In 1956, Piera Domenica Burzio and her grandparents left their village of Pranzalito,near Torino, Italy, to begin a new life in America. On July 25 the catastrophic ramming of the Stockholm into Italy’s crown jewel, the luxury liner Andrea Doria, sent shock waves around the world.  As an eyewitness survivor, Piera exposes the mysterious and controversial calamity that occurred while trying to reach the New World to meet her mother.

Pierette is the first survivor in history to publish an all-inclusive book about one’s own shipwreck, including humanistic and scientific aspects. She is the only shipwreck survivor to write a technical report in collaboration with a naval architect about the loss of a ship. The author speaks to varied audiences about the human and scientific aspects of the Andrea Doria-Stockholm shipwreck, and her gratitude for life lessons learned from her personal experience.

After publishing Alive on the Andrea Doria! The Greatest Sea Rescue in History, Pierette has been inspired to serve on several projects within the maritime world:

  :: writing and presenting technical reports on the Andrea Doria shipwreck
  :: writing articles on maritime safety
  :: collaborating with marine scientists and divers in the field of shipwreck
     exploration and marine archeology

The author/survivor plans to continue the Andrea Doria legacy by speaking about her book to national audiences. She also continues to be the gatekeeper of Andrea Doria survivor stories for historical documentation.

Also in 2009, the New England Book Festival recognized Alive on the Andrea Doria for general excellence and the author’s passion for telling a good story; and also for the potential of the work to reach a wider audience. The award category was for biography/autobiography.

Pierette pursued her love of foreign languages by teaching high school French and Spanish in the Farmington Public Schools, near Detroit. In the course of her twenty-seven-year teaching career, she was recognized as Michigan Foreign Language Teacher of the Year (1994-95) by the Michigan Foreign Language Association.

For many years, Pierette played the violin and performed with several local symphony orchestras and chamber groups. She also has traveled extensively to foreign lands, with an annual trek to Italy, where half of her family resides.