Good living, hard work and a splash of Italian passion turned out to be a recipe for true love according to golden wedding couple Maria and Giovanni Maddalena.

The fiery pair, who have lived in Swindon for more than 40 years, will celebrate their special anniversary tomorrow.

Their eldest daughter Eleonorra has flown in from the Italian village where her parents first met especially for the occasion.

Maria, now 71, already had a boyfriend when she met dark haired Giovanni, now 76, in 1948.

She fell head over heels for his Latin charm and good looks and the pair were married in Bascelice, near Naples, in 1950.

After a traditional Catholic wedding the couple settled down to family life and 11 months later Eleonorra was born.

But soon after work in the village dried up and news of better living in the UK filtered through to Bascelice.

Giovanni set off first, testing the water in Chesterfield.

Three years later a rumour spread that men were being taken on at the railworks in Swindon.

Giovanni leapt at the opportunity and, joined by his wife, found a home in Armstrong Street.

Meanwhile Maria worked part- time at Harris' pie factory in Calne.

In 1963 identical twins Angela and Amelia were born and a year later son Leonardo.

"It was a bit of a surprise to my parents because there is no history of twins in our family," said Angela.

In 1975 the couple moved to a bigger house in Old Walcot and later that year Eleonorra moved to Italy to marry the man she had fallen in love with on holiday the year before.

She still lives in Bascelice with her husband and two children but is spending two weeks in Swindon to help her parents celebrate their 50 years of marriage.

Leonardo, Amelia and Angela still live in Swindon with their families.

They will meet at the family home tomorrow for a traditional Italian meal of lasagna followed by a roast dinner and ice cream.

Maria said: "I don't think there is any secret to a long marriage, just hard work and fun.

"Sometimes you're happy, sometimes you're sad. At the end of the day we still love each other."