“You have to be thrown into cold water to learn how to swim.”
Harry Trevisani is born in Zurich in 1922. He spends his childhood with his parents in Milan, where he attends Swiss school. After completing his compulsory schooling, his parents send him to the cantonal school in Trogen (AR) so that he could continue to benefit from the Swiss education system. This step is not easy – he is particularly homesick during his first year at grammar school and feels lonely and sad. But over time, he settles in and makes friends at school, leading to lasting friendships for many years to come.
After graduating from secondary school, Harry Trevisani moves back to Italy and begins studying at the Technical University in Turin. However, this soon ends abruptly when the Second World War breaks out. Regular bombing raids on Turin force him to spend his nights in air-raid shelters or with Swiss friends. When he finds the university building reduced to rubble one morning, he decides to return to Switzerland, where he studies mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich.
His big dream is to work in aeronautics. That is why he later emigrates to the USA, where he completes his education. By now, the war is over, but the economic situation in the USA is difficult: as a newly qualified engineer, he is unable to find a job. His attempt to set up a company with friends also fails.
Harry Trevisani returns to Switzerland, where he takes up a position with the Sulzer brothers in Winterthur. As their representative, he travels around the world in the following years. He lives in India, where he meets his wife, but also in Pakistan, Spain, and Japan. During this time, he becomes the father of three daughters, who are born in 1955, 1957, and 1959.
Later, Harry Trevisani works for a company that specializes in valves for oil pipelines and measuring instruments for oil flow. He later completes his career, first as an employee and later as the owner, at a company that develops hydrofoil boats.
Harry Trevisani remains active throughout his life and is always learning new things: he trains in acrobatic flying, drives various boats, and builds houses. Even at over 100 years of age, he still drives a car and is on the road every day. He continues to make plans, keeps using his computer, for example to write emails, and always wants to get out of the house.
Three years ago, his wife passed away; they had known each other for 70 years. Since then, one of his daughters lives with him in his house, on the upper floor, where she runs a beauty salon.
Reaching the age of 100 was never his goal, but he is grateful that he has reached this age in such good health. He says with a smile that sometimes he feels younger than 100 in a silly way – and then wants to do things that he can no longer do. But his own curiosity has always driven him to explore the unknown.