L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 14 2016 www.italoamericano.org 13 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Dear Readers, a n A p r i l a s s o r t m e n t o f Italian connections for you: A t t e n z i o n e : K e n B o r e l l i cultural chair of the I.A.H.F. ( I t a l i a n A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e Foundation, 425 N. 4th St, San Jose, CA 95112, 408-293-7122 ) reminds me that there will be a s p e c i a l c e n t e n n i a l s e m i n a r , Sunday April 17th on the Italy a n d t h e W o r l d W a r I y e a r s 1914-1918. T h e g u e s t s p e a k e r i s Dottoressa Ferraro, University of Napoli, and currently at De Anza College. The seminar will focus on the impact of the war o n I t a l i a n l i f e a n d i t s ramifications for the tragic post war generation. In addition to the presentation there will be treasured family memorabilia s h a r e d b y I A H F m e m b e r s , among them are Rose Cremi's fathers discharge documents. T h i s i s a n o t t o b e m i s s e d s e m i n a r i n f u r t h e r i n g y o u r understanding of modern Italy. There is not a village or town in I t a l y t h a t d o e s n o t h a v e a monument to "I caduti" or the fallen of the war. D a t e S u n d a y , A p r i l 1 7 t h , IAHF building, 425 N. 4th St. San Jose, CA. Social hour and family exhibit, 2 to 3:00 pm, Seminar 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Lite r e f r e s h m e n t s . S u g g e s t e d donation, $12.00 a person. *** Buon Appetito. InGalera, Italian slang for in the slammer o r p r i s o n , i s t h e n a m e o f a restaurant in Milano, Italy, that recently opened to rave reviews. InGalera is located inside the B o l l a t e p e n i t e n t i a r y o n t h e ground floor of the dormitory for prison guards. The Bollate p e n i t e n t i a r y i s a m e d i u m - s e c u r i t y p r i s o n t h a t h o u s e s 1,100 inmates on the outskirts of Milano. The waiters, dishwashers and cooks have been convicted of homicide, armed robbery, drug trafficking and other crimes, but the inmate waiters, dressed in a white shirt, tie and black vest seem to have stepped out of the staff of Italy's most upscale "ristorante". Silvia Polleri, manager of InGalera, who spent 22 years teaching Kindergarten, and was a l s o a c a t e r e r , i s t h e f o r c e behind this unique rehabilitation project. Few people think of prisons as a place for a nice night out, yet the novelty of going to the prison grounds for food and drink has resonated and even b e c o m e s o m e t h i n g o f a marketing tool. The restaurant's d e s i g n i s s l e e k , a i r y a n d m o d e r n , b u t t h e w a l l s a r e decorated with posters from f a m o u s p r i s o n m o v i e s , i n c l u d i n g " E s c a p e f r o m Alcatraz" with Clint Eastwood. Curiosity about a forbidden and feared world has turned a night at InGalera into a daring adventure, with a fine meal as a bonus. (It has a rating of 4,5 out of 5 stars on TripAdvisor.) F o r Y e a r s , I t a l y h a s struggled with its prison system, a s w e l l a s h o w t o b a l a n c e punishment with rehabilitation. Overcrowding had become such a problem that in January 2013 the European Court of Human Rights ordered the country to fix the system. Italian lawmakers responded with more alternative measures for minor crimes. In 2004, Italy can be releasing 10,000 inmates (of roughly 60,000) who had b e e n c o n v i c t e d o f m i n o r offenses. *** T h e i s s u e o f h o w b e s t t o rehabilitate offenders and lower t h e r e c i d i v i s m r a t e r e m a i n s d i f f i c u l t b u t e v e r y p o s i t i v e p r i s o n p r o g r a m h e l p s . A t B o l l a t e , u n d e r t h e d i r e c t o r M a s s i m o P a r i s i , t h e p r i s o n offers an array of programs. Companies have work programs on prison grounds. Volunteers t e a c h t h e a t e r a n d p a i n t i n g . Carpentry skills are taught in workshops equipped with power d r i l l s a n d s a w s . I n m a t e s maintain a stable of horses in the prison yard. *** C o n t e s s a C a r a c c i o l o d i C a s t a g n e t o , w h o b e c a m e Gianni Agnelli's mother-in-law, when he married her daughter, Marella Caracciolo, dei principi di Castagneto, (Napoli) in late 1953, was an American, born M a r g a r e t C l a r k e , i n P e o r i a , Illinois. Marella Caracciolo's mother Margaret, was the daughter of C h a r l e s C l a r k e . C h a r l e s belonged to a family that had made a considerable fortune with Clarke Bros. + Company, a whiskey distillery said to be one o f t h e l a r g e s t i n t h e w o r l d . C h a r l e s w a s k n o w n f o r h i s public administration efforts and had been elected mayor of Peoria, Illinois twice. He died y o u n g l e a v i n g M a r g a r e t fatherless at a young age. After World War I, Margaret turned twenty-one and with a relative moved to Europe-London first, then Paris and finally Florence, Italy, where she eventually met h e r h u s b a n d t o b e F i l i p p o C a r a c c i o l o d i M e l i t o a handsome young officer, with a passion for writing and poetry. In Florence, Margaret lived in the beautiful villa surrounded by olive groves and gardens that h e r A m e r i c a n g r a n d m o t h e r "Grandma Clarke" bought for her in 1923. I t w a s a t " I C a n c e l l i " a l u x u r y v i l l a o n t h e h i l l s o v e r l o o k i n g F l o r e n c e t h a t Margaret and Filippo grew their y o u n g f a m i l y . T h e i r f i r s t "bambino" Carlo, arrived in 1925, followed by Marella in 1927 and Nicola in 1929. M a r g a r e t C l a r k e , w a s beautiful, intelligent, well-read and had a great aesthetic sense b u t h a d n o i n t e r e s t a t a l l i n domesticity, She had great taste and vases with freshly picked flowers from her garden could b e f o u n d i n e v e r y r o o m . Marella's father, Filippo, was not so interested in acquisitions b u t e n j o y e d w r i t i n g a n d p u b l i s h i n g h i s p o e t r y . T h e economic depression of 1929, b a d l y a f f e c t e d h i s f a m i l y f o r t u n e , s o h e a p p l i e d f o r diplomatic service and in the m i d 1 9 3 0 ' s w a s l i v i n g i n Ankara,Turkey with his family. When WWII broke out, Filippo was appointed Italian general consul in Lugano, Switzerland. It was during that time that he made contract with the Partito d ' A z i o n e , a n a n t i - F a s c i s t political movement supported by t h e A l l i e s . H e s p o k e p e r f e c t English and was a liaison agent who kept in constant touch with the British secret services. In her b o o k , " T h e L a s t S w a n " published by Rizzoli (1-800-52- b o o k s ) M a r e l l a r e m e m b e r s looking out of the windows at night to look at the glare in the sky from the bombings of Milan in 1943 a terrifying spectacle. Her home, conveniently close to the Italian border, became a meeting point for members of the Italian resistance movement, who met there with members of the American Office of Strategic S e r v i c e s ( O S S ) . A f t e r t h e armistice, her father left for N a p l e s a n d a t t h e e n d o f a n adventurous journey, he joined other members of the Partito D ' A z i o n e . I n t h e s u m m e r o f 1944 her brother Carlo, who was eighteen years old, joined the u n d e r g r o u n d r e s i s t a n c e movement. He tried to get used t o l i f e i n t h e w i l d e r n e s s b y c a m p i n g o u t i n t h e i r b a c k garden. He was gone for many months until he was arrested by t h e F a s c i s t s a n d n a r r o w l y escaped execution. It was in Switzerland during the war that Marella first met V i r g i n i a A g n e l l i , G i a n n i ' s mother. It was 1943 and she had c o m e p e r t h e b o r d e r t o t h e village of Villar-sur-Ollon to visit some of her children who were staying with friends. In the 1 9 3 0 ' s t h e A g n e l l i s a n d e s p e c i a l l y V i r g i n i a a n d h e r husband Edoardo, who died in a plane accident in 1935, had been at the center of what was known then as the "fast set." They led a g l a m o r o u s l i f e o f p a r t i e s , streamlined yachts, fast cars and luxurious villas. And their lives f i l l e d t h e g o s s i p c o l u m n s . M a r e l l a ' s l i f e h a d b e e n inhabited mainly by wealthy Anglo-American expatriates like her mother and members of the old Italian aristocracy, like her father, a set of people who spent their days visiting one another's, exquisitely refined gardens and crumbling villas on the hills of F l o r e n c e a n d g e t t i n g i n t o i n t e r m i n a b l e p h i l o s o p h i c a l disquisitions. The Agnellis represented a n e w a n d e x c i t i n g l i f e s t y l e . When Marella was introduced to Virginia for the first time, she looked at her with fascination a n d f o u n d h e r e l e g a n t a n d beautiful. She was then forty- three years old. Virginia Agnelli died in a car crash two years later. It was after that first brief encounter that Marella began to l i s t e n t o s t o r i e s a b o u t t h e Agnelli clan and about Gianni, the eldest son. Gianni's younger sister Maria Sole and Marella were good friends and through the years, Marella had a crush on her handsome brother Gianni b u t t h e n s o d i d h u n d r e d s o f w o m e n o n b o t h s i d e s o f t h e A t l a n t i c . " F i n a l m e n t e " t h e lobbying for Marella, led by G i a n n i ' s s i s t e r M a r i a S o l e , joined by sisters Clara, Susanna and Cristiana (brothers Giorgio and Umberto stayed out of it) had the desired effect. Marella C a r a c c i o l o a n d G i o v a n n i Agnelli were wed in November of 1953 and hopefully "lived happily ever after..." ***

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