L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear readers, in F e b r u a r y , w e t r a d i t i o n a l l y pause to cele- brate Lovers, (Valentine's Day) and Pres- idents. Once, Abe Lincoln (February 12th) and George W a s h i n g t o n ( F e b r u a r y 22nd) were honored individ- ually. Now they are collec- tively celebrated on Presi- dent's Day, February 19th, this year. *** O u r t h i r d p r e s i d e n t Thomas Jefferson's life- long love for Italy and things I t a l i a n b e g a n a s e a r l y a s 1 7 6 4 , d u r i n g h i s c o l l e g e days. Thomas Jefferson was born in Virginia on April 13th, 1743, and died on July 4th, 1826. He served as our third president from 1801 to 1809. He was 28 years old when he married a young w i d o w , M a r t h a ( P a t t y ) Wayles, on New Year's Day, 1 7 7 2 . H e w a s n e a r l y 4 0 when his wife died in 1782. *** The inspiration for the layout and architecture of Thomas Jefferson's moun- taintop home, Monticello, is clearly Italian. There is ample evidence to suggest that Jefferson's long conver- sations with his Florence- born neighbor, a talkative Italian exile-turned-wine m e r c h a n t n a m e d P h i l i p Mazzei, inspired the lan- guage used in the Declara- tion of Independence. In an article translated by Jef- ferson, Mazzei wrote: "All men are, by nature, equally free and independent." Philip Mazzei appeared at Monticello in the winter of 1774, accompanied by Jef- ferson's London merchant agent, Thomas Adams. He b e c a m e a h o u s e g u e s t a t Monticello, brightening the last two months of the year for Jefferson, who had lost his sister Elizabeth, aged 29, earlier that year. When a series of earthquakes had r o c k e d t h e b u i l d i n g s a t M o n t i c e l l o o n F e b r u a r y 21st, 1774, Elizabeth had r u n o u t d o o r s i n t h e r a w winter weather and, con- fused, wandered away. She was found dead three days later. *** M a z z e i , t h e n 4 3 , h a d been trained as a surgeon in Florence, worked as a doc- tor on a ship, and practiced in the Middle East before settling in London, where he had been a wine merchant f o r m a n y y e a r s . A w e l l - known horticulturist, he had sailed to Virginia to intro- duce the culture of grapes, olives, and whatever fruit trees would flourish there, and had brought his own c r e w o f I t a l i a n v i n e y a r d workers with him. J e f f e r s o n i n d u l g e d i n some of his favorite activi- ties: building, gardening, buying, and selling land. He d r e w u p t h e c h a r t e r o f a joint-stock company for his new friend and neighbor, Philip Mazzei. He bought a 50 pounds sterling share in a scheme to cultivate silk, grow wine grapes, and raise olive trees on the Mazzei's slopes near Monticello, all without slave labor and rely- ing on Italian grapes import- e d f r o m T u s c a n y . F r o m April 1774, his notebooks were crammed with plans and expenditures to produce wine in the first large-scale viticulture experiment in North America. According to local legends, Jefferson was a b l e t o g r e e t 3 0 T u s c a n w i n e m a k e r s i n t h e i r o w n T u s c a n a c c e n t . T h e m e n , who had heard only English for many months, wept. *** J e f f e r s o n , w h o s e l d o m dined alone, discovered that fine wines and food were a great way to meet informally with political friends and f o e s , n e v e r t a l k i n g a b o u t politics but dropping a hint here and there of how he felt on a subject. He used these nightly dinners as a form of legislative lobbying. Jeffer- son's first exposure to Ital- ian wines had been during his trip to Northern Italy in 1787, and he was particular- l y i m p r e s s e d w i t h t h o s e m a d e f r o m t h e N e b b i o l o grape. He served 250 bottles of Nebbiolo while president, but his favorite Italian wine was from Montepulciano, located some 40 miles south of Siena, in Tuscany. *** M e e t i n g t h e b e a u t i f u l Italian-born Maria Luisa Conway in 1786 rekindled Jefferson's love for things Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. Italian. A widower, the cele- brated Virginian fell in love with Maria Luisa (Hatfield) Conway the moment they met in early October 1786, while visiting Paris. As soon as Jefferson was introduced to Maria Luisa, he began to devise how he could spend every possible moment with this lively, beautiful lady. Soon, he was thinking of developing projects with an "Italian Connection" to pre- vent prolonged separations. For instance, a possible visit to view art in Maria Luisa's b i r t h c i t y o f F l o r e n c e o r brushing up on his Italian conversations, now rusty since the departure of his neighbor, Philip Mazzei. *** Jefferson always had a pragmatic side. After a long series of diplomatic checks in London and Versailles, he had become determined to b r e a k t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ' economic dependence on England and France by forg- ing new trade ties with Italy. E s p e c i a l l y i n t e r e s t e d i n diversifying plantation agri- culture and improving all laborers' (black and white) c o n d i t i o n s i n h i s n a t i v e country, Jefferson wrote to Governor John Rutledge of S o u t h C a r o l i n a i n 1 7 8 8 , shortly after he toured the Mediterranean: "Italy is a field where inhabitants of the southern states may see much to copy in agriculture and a country with which we shall carry on considerable trade." *** T h i s F e b r u a r y h a s 2 9 days, which means there are 366 days in the year. It is a leap year: enjoy it!

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