It's fantastic this new book by Marsilio La Temeraria, Luciana Frassati
It's the story of a family and a person; this work has been possible thanks to the letters left behind by mrs Frassati Gawronska, the auto-biography of the same Luciana, and many other writings.
The Frassatis were an important and crucial family for Turin. Mr Alfredo Frassati, Luciana's father was the founder of La Stampa, one of the most beloved and prestigious italian newsmagazines.
Personally the character I loved the most was the one of Pier Giorgio, the brother of Luciana. Although the family was very rich and well introduced in the most important places of the city, Pier Giorgio preferred to chant a different song. He was the son and the brother of the latest ones. Catholic, spasmodically devoted, he did all his best for helping, taking good care, bringind food, to the most miserables people of Turin and later foreign places where he stayed. Not only: he joined catholic movements and magazines when his father was a man of left, clear direction given at the newsmagazine.
Luciana loved immensely this weird, to her point of view, brother and their connection was incredibly good.
They grew up united, they studied several languages, they travelled a lot. Luciana enjoyed the good world. She fell in love at first with a wrong man 'till at the moment of her fatal encounter with mr Jan Gawronski. Gawronski was so insistent with Luciana that, at the end, she married him although she wasn't so sure of wanting it.
When also the granny of Luciana was dying, the arrival of the terrible illness that would have brought to death Pier Giorgio: polio.
A terrible loss for all the family, in particular for Alfredo, his father. He felt not just the absence of his son, but now he understood the beauty of the world he had left. His funeral was populated by people, folk no one thought could exist. The family received wagons of messages from the most diversified parts. Pier Giorgio had helped silently many poor people, trying to better their human conditions, giving hope, a word of comfort and making all the possible for helping everyone. When he could bring them fresh flowers, food, money, he did it.
Luciana received the joy of a first baby, a female, in 1926; a marriage populated by many children; the one called Pier Giorgio died after several hours from the birth.
Luciana was particularly active during the second world war, and she fought with all herself for the beatification of her brother, arrived thanks to Johannes Paulus Pope II.
She admired and she was admired by a lot of men: let's remember Furtwangler and Arturo Pagainini. This portion of the book will permit you to look more closely at the relationship between these three protagonists of the XX century.
Luciana died in peace and at a very beauty age.
She wrote once: "I want to possibly die ten years before my natural departure, for not leaving behind nothing of special apart the memory of my existence."
This book is portrait of a lady immensely in love for all her family and that brother gone at just 24 years although it is much more, because will immerse you in the complicated scenarios that brought at the First and Second World War, national, internationals dynamics and facts, thanks to the fact that the father of Luciana at a certain point will become an ambassador adding to all of it the daily routine of the existence of the Frassatis.
Highly recommended.
I thank Marsilio for the physical copy of this book.
Anna Maria Polidori
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