrubs, with urban undernotes of cigarettes and perfume.

High heels click on cobblestones as elegantly dressed women stroll arm-in-arm through Piazza Sant’Oronzo, the square at the heart of this old city.

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The passeggiata, a leisurely promenade to see and be seen, is an evening tradition here, involving all generations: older couples bundled up in wool coats with artfully arranged scarves, teens and young adults in black puffer coats and blue jeans, young children transfixed by vendors selling magical spin tops that buzz off into the night sky in a blaze of colour, and young parents pushing swaddled babies in state-of-the-art prams.

Incongruously, American swing music is coming from somewhere in this Italian piazza, music that is raucous, brash and........

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