L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano " Let me tell you an i n s a n e s t o r y : " a r t i s t J o e Blaustein is visi- b l y h a p p y a s h e brings back a memory of h i s d a y s i n I t a l y w h i l e w a l k i n g m e t h r o u g h h i s paintings in his art studio i n T o p a n g a , C A , a n d p r o u d l y s h o w i n g m e a medal he was awarded by t h e c i t y o f F l o r e n c e i n 2013. His bond with the c a p i t a l o f T u s c a n y g o e s way back in time, to 1966, when Florence experienced a catastrophic flood. On November 2nd, the Arno River overflowed, killing over a hundred people and destroying countless works of Florentine art, architec- ture, and literature. At the time he and his wife Paula, pregnant with the second of their three c h i l d r e n , w e r e v i s i t i n g Italy, a trip that Joe, who will turn 99-year-old in August, took by chance. "I used to do advertising, I was the vice president of a company and, at the same t i m e , I w a s t e a c h i n g a t UCLA." He recalls how "I did some work for General Electrics, and a senior vice president one day called me and told me 'Joe, I am supposed to go on a trip to the Vatican but I cannot, would you like to go?' So m y w i f e a n d I p a c k e d everything, left our daugh- ter with some friends, and took a trip to Italy." Blaustein took his two rolls of Ektachrome color s l i d e f i l m a n d w h e n h e arrived in Rome, he bought a cheap old-fashioned cam- e r a w i t h t w o l e n s e s , a Rolleiflex. After meeting in person Pope Saint Paul VI at the Vatican, he decided to take a short trip to Flo- rence. "I found a place 20 ft down the Ponte Vecchio, facing the Arno river. It was a very small place. It was November 2nd when w e g o t t h e r e a n d i t w a s pouring. We went to the room and while sleeping, at 3am, my wife woke me up, telling me that there was a smell of gas so I got con- c e r n e d a n d w e n t t o t h e common room. There I met the signorina running the small hotel, and she was hysterical. She heard the river was rushing by, and she told me 'The water is out, the electricity is out.' While I was looking at the river, she added in her bro- k e n E n g l i s h : ' F i r s t t h e Nazis, now this.' " Back in his room, Joe t o o k h i s R o l l e i f l e x a n d s t a r t e d t a k i n g p i c t u r e s f r o m h i s w i n d o w a s h e watched the river getting higher and higher. "We had no connection with the out- side world, nobody knew anything. I saw the water g o i n g o v e r t h e b a n k s , flooding away and slam- m i n g a g a i n s t t h e P o n t e V e c c h i o , I c o u l d s e e a l l t h o s e b e a u t i f u l s h o p s destroyed." The following day, when the water finally subsided, Joe decided to go out at dawn, before anybody was out. The water was 38ft at that point. He left his pen- sione at 6am and walked down to the Uffizi, through water and mud that were up to his knees. " W h e n I s a w w a t e r - marks on the doors, I start- e d c r y i n g . E v e n t a l k i n g a b o u t i t n o w m a k e s m e emotional. I walked all the w a y d o w n t o a l i t t l e orphanage and I met a very handsome man, wearing galoshes but also wearing a beautiful scarf. We stood there talking, and at some point, he started crying, so he got me crying too. His name was Emilio Pucci and w h e n e v e n t u a l l y I w e n t back to the States and told m y w i f e a b o u t m y encounter, as she knew a lot about fashion, she told me he was a very famous designer." When he and his wife g o t b a c k t o t h e U n i t e d States, Joe forgot about the p i c t u r e s a s h e w a s v e r y busy with UCLA and his a d v e r t i s i n g j o b . I n t h e s u m m e r o f ' 9 9 , h e w e n t down to his basement and found the photos that still looked very good. "I took a look at them, some were SILVIA GIUDICI Joe Blaustein in his studio (Photo: Silvia Giudici) Joe Blaustein's color photos of the flood in Florence Continued to page 22 !"#$%&'(&'#)"&'*"&+",'&-'".&/+&%(01&2'#3/#+&4(01+"%5&6-."1/"+7#& 8(++"8'-&%(0&'(&."(.3"&#+$&.3#8"-&(99&'*"&:"#'"+&.#'*;&<"#1+& =(1"&#+$&-/>+&0.&9(1&#&91""&+"?-3"''"1&#'&!!!"#$%#&'#()*"+&, !"#$%&'()*+%,-'().,/012 !""#$%#&'()$%#*+ &!,&-.#&/#0$1&2+ &!10*3 LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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