It's not every day you meet people like Luigi Gobbo.
He starts every day when he goes out to his garage, which he's now turned into a studio.
“My wife needs her space, so I go in the garage,” said Luigi Gobbo, mosaic artist.
Hey, we all need our peace and quiet, right?
But his space is much more than a garage.
Luigi spends hours working on mosaic art, a skill he brought over from Italy when he was just 18-years-old.
But in today’s climate, will a younger generation eventually pick up a skill like this?
“I would like to see somebody young get into it more. It takes a lot of patience. I wouldn’t even mind teaching somebody,” said Gobbo.
Like many immigrants, carrying on his Italian culture is important to him.
He doesn’t have to go far to see the fruits of that labor.
Luigi's son Antonio owns a bar and trattoria not far from his home.
Inside those doors, you'll find delicious gelato, straight from Italy.
It’s a cultural staple Antonio is proud to bring to the Southern Tier.
“Obviously, being of Italian heritage is a big part of my life and celebrating that culture, bringing gelato to this area, to this neighborhood and being part of the revitalization,” said Antonio Gobbo, Antonio's Bar and Trattoria Owner.
Luigi’s home looks a bit different than it did back in 1965, but plenty has stayed the same.
“It’s changed a little bit, but it’s still a great neighborhood we call our home. We’ve been in Endicott for a long, long time,” said Gobbo.
In the meantime, Luigi doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon and he hopes his traditions won't either.