L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 9 ANTHONY DI RENZO Crisantemi Pasquino explains a floral taboo D u r i n g N o v e m b e r , Americans bring chrysanthe- mums to Roman social events. T h e s e N e w E n g l a n d a n d Midwestern transplants mean well. What could brighten an autumn engagement party at Cul de Sac or a Thanksgiving b a n q u e t a t A U R b e t t e r t h a n mums? Gasps of horror greet these good intentions. C h r y s a n t h e m u m s a r e t h e f l o w e r s o f t h e d e a d . T h a t i s w hy they are s o plentiful in R o m e . T r u c k s b r i n g t o n s o f c h r y s a n t h e m u m s f r o m C a l a b r i a ' s C r a t i V a l l e y . Groceries, nurseries, and floral s h o p s b e g i n t o f i l l i n e a r l y O c t o b e r . O r a n g e p o m p o m s flood Campo de' Fori and other m a r k e t s . O n A l l S o u l s D a y , prices quadruple, but Romans stuff their cars with chrysanthe- mums and decorate graves in the Cimitero Flamineo. The post-holiday glut causes p r i c e s t o f a l l , b u t v e n d o r s unload surplus stock on naive American tourists and students. Laden with chrysanthemums, they never realize that they are violating a taboo, until their host orders them to leave the table or their lover kicks them out of bed. Raised on FTD and plastic pink carnations, they do not know the legend of Prince A m e d e o o f S a v o y , D u k e o f Aosta. L i k e h i s f a t h e r V i c t o r Emmanuel II, the Duke was a notorious womanizer. When he b e c a m e e n g a g e d t o D o n n a M a r i a V i t t o r i a d e l P o z z o , a spiteful mistress sent the couple a bouquet of chrysanthemums. Donna Maria swooned. Their marriage was doomed! Amedeo laughed, but the curse came t r u e . O n t h e i r w e d d i n g d a y ( M a y 3 0 , 1 8 6 9 ) , t h e D u k e ' s b e s t m a n s h o t h i m s e l f . T h e p a l a c e g a t e k e e p e r s l i t h i s t h r o a t . T h e k i n g ' s a i d e d i e d after falling from his horse. The bride's wardrobe mistress hung herself. The colonel leading the wedding procession collapsed and died from sunstroke. The stationmaster was crushed to death under the wheels of the honeymoon train. The only sen- sible thing to do was to whisk the groom to Spain. The Cortes Generales had recruited Amedeo to rule, after deposing Isabella II. The sub- stitute monarch was detested by his subjects, who prayed for his assassination and pelted him w i t h c h r y s a n t h e m u m s a t h i s f i r s t p u b l i c a p p e a r a n c e . "Flores!" they brayed. "Flores para los muertos!" As the state c a r r i a g e c l o p p e d t h r o u g h M a d r i d , t h e r o y a l s e c r e t a r y p o i n t e d o u t t h e h o u s e o f M i g u e l d e C e r v a n t e s . " A n d w h o i s t h i s C e r v a n t e s ? " A m e d e o a s k e d . A f a m o u s writer, the secretary replied. "Well, if he's so famous, I must visit him," Amedeo said, "even though he hasn't come to see me." "Very gracious, Sire," the secretary said. Amedeo abdicated two years l a t e r . R e t u r n i n g t o I t a l y , h e resumed the title Duke of Aosta and planted chrysanthemums at il Borro, his country estate in Valdarno. The gardener burned sage leaves and resigned. After his father died and his brother Umberto became king, Amedeo divided his time between Turin a n d R o m e . P e o p l e s h u n n e d h i m , h o w e v e r , b e c a u s e h i s sunken eyes, blistered cheeks, a n d s h o v e l b e a r d m a d e h i m look like a jinx. When the flu broke out in Rome in December 1899, the superstitious blamed the Duke, then wintering in the capital. Palace spokespersons insisted that visiting boyars had brought t h e i n f e c t i o n f r o m S t . Petersburg. Whatever the cause, t h e e p i d e m i c r a g e d f o r t w o m o n t h s a n d s p a r e d n o o n e . Ettore Bertolè-Viale, Minister of War, was stricken. Several members of the royal household w e r e q u a r a n t i n e d , i n c l u d i n g Prince Amedeo. The patient remained stable, u n t i l M i s s M i n e r v a P o r t e r , d a u g h t e r o f t h e A m e r i c a n ambassador, sent dried chrysan- t h e m u m s t o h i s s i c k r o o m . When his condition worsened, King Umberto summoned Dr. Guido Baccelli, who ran the g l o r i o u s b u t d e c a y e d S a n t o Spirito Hospital, between the Tiber and the Vatican. A stocky man with a walrus mustache and a mop of grey hair, Baccelli tossed the chrysanthemums out the window. A pioneer of the stethoscope a n d i n t r a v e n o u s t h e r a p y , Baccelli had prolonged Victor Emmanuel's life during his last illness by administering oxy- gen, but he could do nothing for A m e d e o . T h e D u k e d i e d o n Saturday, January, 18, 1890 at 6:45 a.m. He was only forty- four years old. After lying in state at the Quirinal, the body was transported to Turin and i n t e r r e d i n t h e B a s i l i c a o f Superga. The crypt was smoth- e r e d i n c h r y s a n t h e m u m s . Puccini composed an elegy, a s o b b i n g s t r i n g q u a r t e t i n C - sharp minor, and named it after the flowers. E v e r s i n c e , R o m a n s h a v e a s s o c i a t e d c h r y s a n t h e m u m s with death, funerals, and bad l u c k . A f t e r I t a l y j o i n e d t h e A n t i - C o m i n t e r m P a c t i n N o v e m b e r 1 9 3 7 , E m p e r o r H i r o h i t o p r e s e n t e d B e n i t o M u s s o l i n i w i t h t h e I m p e r i a l Order of the Chrysanthemum. At a private induction ceremo- ny, the dictator cringed. Making excuses, Mussolini ditched the Japanese ambassador and com- manded a white-gloved aide to l o c k t h e m e d a l i n a s a f e . N e w s p a p e r s r e f r a i n e d f r o m p u b l i s h i n g t h e n a m e o f t h e award, describing it merely as "Japan's highest order." P a s q u i n o ' s s e c r e t a r y i s Anthony Di Renzo, associate professor of writing at Ithaca College. You may reach him at direnzo@ithaca.edu. An elegant group of 19th-century haute bourgeoisie bringing chrysanthemums to a snow-blanketed cemetery. Émile Friant's La toussaint (1888)

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