1955-56:
After Ann had been working in Ortona for a year, her mother wrote to Gianna. Gianna replied:
You mentioned something about my having made Ann very happy in the last year. This is nothing compared to the companionship and help Ann has brought to me. While we both thoroughly enjoy working in the South we both realise how difficult life is here and how isolated we are. Being able to find many things to laugh at together makes the work here much easier and very much more enjoyable. (18/6)
The story of the relationship between Ann and Gianna is largely taken from their correspondence and from Ann’s letters to her parents deposited in the Ann Cornelisen Archive at Vassar College, New York. Much of this correspondence was deliberately preserved as a record or aide memoire. Quite early on Ann conceived the idea of writing a book about this period of her life, a fact recorded by a scribbled note written by her mother on the back of one of Ann’s letters. (3/12/58) Unfortunately, few of Ann’s letters to Gianna have survived. Gianna was unsentimental about her correspondence and, as she admits in a letter of 14th December 1958, tore up her letters the moment she had replied to them.
The majority of Gianna’s letters were written from either Ortona or the Hotel Dinesen in Rome. She normally wrote on her Olivetti portable typewriter although occasionally by hand. Many have hand written post scripts scrawled in the margins. Sometimes she wrote every day and often a letter begun one evening would be resumed the following morning. Today, when communication by email or cell phone is cheap and immediate, it is hard to imagine how letter writing was an essential part of life. The post was fast and reliable: a letter posted in Ortona on a Monday evening would invariably be delivered in Rome by the afternoon of the following day. Whether Ann replied as frequently is not clear although we know from her regular correspondence to her parents in America that she too was an avid letter writer.
In July 1954 Ann left Italy to visit her parents in the USA. While she was away, Gianna wrote every other day. Her letters are almost a stream of consciousness, full of gossip about clothes, her weight, eccentric Dinesen residents, and news about ‘The Work’. They are not a diary but reveal a compulsion to share the events of the day. Her letters continued this pattern for the rest of their relationship.
Gianna planned to follow Ann to America in September and spend a holiday at the Cornelisen family home in Maine. She wrote on 18th July describing the difficulty of getting a visa which required a guarantee of subsistence from the applicant’s US host. The Cornelisen’s readily provided this and on the 2nd she flew to the States. She became very fond of Ann’s parents and seems almost to have regarded them as surrogate parents, perhaps filling the void left by her strained relationship with her own mother.
After their return to Italy Ann wrote to her parents 2 or 3 times a week. Her letters are similar in content to Gianna’s , filled with gossip about relations in the US, clothes, the weather and news of their travels throughout Southern Italy. Her parents were worried about what they considered to be their daughter’s unconventional life and Ann constantly tried to reassure them that she did not see herself as a career social worker and had every intention of resuming her life in the US in the near future.
However, she had thrown herself into ‘The Work’ and in a letter of October 24th to her aunt, she gives an insight into her life and work at this time: I am the administrator for the Save the Children Fund in Italy which means I have complete control over anything not coming under the head of teaching or training or contacts. I started out as a volunteer and after six months was given a salary which this April was doubled. I make $150 dollars a month and all my travel expenses. The programme was set up originally as a training, educational one, though last year we gave food and clothing to 67,800 children. The main part of the programme is still the training of nursery teachers, baby nurses and social workers in practical care of children. We have an experimental nursery, baby home and office in Ortona where anyone may come to see what we think is proper, inexpensive care. There is a staff of 14, all Italians. Then Mrs Thompson runs courses all over the country as well as regional meetings and I act as driver, porter (and) scapegoat to handle the people that might disrupt any discussion. It means that about half the time I travel…I get to Rome about twice a month normally and there I have a large collection of acquaintances.
After Ann had been working in Ortona for a year, her mother wrote to Gianna. Gianna replied:
You mentioned something about my having made Ann very happy in the last year. This is nothing compared to the companionship and help Ann has brought to me. While we both thoroughly enjoy working in the South we both realise how difficult life is here and how isolated we are. Being able to find many things to laugh at together makes the work here much easier and very much more enjoyable. (18/6)
The story of the relationship between Ann and Gianna is largely taken from their correspondence and from Ann’s letters to her parents deposited in the Ann Cornelisen Archive at Vassar College, New York. Much of this correspondence was deliberately preserved as a record or aide memoire. Quite early on Ann conceived the idea of writing a book about this period of her life, a fact recorded by a scribbled note written by her mother on the back of one of Ann’s letters. (3/12/58) Unfortunately, few of Ann’s letters to Gianna have survived. Gianna was unsentimental about her correspondence and, as she admits in a letter of 14th December 1958, tore up her letters the moment she had replied to them.
The majority of Gianna’s letters were written from either Ortona or the Hotel Dinesen in Rome. She normally wrote on her Olivetti portable typewriter although occasionally by hand. Many have hand written post scripts scrawled in the margins. Sometimes she wrote every day and often a letter begun one evening would be resumed the following morning. Today, when communication by email or cell phone is cheap and immediate, it is hard to imagine how letter writing was an essential part of life. The post was fast and reliable: a letter posted in Ortona on a Monday evening would invariably be delivered in Rome by the afternoon of the following day. Whether Ann replied as frequently is not clear although we know from her regular correspondence to her parents in America that she too was an avid letter writer.
In July 1954 Ann left Italy to visit her parents in the USA. While she was away, Gianna wrote every other day. Her letters are almost a stream of consciousness, full of gossip about clothes, her weight, eccentric Dinesen residents, and news about ‘The Work’. They are not a diary but reveal a compulsion to share the events of the day. Her letters continued this pattern for the rest of their relationship.
Gianna planned to follow Ann to America in September and spend a holiday at the Cornelisen family home in Maine. She wrote on 18th July describing the difficulty of getting a visa which required a guarantee of subsistence from the applicant’s US host. The Cornelisen’s readily provided this and on the 2nd she flew to the States. She became very fond of Ann’s parents and seems almost to have regarded them as surrogate parents, perhaps filling the void left by her strained relationship with her own mother.
After their return to Italy Ann wrote to her parents 2 or 3 times a week. Her letters are similar in content to Gianna’s , filled with gossip about relations in the US, clothes, the weather and news of their travels throughout Southern Italy. Her parents were worried about what they considered to be their daughter’s unconventional life and Ann constantly tried to reassure them that she did not see herself as a career social worker and had every intention of resuming her life in the US in the near future.
However, she had thrown herself into ‘The Work’ and in a letter of October 24th to her aunt, she gives an insight into her life and work at this time: I am the administrator for the Save the Children Fund in Italy which means I have complete control over anything not coming under the head of teaching or training or contacts. I started out as a volunteer and after six months was given a salary which this April was doubled. I make $150 dollars a month and all my travel expenses. The programme was set up originally as a training, educational one, though last year we gave food and clothing to 67,800 children. The main part of the programme is still the training of nursery teachers, baby nurses and social workers in practical care of children. We have an experimental nursery, baby home and office in Ortona where anyone may come to see what we think is proper, inexpensive care. There is a staff of 14, all Italians. Then Mrs Thompson runs courses all over the country as well as regional meetings and I act as driver, porter (and) scapegoat to handle the people that might disrupt any discussion. It means that about half the time I travel…I get to Rome about twice a month normally and there I have a large collection of acquaintances.
Gianna (L) & Ann visiting a nursery
Gianna and Ann spent time together in Rome, partly on official business but also as an escape from the rigours of life in Ortona. They were educated, upper middle class young women in the prime of life and this was the Rome of La Dolce Vita. It is not surprising therefore that they took every opportunity to enjoy the city, usually staying at the Dinesen, although it is not clear how much these visits were paid for out of SCF expenses or their own salaries. They had a largely female circle of friends who shared their enjoyment of cinema, opera and good food.
In a letter of March 23rd 1956, for the first time Ann wrote of the irritation Gianna felt with the SCF bureaucrats: she complained of too many visitors taking her away from ‘The Work’ and a high handed attitude on the part of the officials in London. This was to be a growing source of aggravation but for the moment it could be dealt with by half joking threats of resignation and a fatalistic attitude to yet another party of visitors: Gianna has not given up hope for an earthquake.
However, some of Gianna’s problems were addressed in April when she and Ann were summoned to an SCF meeting in London. They may have been working for a charity but they flew first class (12/04). In London they were complimented on the success of their work and it was agreed that the number of visitors would be controlled. In recognition of her contribution Ann was to receive a clothing allowance and her salary was doubled
The work was undoubtedly hard but that summer they found time for short ‘holidays’ in Rome, Naples and in the mountains. Ann’s Saints Day in July was celebrated with a large feast in Ortona. But her parents remained concerned about their only child. On 1st August Ann replied to them: ….are you really so against my being here? It seems as though I have done a good many things other people never get to do and want to. I must have an overgrown sense of adventure, but am having so much fun at it.
In July Ann accompanied Gianna to Tricarico in Lucania, the site of a proposed new nursery and was introduced to Rocco Mazzarone. He came from a prominent Tricarico family: his brother was an important priest in the town and Rocco was a highly respected doctor specialising in tuberculosis and malaria. He was a friend of the writer Carlo Levi and Rocco Scottelaro, the poet and left wing politician. A keen social reformer, he was politically active throughout the region, especially in Tricarico. He took an interest in any project that might benefit his home town and held a lot of influence with the authorities, both religious and secular. Tricarico and Mazzarone were to play an important part in Gianna and Ann’s lives in the next few years.
The two women were becoming a formidable team as the work developed and their mutual understanding increased. They enjoyed each other’s company and Gianna needed the friendship which Ann provided. It had been 4 years since Ernest’s death and, though she successfully covered any feelings of loss, the extent to which she was still suffering were seen in December. Ann and Gianna were in Rome when Ann answered a phone call from Ida: severe storms hit the area around Ortona. Ernest’s grave was on a hillside which was washed away by the flood taking the casket down the hill with it. Ernest’s remains were strewn everywhere. If Gianna went back to Ortona she would have to identify the body. Ida was convinced that this would break Gianna and pleaded with Ann to keep her in Rome. Ann was left with a terrible dilemma but eventually decided to tell Gianna the truth. She did not break down but it was tragic to see what it did to her...... her control is amazing (4/12)
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In a letter of March 23rd 1956, for the first time Ann wrote of the irritation Gianna felt with the SCF bureaucrats: she complained of too many visitors taking her away from ‘The Work’ and a high handed attitude on the part of the officials in London. This was to be a growing source of aggravation but for the moment it could be dealt with by half joking threats of resignation and a fatalistic attitude to yet another party of visitors: Gianna has not given up hope for an earthquake.
However, some of Gianna’s problems were addressed in April when she and Ann were summoned to an SCF meeting in London. They may have been working for a charity but they flew first class (12/04). In London they were complimented on the success of their work and it was agreed that the number of visitors would be controlled. In recognition of her contribution Ann was to receive a clothing allowance and her salary was doubled
The work was undoubtedly hard but that summer they found time for short ‘holidays’ in Rome, Naples and in the mountains. Ann’s Saints Day in July was celebrated with a large feast in Ortona. But her parents remained concerned about their only child. On 1st August Ann replied to them: ….are you really so against my being here? It seems as though I have done a good many things other people never get to do and want to. I must have an overgrown sense of adventure, but am having so much fun at it.
In July Ann accompanied Gianna to Tricarico in Lucania, the site of a proposed new nursery and was introduced to Rocco Mazzarone. He came from a prominent Tricarico family: his brother was an important priest in the town and Rocco was a highly respected doctor specialising in tuberculosis and malaria. He was a friend of the writer Carlo Levi and Rocco Scottelaro, the poet and left wing politician. A keen social reformer, he was politically active throughout the region, especially in Tricarico. He took an interest in any project that might benefit his home town and held a lot of influence with the authorities, both religious and secular. Tricarico and Mazzarone were to play an important part in Gianna and Ann’s lives in the next few years.
The two women were becoming a formidable team as the work developed and their mutual understanding increased. They enjoyed each other’s company and Gianna needed the friendship which Ann provided. It had been 4 years since Ernest’s death and, though she successfully covered any feelings of loss, the extent to which she was still suffering were seen in December. Ann and Gianna were in Rome when Ann answered a phone call from Ida: severe storms hit the area around Ortona. Ernest’s grave was on a hillside which was washed away by the flood taking the casket down the hill with it. Ernest’s remains were strewn everywhere. If Gianna went back to Ortona she would have to identify the body. Ida was convinced that this would break Gianna and pleaded with Ann to keep her in Rome. Ann was left with a terrible dilemma but eventually decided to tell Gianna the truth. She did not break down but it was tragic to see what it did to her...... her control is amazing (4/12)
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