Mario Andretti - Early Life

Early Life

Mario Andretti and his twin brother Aldo were born into an Italian family in Montona (now Motovun, Croatia), Istria. Their parents were Luigi Andretti, a farm administrator, and his wife Rina. Istria was then part of Italy, but became part of Yugoslavia at the end of World War II as confirmed by the Treaty of Paris. In 1948, the Andretti family left Montona during the Istrian exodus, ending up in a refugee camp in Lucca, Italy. They emigrated to the United States of America in 1955, settling in Nazareth in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley with just $125 to their name. Andretti became a naturalized United States citizen in 1964.

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