Childhood Memory:

At age 14, Attilio Savoia built his first model -- an exact likeness of the famous bridge of Taranto, Italy.  This bridge connects the old city of Taranto with the new, and through its unique opening mechanism, passed the warships into the naval base.  For this reason the bridge was under navy jurisdiction and guard. Attilio decided that his model must be accurate, so with the aid of a plumb line took measurements from the bridge itself.  

Naturally the curiosity of the navy was aroused and Attilio was “arrested” and taken before the base commander suspected of spying.  With his youthful charm and sincerity he convinced the naval officers that his intentions were not bent on espionage.  He was released on the condition that the base commander be allowed to inspect the finished model.  

This first attempt at model building was successful and the enthusiasm of the navy base commander won Attilio a meeting with the admiral and a public display of his model in Taranto.