Original: At four-and-a-half years old he was left to fend for himself on the streets of northern Italy for the next four years, living in various orphanages and roving through towns with groups of other homeless children.
Simplified: At four-and-a-half years old he was left to live on the streets of northern Italy for the next four years, living in various orphanages and roving through towns with groups of other homeless children.