Reggio Emilia, September 11, 2026 – “After a while I had left the first tower, I noticed that everyone was looking up. In the sky I saw shiny sheets flying, I didn’t think that they could be people”.
Martina Gasperotti, dental hygienist from Reggio, was 28 years old on September 11, 2001 and was in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
What do you remember from the first moments?
”In New York you hear noises we are not used to. Steam puffs come out of ducts, the ground vibrates above the subway stations… When I heard that roar I was at the reception of the first tower, and I thought a pipe had burst. I was on the phone with my mother and I told her live what was happening. She said: “Stay away from the smoke, because there is no oxygen”. Then I went out and the line went dead…”
And then the second plane came…
“Only then did I become aware of what was really happening. I heard and saw it coming, and entering the tower. I thought: “And now?”. I was among many people: they said there was no danger, “the Towers cannot collapse”… it seemed impossible. Then the first tower began to come down, and we ran away. I headed towards Houston Street, where a rescue belt had been organized with ambulances and other vehicles that, unfortunately, could do very little at that moment. They gave us water and everything that could be needed. Then I went back north. I walked for hours with thousands of other people crossing all of Manhattan on foot up to the Bronx bridge. There were so many of us and we were just trying to get away.. The traffic was blocked, all rescue vehicles were going towards the Towers… I managed to find a place to stop only around 11 p.m. On September 16 the airspace reopened and I returned to Italy even though at that moment New York was probably the safest city in the world.”
Have you ever wanted to know what those figures were?
“I cannot know for sure what I saw and I prefer not to know”.
What struck you the most?
“The fact that everyone helped each other. There was not a single person minding their own business. Those who had water offered it, those who had coins gave them to make calls since cell lines were blocked… When I arrived in the Bronx outside bars there were people handing out drinks, wet towels to clean your face… That spirit of mutual help and solidarity stayed with me. We often consider Americans as grown-up children… but they are a wonderful, united people, and I honor them. They have an extraordinary team spirit: if we Italians had it too, we would be among the great powers of the world”.
September 11 caught us completely off guard: no one had ever imagined an attack of that magnitude. Over the years I have documented myself, read and studied… today the world is even more dangerous
Have you returned to Ground Zero?
“The following year: it was not an easy trip: there were still trucks carrying away rubble… Then I wanted to return for the 10th anniversary, with my daughter Beatrice who was 5 years old. I love the United States and wanted to share that moment with her”.
Why did you feel the need to return?
“After the attack I wasn’t working, I spent nights watching TV, I slept little and walked a lot. I wanted to relive and see those places again even inside me. I thought: “I relive it and so I overcome it”. It took a long time to succeed. I always carry September 11 inside me. I never felt survivor’s guilt, but anguish yes. In such catastrophic events it is fate, destiny that decides if your time has come. Such an experience is processed living day by day, seeking happiness, having goals, projects to live for and rebuild a life… I made several changes, but the most important were psychological. When I returned I was traumatized, I had nightmares and terrors. I was never afraid of flying. What terrified me instead were the noises and vibrations produced by heavy vehicles. When I returned, I walked a lot in nature in a park near my home: the walk goes under an overpass… That “bu-bu-bum” and the vibration immediately brought me back to New York”.
Everyone helped each other. There was not a single person minding their own business
What does September 11 represent today?
“For many young people it is almost a movie and some even wonder if we are told the truth. Those who lived that day remember perfectly where they were, who they were with, what they were doing and what they said. It is an experience that unites the whole world that was there then. Today I feel more in danger. September 11 caught us completely off guard: no one had ever imagined an attack of that magnitude. Over the years I have documented myself, read and studied… today the world is even more dangerous. From what we experienced at least one awareness should arise but I don’t know if we have learned.
