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August 12, 2000
At right is a formal portrait taken of the Tonelli
family circa 1936. To these seven siblings only a total
of six children were born, illustrating the vast change
in reproductive attitudes in post-war Italy.
From left to right, standing: Linda, Gina, Agostina,
Teresina (holding her baby, Santina, my husband's first
cousin), Domenico, Marco (my father-in-law), and Eligio.
Flanking the baby are the Tonelli elders -- my husband's
grandparents.
Tonelli facts and figures:
They all grew up together in one house in Succisa,
a village with a population of approximately 600.
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Linda and Eligio are twins. Linda lives with her husband,
Guido, halfway between Succisa and Pontremoli. She has
one daughter, Renza.
Eligio is a widower and never fathered any children.
He still lives in the house he grew up in with Gina
and my father-in-law. Gina never married.
Domenico lived in that same house until he died
several years ago. However, his wife hated his family
so much that they partitioned off their section of the
house, so now those rooms stand empty and useless (the
wife moved away when he died). They had no children.
My father-in-law, Marco, is the only one who ever left
Succisa. He has two children: my husband, Renato, and
his sister, Rosella.
Agostina lives down the road from Eligio and Gina.
She has only one son, Gasperino, who is mentally retarded
and still lives at home with her.
Teresina died last year, but her children, Santina
and Luciano, live halfway
between Agostina and Eligio.
My son, Renato M., is the last Tonelli.
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Gina, here on the right, is my favorite of all
my husband's aunts and uncles. She's incredibly
smart (despite no education past 3rd grade), hardworking,
and a terrific cook. She says she loves to read
and I've seen her picking up scraps of paper off
the ground just to see what they say. Here she
is having just come out of her chicken coop to
give me a few fresh eggs.
The photo below was taken outside Agostina's
house. Agostina is the one seated in the middle,
between my husband, Renato (on her right) and
her son, Gasperino (on her left). The crazily
dressed lady standing is Agostina's sister-in-law
and, sadly, she is crazy. I think she's
suffering from Alzheimers. Whatever it is, it's
worse this year than last.
Gasperino is a sweety-pie. He's few years older
than Renato, but remains child-like. He's probably
the best-loved citizen of Succisa.
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We drove up to the Passo Lagastrello where the province
of Massa Carrara ends and Reggio Emilia begins. The
stone marker that Renato is standing in front of (below)
is left over from the mid-19th century, before the Republic.
It reads Toscana on this side, Parma on the other.
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Those of you who read CABINET
may remember my mentioning Il
Re Dei Funghi, Agostina's late husband. He just
passed away last month, which makes Agostina's house
a very sad place to be. So sad, in fact, I beg to be
taken somewhere else.
Passo Lagastrello is much wilder and more
beautiful than the pass of our mountain (Passo
della Cisa). There's a large, beautiful lake here,
too. Here I am sitting on its banks.
Toscana is now a region of Italy, not
merely a province. It's been divided into many provinces
(Massa Carrara being the one we live in). Parma, of
course, is now just a city, but back then it was its
own little kingdom. Or maybe not a kingdom because there
wasn't a king -- there was a duke. Whatever. I'm on
vacation. I'm trying not to think too hard.
Of course, there's a bunch of things you're
not allowed to do here either: no littering, of course,
and no fires or tents. No bikes or cars off the road,
and most importantly, no picking of flowers, mushrooms
or anything that grows in the wild (this is a protected
area).
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Okay, friends, that's it for two or three days. I'm
off to Cinque Terre to collect my parents, who are coming
for their first visit in eight years. I promise a double-length
postcard when I return.
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