Accessible video transcript
[00:00–00:10]
[We are in Monteriggioni, in the province of Siena. Veronica Ruggieri and Federica Napoli travel in a DS Automobiles car through the Tuscan hills, surrounded by a green, sunny landscape.]
[00:10]
Veronica: Fede, hi!
[00:11]
Federica: Morning, Vero!
[00:12]
Veronica: How are you?
[00:13]
Federica: Very good, and just look at these amazing landscapes.
[00:16]
Veronica: I’ve got something in mind for you—since we’re talking about nature—a wild day.
[00:21]
Federica: Meaning?
[00:21]
Veronica: Do you like animals?
[00:22]
Federica: A lot!
[00:23]
Veronica: Then we’re going to have some fun.
[00:24–00:29]
[The car arrives at a riding stable and stops. Veronica and Federica get out.]
[00:30]
Veronica: Here we are!
[00:32]
Federica: Hi!
[00:33]
Veronica: Today we’re going horse riding!
[00:34]
Federica: How amazing!
[00:36]
Veronica: So, are you going to guide us?
[00:37]
Guide: I’ll accompany you on this ride, yes.
[00:39]
Guide: The horses are Bambù and Pesciolino.
[00:41]
Veronica: What?
[00:41]
Guide: Bambù and Pesciolino.
[00:42]
Veronica: Who’s getting the white horse?
[00:44]
Guide: I’d say you on the white one, and she…
[00:46]
Veronica: I’ll take Pesciolino.
[00:47]
Veronica: Go on, go to Pesciolino—help!
[00:49]
Guide: Perfect. Hold the reins, okay?
[00:57–01:00]
[Veronica and Federica mount the horses and begin a ride along an off-road path through the Tuscan hills.]
[01:00]
Veronica: You were born with a congenital absence of your left hand?
[01:03]
Federica: Yes, exactly. It was a bit of a surprise, because when I was born my parents realized I was missing the fingers of one hand.
[01:10]
Veronica: How did you experience it as a child?
[01:12]
Federica: It was never a problem for me, maybe thanks to my parents who never raised me in a bubble, but instead raised me freely.
[01:19]
Veronica: And then what changed?
[01:21]
Federica: What changed was that with popularity came the first insults.
[01:27]
Veronica: What did they write to you?
[01:28]
Federica: They wrote all sorts of things, from “AAA looking for Federica Napoli’s missing hand” to “what is Federica looking for in her pocket?”
[01:37]
Veronica: So at first you used to show your hand?
[01:40]
Federica: Yes, but from the very first video the comments were all about my hand, and all that hate made me close up and obsessively hide it.
[01:52]
Veronica: So they made you feel wrong, and you started feeling wrong?
[01:58]
Federica: Yes, not that I really felt wrong, but when I was “Federica the character,” I became obsessed with hiding it from people who didn’t know me.
[02:09]
Veronica: So you were always hiding it?
[02:10]
Federica: Everywhere.
[02:11]
Veronica: In photos?
[02:12]
Federica: In photos, in live streams…
[02:13]
Veronica: Even while singing?
[02:14]
Federica: Always, always in my pocket. So I became “a hand”—I was no longer Fede, the blonde one with blue eyes, the funny one, the one who sings well… I don’t know. I was no longer Federica, I was just the disabled girl.
[02:28]
Veronica: Do you feel limited by your disability?
[02:31]
Federica: Absolutely not. My condition has never been a limitation for me—in fact, I feel special.
[02:36]
Veronica: Is there anything you can’t do?
[02:39]
Federica: No, I can do everything. Of course, maybe I’m not suited for climbing, but I’ve always done everything and I do what I like.
[02:52–02:56]
[At the end of the video, the Jeep is seen driving off again through the Tuscan hills, among vineyards and rows of cypress trees.]
Watch the other episodes
Season 3 -
With Veronica Ruggeri
