Dear Readers,
More July jottings with an Italian Connection: All the President’s Pastriesis the title of a memoir about twenty-five years spent in the White House as Executive Pastry Chef, written by Roland Mesnier (with Christian Malard). Mesnier served five U.S. presidents, including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
He was born in 1944 into a working-class family in France and was one of nine children. He toiled his way up working in some of the world’s most prestigious hotels, such as the Savoy in London and the George V in Paris. In front of the Hotel Savoy in London, without knowing a word of English, Mesnier mimed and gestured to the doorman until he was finally pointed in the direction of the Savoy Court Grill, which he knew employed a host of pastry chefs who eventually could work wherever they chose after a successful stint at the Savoy.
He managed to see the head chef of the Grill, an Italian with the memorable name of Silvano Trompetto who - what a stroke of luck - spoke perfect French! Years later when he began working as Executive Pastry Chef at the White House, he often produced architectural pastry models of landmarks found in the countries of visiting heads of state, such as 25 pastry mod- els of Big Ben.
At a state reception on May 6,1998 for the Italian prime minister Romano Prodi and his wife, Mesnier decided to create a dessert reproducing the celebrated Asinelli and Garisenda towers of the couple’s home city, Bologna. He created the two enormously tall buildings, dating from the twelfth century, using a chestnut parfait which Italians love. The pastry towers each measured about sixteen inches high and were so solidly built that you could knock them with a spoon to serve the parfait contained within with no danger of the tower falling over.
It was simply a question of following the basic rule of construction. The dessert was presented on a round dish, surrounded by a gateau of meringue and peaches, and served with a choice of chocolate or caramel sauce. The entire creation was edible, including the brick work, and the dessert was accompanied by platters of Italian petite fours decorated with blown-sugar swans. Prime Minister Prodi and his wife were delighted and thanked the Clintons at great length, and they in turn thanked Mesnier.
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Adolf Hitler(1889-1945), Mussolini’s “mal compagno,” was born in Braunau, Austria, and as a young man had been a struggling street artist. As I recall, my school texts implied that he had been a house painter, but evidently he painted pictures too, and according to Antique Weekly (www.antiqueweekly. com), one of his small paintings was auctioned off recently at the Mohawk Arms Militaria Auction near Syracuse, NY. Raymond Zyla, owner of Mohawk Arms Militaria, told the press how Hitler’s painting “crossed” the Atlantic: The size of a postcard, the small oil painting featured a peaceful scene of an Alpine lakeside village, with a twin-spire church.
It was purchased by the owner’s aunt, a Cincinnati schoolteacher of German heritage who traveled each year to Germany and Austria between the late 1890’s and 1913. The family story was that she purchased the painting from a young street artist in Vienna in 1908. Upon returning to Cincinnati she had the painting framed and presented the gift to her nephew.
The painting hung in his Springfield, OH home until 1978, when it was passed on to the owner’s son. No one knew who the artist was until the picture was taken out of the frame and in the lower right corner the signature, “A. Hitler” was revealed. “This Adolf Hitler painting has the best possible provenance, going back to its purchase in 1908,” said Mohawk Arms’ auc- tion catalog.
The style of the signature is said to reflect other Hitler signed pieces which date from 1908 to 1912.The bidding started at $10,000. Included within the lot with this painting was a notarized history of the painting, and photographs of the schoolteacher who originally purchased the painting, her nephew and his wife. As to who buys? “It crosses all lines. I have a Jewish collector who collects mostly Nazi Germany stuff, another that collects Holocaust- related items.
We can’t afford to forget even these dark corners of history.” From 1905 until before his enlistment in the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment in 1914 (he had been found physically unfit for Austrian Army service), Hitler had lived a bohemian life in Vienna. Twice rejected by the Academy of Fine Arts within the Austrian City (in 1907 and 1908), he lived in homeless shelters, ate at charity soup kitchens and sold his paintings on the street.
By Hitler’s own accounting, he painted between one and three watercolors a day during his Vienna years. Few of the paintings have surfaced. Last April in London an auction house sold 15 paintings by Hitler for nearly $120,000. Selling separately, 12 Hitler watercolors sold for between $4,400 and $9,000.
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“Una città piange se le si strappa il cuore, qual è questa città? (A certain city cries when you remove its heart/center, what is the city?) Answering this “indovinello” (riddle) will be easy if you identify the region of Italy first, so here is a hint: It is bordered by Austrian Alps on the North, Slovenia on the east and the Adriatic See on the South. Bravo, if unlike me, without looking at the map, you guessed Friuli-Venezia Giuliaas the region where the city in the “indovinello” is located.
Incidentally, the Friuli- Venezia Giulia region of Italy has been described as one of those “Let’s make a deal” Italian states created after World War II, when Europe was recarved and caused much pain and suffering to the Italian population. The post-war recarve combined relatively poor, agricultural Friuli and beachy, beautiful Venezia Giulia. Until the early 16th century, when Austria began its move into the modern- day Friuli, most of the region owed allegiance to Venice, and before that to the former Roman city Aquileia.
Venice and Austria controlled the region until 1815 when the entire region came under Austria. Italy took most of the area in 1866, although changes took place after WWII. Back to the “indovinello.” If you guessed Trieste, you successfully solved the riddle, because “Se togliete quella ‘e’ al cuore o centro del suo nome avrete un’altra parola ‘triste.’” Unfortunately “il destino della bella città Trieste” in the beautiful Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy was indeed “triste” after WWII.
Trieste, the capital city, principal port and commercial center of the Friuli- Venezia Giulia region was passed on to Yugoslavia, but in 1954 was finally given back to Italy. Trieste’s chaotic history has led to tension between Italians and ethnic slavs. In some areas when potential employers advertise “multilingual wanted” it means “NINA” (No Italians Need Apply), as they want Slavic language speakers.
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Adult adviceis often ignored by their progeny. However, Yogi Berra(who was named to every American League All-Star baseball team from 1948 through 1962, was elected to the National Hall of Fame in 1972 and as Manager, led the Yankees and the Mets to pennants), when asked for an example of the best advice he ever got, he replied it came from his father and it was, “Until you’ve got something worthwhile to say, don’t say nothing.”
He continued, “My dad taught me this when I was a little boy, and I have applied it very little, but when I do, it seems to make headlines. When I first came up to the Yankees I got a lot of respect in that locker room because I didn’t shoot off my mouth. Ever since then I’ve Romano Prodi done a lot of listening in my business proceedings and my daily life. I speak only if I feel I’ll add some value to the conversation.” Yogi Berra was born Lawrence P. Berra in 1925 in St. Louis, MO.
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An admired Italian- American “Greengrocer”in California had two sons. After their father passed away, one son followed in his father’s footsteps and continued promoting prime California produce. The other son, the beloved greengrocer’s namesake, became a lawyer specializing in breast implant cases, thereby prompting one witty “signora” to observe, “From eggplants to implants in one generation.”
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Adviceattributed to Etienne de Grellet (1773-1855): “I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing there- fore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
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Aristocrat by birth, Giuseppe Moscati (“Doctor to the Poor”) was declared a Saint by Pope John Paul II in 1987. There is an Italian film (with English subtitles) about his life available on DVD that I thought would be of interest to program chairpersons of either regional or spiritual Italian American orga- nizations.
It is titled St. Giuseppe Moscati: Doctor to the Poor. Giuseppe Moscati, “the holy physician of Naples,” was a medical doctor and layman in the early 20th century who came from an aristocratic family and devoted his medical career to serving the poor. He was also a medical school professor and a pioneer in the field of biochemistry whose research led to the discovery of insulin as a cure for diabetes.
Moscati regarded his medical practice as a lay apostolate, a ministry to his suffering fellow men. Before examining a patient or engaging in research he would place himself in the presence of God. He encouraged his patients to receive the sacraments. Dr. Moscati treated poor patients free of charge, and would often send someone home with an envelope containing a prescription and a 50-lire note.
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1906 Dr. Moscati evacuated a nursing home in the endangered area, personally moving the frail and infirm patients to safety minutes before the roof of the building collapsed. He also served beyond the call of duty during the 1911 cholera epidemic and treated some 3,000 soldiers during World War I. Moscati could have pursued a brilliant academic career, taken a professional chair and devoted more time to research, but he preferred to continue working with patients and to train interns.
Giuseppe Moscati died in 1927 at 46 years old, was beati- fied in 1975 and declared a saint by Pope John Paul II in 1987. To order the DVD (177 min., $24.95) call toll free 1-800-651- 1531 or online at www. ignatius.com..
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An assortment of Films, Music, Audio Books and more awaits you at Ignatius Press. You can order toll-free 1-800- 651-153, go to www.ignatius. com or even order by mail at Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, CO 80522. I have been ordering from Ignatius Press since BD, as in Before DVDs and have always been pleased with their service and products.
Here are a few titles that may be of interest to various I.C.F. (Italian Catholic Federation) chapters throughout our State and beyond: The Padre on Horseback A true account of the “Padre on Horseback,” Father Eusebio Kino, a Jesuit missionary dedi- cated to spreading the Gospel to the Indians in the Southwest. Father Kino’s labors amidst great dangers is an inspiring story. Stars Cesar Romero, Ricardo Montalban, Richard Egan, and Keenan Wynn.
DVD 94 min, $19.95. 50 Years of Thorns and Roses Ordained a priest in 1910, the five wounds of Our Lord became visible on Padre Pio’s body eight years later, thereby making him the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Church. For the next 50 years, until his death in 1968, Padre Pio passed his life in ineffable suffering but with moments of great joy from his union with God. Includes new footage of Beatification on a hot day in Rome in June 2002. DVD 60 min. $19.95.
St. John Bosco: Mission to Love Flavio Insinna gives a win- ning performance as John(Don) Bosco, the great priest and educator of youth from the tough streets of Turin, Italy. Beautifully filmed in Italy, this epic movie dramatizes the many challenges that Don Bosco had to overcome. His deep faith, cre- ative imagination and profound charity shine through in this wonderful film. In Italian with English or Spanish subtitles or an English dubbed track. DVD 200 min. $24.95.
