Italian Man Rescued By Nonna After Five Days Lost In The Dolomites

Dolomites, Italy

26 November, 2025

Dado Di Campo, a 25 year old man from Verona, Italy, has been rescued today by his Italian grandmother, or Nonna, after spending five harrowing days and nights lost in the Dolomites.

The alarm was raised by Di Campo's girlfriend, Mia Maritare, after he failed to return home from a three hour hike through the Dolomites, a mountain range in northeastern Italy. Di Campo, an Italian chef and social media influencer, set out on the hike five days earlier.

"I knew something was wrong when there was no food on the table that night," Maritare said. "There was no camera set up in the kitchen, no ring light, and - most importantly - no food to eat!"

Local police and volunteers started searching for Di Campo the next morning.

"The weather turned nasty and I lost my bearings," Di Campo said after his rescue.

"Water was plentiful, but I was starving after the first ten minutes. I survived the first 24 hours on snacks from my backpack then, after a rough sleep in a hollowed out log, I foraged for wild herbs and slaughtered a lost sheep with my car key. Luckily I always carry a cast iron pan with me. I made it through the first days on that bounty, keeping a fire going in the hope the smoke would attract attention.

"Eventually I ran out of supplies and started to despair. I knew there'd be a search party, but that was no comfort at all. I've been to those parties. Finally I was down to my last onion and garlic clove, so I threw them together in the pan. Then, like a fever dream, Nonna appeared. I didn't recognise her at first... she was just a flurry of pinched hands waving at me. Then I recognised her voice.

"'Never cook garlic and onion together,' she admonished me. 'Never!' Then she gripped my ear in her vice-like hand and led me down the mountain to her kitchen, where she lectured me on traditional Italian cooking and the dangers of letting American influences seep into our culture.

"I've never been so happy to do something wrong."

Bosco Blu, leader of the search party, was surprised with the result.

"To be honest," he said, "we never expected to find Di Campo alive. We mostly just form these search parties for the espresso and biscotti provided by the locals. We're actually pretty fucking lazy."