L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2018 L'Italo-Americano ANTHONY DI RENZO L'ultima Danza Pasquino attends a ball F or ten days in Decem- ber, a scirocco para- lyzed Rome. Traders, oblivious to a rise in corn, moped around the Triton Fountain in Piazza Barberini. Socialites, veiled and caped in otter, drowsed in park carriages on the Corso. From the loggia of Villa Lante al Gianico- lo, the city resembled a Pompeii of as hes . Before Chris tmas , however, a ponentino blew in from the sea and revived the capital in time for the Quirinal Ball. Built for popes and cardinals, the Quirinal was a bad place for midnight suppers and waltzes, despite its heroic makeover. A f t e r U n i f i c a t i o n , t h e n e w regime had replaced the palace's images of saints and pontiffs with bigger-than-life paintings of the Risorgimento's greatest moments. Decorators brightened the reception hall with yellow damask and hung a portrait of blue-eyed Princess Margherita in the ballroom. After eight cen- turies of Spartan austerity, the House of Savoy had acquired panache. Nevertheless, although the chic Margherita was now queen, public entertainments remained military drills. It was a quarter-mile march down a cloistral corridor to the b u f f e t t a b l e . G u a r d e d b y cuirassiers, the Swiss Hall was more forbidding than the Vati- can. Tight security was neces- sary because of political con- flicts. Rival guests stampeded to the reception line or scuffled over canapés and champagne, but this was nothing compared to the backbiting struggles for an invitation. Four liberal ministers h a d p r o t e s t e d b e i n g o m i t t e d from the guest list. To prevent a g o v e r n m e n t c r i s i s , a p a l a c e dame of the Roman nobility was forced to resign and replaced with a bourgeois lady of the l e f t ' s c h o o s i n g . W h e n K i n g U m b e r t o w a s i n f o r m e d , h e exclaimed, "Balls!" T w e l v e h u n d r e d g u e s t s grazed at the buffet table and milled about near the throne room. Was it true that the Queen collected porcelain dinner sets from every province in Italy? W h a t a t o u c h i n g s y m b o l o f national unity! The masters of ceremonies smiled, offered their arms and dance cards stamped with the Savoy crest, and escort- ed the ladies into the ballroom. All admired the crystal chande- liers and scarlet curtains, but some were ambivalent about the huge fir tree. Introduced to the palace five Christmases ago, it still seemed too German, a mis- placed tribute to the Queen's Saxon mother. Still, its blazing candles confirmed that the social season truly had begun. At precisely eleven o'clock, o n e o f t h e t w o d o o r s o n t h e opposite side of the hall opened. The orchestra played the fanfare to the Marcia Reale, and the royal couple entered to gasps. Queen Margherita's silk ball gown was embroidered with sil- ver thread and crystal beads. King Umberto wore tails, the Collar of the Annunziata, and the sash of the Military Order of Savoy. Their Majesties were fol- lowed by the foreign princes in Rome, the Knights and Dames of the Order of the Annuncia- tion, and the English, Turkish, and Chinese ambassadors. The chamberlain signaled for the quadrille of honor, and the couples, chosen in advance, took their places. The King stepped aside and let the Queen dance with Prince Oscar of Sweden. The Honorable Marco Minghet- ti, leader of the opposition, gave h i s h a n d t o D o n n a A m a l i a Depretis, the prime minister's wife. The quadrille lasted fifteen minutes, and then everybody waltzed. A decade ago, costume balls had been the rage. Donna Laura Acton Minghetti once came as a squaw, to the delight of the sec- retary of the American legation. This masquerade was subtler: everyone was pretending to be Italian. Roman society baffled foreign observers. It lacked def- erence and deviated from the standards of Europe's older capi- tals. Its élite were gladiators, despite their fancy dress, and the Quirinal was their Coliseum. "Here," Countess Clémentine Hugo complained, "the game is p l a y e d t o o m u c h o u t i n t h e open." Now the capital of United Italy, Rome was smaller than M i l a n a n d N a p l e s b u t m o r e divided. Papists and nationalists, blacks and whites, waged open war. Aristocrats and bourgeois married but deplored each other. Everyone detested the Piedmon- tese newcomers, dismissively referred to as buzzurri, chestnut sellers. Brawls occurred in Mon- tecitorio, duels on the Pincio, but e a c h y e a r , t h e Q u i r i n a l B a l l wiped clean Rome's slate of bit- terness and tears. Prince Victor Emanuel, who was growing older but not taller, saluted the dancers and guarded the Christmas tree. Everyone thought he looked charming in his miniature dress uniform, but would his feet touch the floor when he sat on the throne? The little prince nodded, and liveried flunkeys threw chocolates and t o r r o n i a t t h e l a d i e s , w h o clapped and squealed. Umberto and Margherita beamed. At three in the morning, the orchestra began Die Fledermaus suite, and blacks and whites, nobles and burghers danced together until dawn. P as quino's s ecretary is Anthony Di Renzo, professor of writing at Ithaca College. You may reach him at direnzo@itha- ca.edu. … Queen Margherita's silk ball gown was embroidered with silver threads and crystal beads… NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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