Carlo L. Giordano, 82, “a lover of green stuff,” according to his daughter Ann-Marie, was killed in a head-on collision on his way back from the Regional Market in Syracuse, where he went every Saturday to forage for his favorite produce.

According to state police in Elbridge, Giordano was headed west on Route 5, east of Elbridge, at about 10:58 a.m. when his Chevy Impala crossed a double line as he failed to negotiate a right curve and collided with a 1998 Ford Expedition with six passengers going east toward Camillus.

Giordano was rushed to Upstate Medical Hospital in Syracuse with internal injuries and severe injuries to his legs, hips, and pelvis. He was pronounced dead at 3:43 p.m.

A witness said that the Expedition tried to avoid the collision by pulling over to the right, unsuccessfully. Ann-Marie said she believed the passengers in the Expedition were on their way to attend the Syracuse University football game. The accident report is not yet complete.

“My father was like another Emeril,” Ann-Marie said. “He cooked a lot for my mother.”

Giordano's wife of 49 years, Carmela Galbato Giordano, has been ill and Carlo loved to prepare her favorite dish, pasta fagiole (pasta with beans).

“Carlo really loved his family, and it showed,” said Linda Dority, a family friend for the past 28 years. “Every Saturday morning without fail he would go to the Regional Market to get peaches, figs, mortadello (meat), and fresh fruit.”

Giordano had a beautiful garden of his own, where he grew tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, zucchini, string beans, Swiss chard, dandelion greens and garlic, Dority said.

A couple of years ago he didn't have a fence around his garden and the deer got into it.

“They ate up everything,” Dority said. “'They heard you had a smorgasbord over here,'” she told Giordano.

“He was very independent,” Ann-Marie said. A self-employed builder and real estate developer, he had a lot of contacts. Over the course of his life, he built 22 houses and 20 apartments. He designed them all, as well as his own home.

“I don't think he had an enemy,” Dority said.

“The last time I saw my father was at 7 a.m. on Saturday, when he left for the market,” Ann-Marie said. “‘See you later,' I said. I didn't expect to see a trooper coming to the door.”

“He was out doing everything,” Ann-Marie said. “He loved to travel back to his town, San Martino, about four hours east of Rome on the east coast of Italy.”

The family was especially proud of the replicas Giordano made of famous Italian landmarks.

“He kept entering his Roman Coliseum at the state fair until he won first place this year,” Ann-Marie said.

He had been entering different works over the past seven years and next year was planning on creating a Venetian structure called Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, or the Snail House of Venice, after its famous winding staircase.

“He is my rock,” Ann-Marie said. “I was an only child. He was too good to me. He'll be missed, but he'll be in our hearts.”

She reflected on how her father might react, looking down on the tears of his loved ones.

“He probably thinks, ‘Why are you crying? Have some wine and some cheese,'” she said. “He loved life.”

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net