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Italian American Culture_SP18

Maria Gialdini Passport

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Lasciando l'Italia Maria Pierini was born on June 19, 1924 in Marlia, which is in the Tuscan contryside just outside of Lucca. She was the oldest of five children. Her father was a farmer, and her mother was a homemaker. Due to their distance from the heart of Lucca, Maria was unable to continue her education after the fifth grade because doing so would require her to go into town each day. This was quite a shame, as I found out from her that she actually loved school, especially mathematics. As the family needed extra hands around the house, Maria took to domestic work. Although the war was not a direct factor in the lack of educational opportunities for Nonna's family, it should be noted that World War II had long-lasting impacts on education in Italy that stifled the opportunities of the following generation (Checchi, 2003, pp. 15).

The family was poor. They lived simple lives and worked hard to survive. They had so little that, for a mid-morning snack, the five children would split a single egg between them all. During the war, the rations meant that they could enjoy cake about once per year. Throughout Italy, people faced similar situations; it takes no more that personal accounts to make this clear.

Giving their focus on surviving, her family was not very politically engaged. However, I know that they were not fans of Mussolini. Maria's mother's wedding ring, according to family stories, was taken from her to fund the fascist government. Nonna also said that, after Mussolini lost power, some of the wedding rings that were supposed to go to the Italian cause were, in fact, being used to hold up curtains in Mussolini’s nephew’s house. To this day, I have not found supporting academic evidence of this, and am unsure of whether this was the result of rumors in rural Italy. However, I do know that the matter of the rings from the Pierini perspective does not coincide with the “wedding ring campaign,” as is recorded in history books (see page 92 of Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements).

Her family had made arrangements to immigrate to San Francisco, where her mother’s sister was. Her mother had left early for San Francisco in order to prepare things for the family, but a month before the rest of them were to make the trip, World War II broke out and they were stuck in Italy. For about seven years, the matriarch of the family, Pia, was separated from her family and children. This left a void in the family structure, and the result was that Maria became a surrogate mother to her siblings and ran the home. Finally, on September 5, 1947, the family obtained permission to leave for the United States. They left the port of Genoa (which was the further than Maria had ever traveled before), and they set off for a boat to New York City. She never went back to Italy.