Giovanni Battista Quattrin and Elisabetta De Paoli
Husband: Giovanni Battista Quattrin
Birth: 19 Jan 1866, Zoppola, Italy
Father: Andrea “Perbacco” Quattrin
Mother: Rosa Ros
Death: 20 Mar 1945, Zoppola, Italy
Birth: 19 Jan 1866, Zoppola, Italy
Father: Andrea “Perbacco” Quattrin
Mother: Rosa Ros
Death: 20 Mar 1945, Zoppola, Italy
Wife: Elisabetta De Paoli
Birth: 16 Dec 1870, Pescincanna, Italy
Father: Leopoldo De Paoli
Mother: Angela Della Martina
Death: 30 Oct 1942, Zoppola, Italy
Marriage: 26 Mar 1893, Zoppola, Italy
Children: Maria-Rosa (Rosina) (1893-1978)
Andrea (1894-1958)
Lucia (1896-1964)
Osvaldo Severino (1898-1934)
Giovanni Battista (1900-1972)
Leopoldo (1902-1984)
Antonio (1904-1990)
Carolina (1906-1943)
Angelo (1908-1984)
Palmira (1911-2005)
Birth: 16 Dec 1870, Pescincanna, Italy
Father: Leopoldo De Paoli
Mother: Angela Della Martina
Death: 30 Oct 1942, Zoppola, Italy
Marriage: 26 Mar 1893, Zoppola, Italy
Children: Maria-Rosa (Rosina) (1893-1978)
Andrea (1894-1958)
Lucia (1896-1964)
Osvaldo Severino (1898-1934)
Giovanni Battista (1900-1972)
Leopoldo (1902-1984)
Antonio (1904-1990)
Carolina (1906-1943)
Angelo (1908-1984)
Palmira (1911-2005)
Giovanni Battista Quattrin was born on January 19, 1866, the year of the Unification of Italy. He was the sixth child of Andrea “Perbaccho” Quattrin and Rosa Ros. He was named after his grandfather and his grandfather’s grandfather. He was also the second Giovanni Battista born to Perbacco and Rosa, but his older brother did not survive infancy. Because of the repeated names, he was known as Tita. His son Giovanni was Gianni (Johnny) and his grandson went by Battista, or Ti.
Tita had a typical Zoppola upbringing. He went to elementary school to learn to read and write, and he went to Mass every Sunday. He worked in the fields most days from an early age. He was very intelligent and did well in school. His daughter Palmira would say he was so intelligent he “could see behind the mountains,” meaning he could see behind things that obstructed the views of others. Later in life, he would be a respected town councilman. Though Perbacco came to own land later in life, the family was not wealthy. Only the Panciera family—the Counts of Castle Zoppola since 1403—and the Lotti family had any truly disposable income. Tita was a farmer like his father and did not have the luxury of going to school. At church, he sang in the choir and had a beautiful, lyrical, tenor voice.
Like his father and unlike his son Andrea, Tita was very social and had many friends. He had bright blue eyes that caught people’s attention. His granddaughter AnnaMaria said, “I used to look at his beautiful light blue eyes when he was sitting on his bench in the back of the focolare, where the meals were always cooked.” Besides being hard working in the fields, he was handy at crafts. He wove baskets big and small for storage, and he made shoes. AnnaMaria remembered that he carved the soles out of wood and attached leather uppers with nails. “I used to wear them, not feeling privileged since everybody else was wearing real shoes, but they were very comfortable and warm.”
In 1888, when Tita was 18 years old, his mother passed away. His father remarried 17 months later. As he reached a point in his life when he thought about marrying and having his own family, Tita realized he knew all the girls in town, and they all knew him. He started going to church in Pescincanna, about two miles away. The Church of San Michele Arcangelo was on land owned by the De Paoli family. There, he caught the eye of the oldest De Paoli daughter, Elisabetta.
Tita had a typical Zoppola upbringing. He went to elementary school to learn to read and write, and he went to Mass every Sunday. He worked in the fields most days from an early age. He was very intelligent and did well in school. His daughter Palmira would say he was so intelligent he “could see behind the mountains,” meaning he could see behind things that obstructed the views of others. Later in life, he would be a respected town councilman. Though Perbacco came to own land later in life, the family was not wealthy. Only the Panciera family—the Counts of Castle Zoppola since 1403—and the Lotti family had any truly disposable income. Tita was a farmer like his father and did not have the luxury of going to school. At church, he sang in the choir and had a beautiful, lyrical, tenor voice.
Like his father and unlike his son Andrea, Tita was very social and had many friends. He had bright blue eyes that caught people’s attention. His granddaughter AnnaMaria said, “I used to look at his beautiful light blue eyes when he was sitting on his bench in the back of the focolare, where the meals were always cooked.” Besides being hard working in the fields, he was handy at crafts. He wove baskets big and small for storage, and he made shoes. AnnaMaria remembered that he carved the soles out of wood and attached leather uppers with nails. “I used to wear them, not feeling privileged since everybody else was wearing real shoes, but they were very comfortable and warm.”
In 1888, when Tita was 18 years old, his mother passed away. His father remarried 17 months later. As he reached a point in his life when he thought about marrying and having his own family, Tita realized he knew all the girls in town, and they all knew him. He started going to church in Pescincanna, about two miles away. The Church of San Michele Arcangelo was on land owned by the De Paoli family. There, he caught the eye of the oldest De Paoli daughter, Elisabetta.
Elisabetta De Paoli was born on December 16, 1870. She was the eldest of the nine children of Leopoldo De Paoli and Angela Della Martina. The De Paolis owned a great deal of land in Pescincanna and owned a construction company that had ties to businesses in Venice. Pescincanna had been where their country villa was. Elisabetta was well-educated and valued learning. She wanted to be a teacher, but she became pregnant. She did not seem to want to get married, but her grandfather told her she should. The scandal would make it difficult for her to keep a teaching job.
Tita and Elizabetta married on March 26, 1893, in the Church of San Martino Vescovo in Zoppola. Their daughter Maria-Rosa (Rosina) had been born in January. Their first son, named Andrea after his paternal grandfather, would be born toward the end of 1894. They would have eleven children together over the next 18 years, and all but one would live to adulthood. By the time their youngest was born, Elisabetta was no longer able to nurse her children. Her oldest daughter had just given birth, though, and Rosina nursed her little sister Palmira.
In 1911, Elisabetta and Tita became grandparents for the first time when eighteen-year-old Maria-Rosa, who had married Rudolpho Pavan, gave birth to their first grandchild, James. There would be 26 more grandchildren over the next 40 years. Some would be born in America or Canada and would never know their grandparents.
Tita worked in the fields, and Elisabetta worked in the home. Elisabetta was an excellent seamstress. She could take measurements by eye, and the clothes would always fit. Palmira learned the sewing skills for which she was well-known from Elisa and put them to good use working for Levi-Strauss for over 40 years. Palmira was Employee of the Month several times over her career.
In 1913, Andrea, as the oldest son, assumed some of the family’s economic burden by going to America to work for Italian Swiss Colony. He lived with and worked for a cousin named Antonio Colussi in Lemoore, California. He sent half his pay home every week. It was intended to be used to by a cow, but Tita used the money to play “the big man in town,” paying for rounds of drinks and playing cards at the Bottega Agosti. When Italy joined the Allies in 1915, Andrea came home to fight, cutting off part of the family income.
Zoppola in the 1890s and 1900s was a quiet place, much like it had been for centuries. That would change with the Great War. Though in the western part of Friuli, Zoppola was still less than 50 miles from the fighting on the Isonzo River. From 1915 to 1917, there had been eleven battles on the Isonzo, mostly frontal, uphill assaults by the Italians that gained very little ground. As the Italian Army was preparing for their 12th Battle of Isonzo, the Austrians, supported by fresh German troops transferred from the now-quiet Russian Front, launched a preemptive strike on October 24, 1917. The Battle of Caporetto, as it came to be known, is considered to be the greatest disaster in Italian military history. The whole front collapsed and the Tedeschi (what the Friulani called the Austrians and Germans) pushed all the way to the Piave River on the west edge of Friuli. Only lack of supplies and a strong defense on November 4th at, of all places, Mount Grappa, stopped the Germans. In all, 40,000 soldiers were killed or wounded and 265,000 were captured, including Andrea. Zoppola was now behind enemy lines.
Zoppola became a fairly grim place. Years later, Palmira, Tita’s youngest, remembered that Tedeschi soldiers were billeted in the homes of the citizenry. She remembered that they slept on the floors in the hallway, were dirty, and had lice. The family had to live in one bedroom as the officers took the others. The soldiers took everything they could lay their hands on, including old dresses that were intended to be handed down to the younger daughters. Food was hard to come by, and the younger children had to guard what was being cooked for dinner while the adults were working in the fields. In one incident, Zio Tony was left to guard the polenta. A soldier knocked on the door, and, when Tony went to answer it, another soldier leaned in the kitchen window with a pitchfork and lifted away the cooking pot. The family went hungry that night. Tita went to the Commandant to ask, “What can I do to feed my 10 children?” Another time, the soldiers ate all the beans in the house and Elisabetta cried. She had to go the storekeeper and beg for food for the children. She paid him back as soon as she could.
Luckily for the inhabitants of Zoppola, the occupation only lasted about a year. By November 4, 1918, the Italian Army had recovered most of Friuli, including Zoppola. Six months later, Tita and Elisabetta’s son Andrea, who had been captured in the Battle of Caporetto, was released from the Army to return home. Zoppola, like the rest of Italy, was destitute.
Tita and Elizabetta married on March 26, 1893, in the Church of San Martino Vescovo in Zoppola. Their daughter Maria-Rosa (Rosina) had been born in January. Their first son, named Andrea after his paternal grandfather, would be born toward the end of 1894. They would have eleven children together over the next 18 years, and all but one would live to adulthood. By the time their youngest was born, Elisabetta was no longer able to nurse her children. Her oldest daughter had just given birth, though, and Rosina nursed her little sister Palmira.
In 1911, Elisabetta and Tita became grandparents for the first time when eighteen-year-old Maria-Rosa, who had married Rudolpho Pavan, gave birth to their first grandchild, James. There would be 26 more grandchildren over the next 40 years. Some would be born in America or Canada and would never know their grandparents.
Tita worked in the fields, and Elisabetta worked in the home. Elisabetta was an excellent seamstress. She could take measurements by eye, and the clothes would always fit. Palmira learned the sewing skills for which she was well-known from Elisa and put them to good use working for Levi-Strauss for over 40 years. Palmira was Employee of the Month several times over her career.
In 1913, Andrea, as the oldest son, assumed some of the family’s economic burden by going to America to work for Italian Swiss Colony. He lived with and worked for a cousin named Antonio Colussi in Lemoore, California. He sent half his pay home every week. It was intended to be used to by a cow, but Tita used the money to play “the big man in town,” paying for rounds of drinks and playing cards at the Bottega Agosti. When Italy joined the Allies in 1915, Andrea came home to fight, cutting off part of the family income.
Zoppola in the 1890s and 1900s was a quiet place, much like it had been for centuries. That would change with the Great War. Though in the western part of Friuli, Zoppola was still less than 50 miles from the fighting on the Isonzo River. From 1915 to 1917, there had been eleven battles on the Isonzo, mostly frontal, uphill assaults by the Italians that gained very little ground. As the Italian Army was preparing for their 12th Battle of Isonzo, the Austrians, supported by fresh German troops transferred from the now-quiet Russian Front, launched a preemptive strike on October 24, 1917. The Battle of Caporetto, as it came to be known, is considered to be the greatest disaster in Italian military history. The whole front collapsed and the Tedeschi (what the Friulani called the Austrians and Germans) pushed all the way to the Piave River on the west edge of Friuli. Only lack of supplies and a strong defense on November 4th at, of all places, Mount Grappa, stopped the Germans. In all, 40,000 soldiers were killed or wounded and 265,000 were captured, including Andrea. Zoppola was now behind enemy lines.
Zoppola became a fairly grim place. Years later, Palmira, Tita’s youngest, remembered that Tedeschi soldiers were billeted in the homes of the citizenry. She remembered that they slept on the floors in the hallway, were dirty, and had lice. The family had to live in one bedroom as the officers took the others. The soldiers took everything they could lay their hands on, including old dresses that were intended to be handed down to the younger daughters. Food was hard to come by, and the younger children had to guard what was being cooked for dinner while the adults were working in the fields. In one incident, Zio Tony was left to guard the polenta. A soldier knocked on the door, and, when Tony went to answer it, another soldier leaned in the kitchen window with a pitchfork and lifted away the cooking pot. The family went hungry that night. Tita went to the Commandant to ask, “What can I do to feed my 10 children?” Another time, the soldiers ate all the beans in the house and Elisabetta cried. She had to go the storekeeper and beg for food for the children. She paid him back as soon as she could.
Luckily for the inhabitants of Zoppola, the occupation only lasted about a year. By November 4, 1918, the Italian Army had recovered most of Friuli, including Zoppola. Six months later, Tita and Elisabetta’s son Andrea, who had been captured in the Battle of Caporetto, was released from the Army to return home. Zoppola, like the rest of Italy, was destitute.
Palmira, Andrea, Pietro Borolussi (guard), Giovannin, Elizabetta, & Tita (1920)
Many of the younger generation in Northern Italy were leaving for North America after the War. In 1920, Andrea went back to California to try to establish his own farm. His brothers Poldi and Giovanin joined him. Tony came over later, but he ended up in British Columbia. Both Andrea and Poldi would return to marry, but they quickly left for America again because they did not want to raise their children under Mussolini.
Mussolini’s Italy was the prototype for other dictatorships which existed between 1918 and 1939. Nazi Germany, in particular, used and expanded on developments of Fascist Italy. People had little control over their personal lives, and the state controlled as much as it could. Those who opposed the state were suitably punished. All Italians were expected to obey Mussolini and his Fascist Party. Authority was enforced by Fasci di Combattimenti—the Blackshirts. Like the Black-and-Tans in Ireland, these men were usually ex-soldiers. Though they were probably less feared than Hitler’s SS, the Blackshirts did maintain an iron rule in Italy. According to C N Trueman in his 2015 article Life in Fascist Italy (historylearningsite.co.uk):
One favored way of making people conform was to tie a ‘troublemaker’ to a tree, force a pint or two of castor oil down the victim’s throat and force him to eat a live toad/frog etc. This punishment was enough to ensure people kept their thoughts to themselves. The murderous tactics used by the Gestapo and SS in Germany were rarely used in Italy.
Mussolini said, “Italy wants peace and quiet, work and calm. I will give these things with love if possible and with force if necessary.” The message was clear.
The economy of Italy had made little recovery after WWI, and Mussolini knew that this was a major area to address if Italy was to become a major European power. His plan to advance the economy was based on a two-fold approach: attacking the power of the trade unions and thereby controlling the workers, and setting Italy population goals. As in Nazi Germany, women were seen as having a specific role in Fascist Italy. The task of young girls was to get married and have children – lots of them. In 1927, Mussolini launched his Battle for Births.
Mussolini wanted Italy to have a population of 60 million by 1950. In 1920, it stood at 37 million so his target was a tall order. Those children would be educated to be warriors through a program that was the prototype for the Hitler Youth in Germany. Families were given a target of 5 children. This interference in personal life was a main reason why Andrea immigrated permanently to San Francisco to raise his son. The Battle for Births was a failure. Though the population grew as people were living longer due to better medical care, the birth rate actually went down between 1927 and 1934.
For the attempt to get Italy on the road to economic prosperity, Mussolini introduced three other “battles” – the Battle for Land, the Battle of the Lira, and the Battle for Grain. The Battle for Land was to clear marshland and make it useable for farming and other purposes. The Battle of the Lira was to restore some of the purchasing power the Lira had before the War. These two “battles” were somewhat successful, mostly because the Great Depression hit the industrial nations more than an agricultural nation like Italy. But the Battle for Grain was particularly hard on a place like Zoppola.
Again, according to C N Trueman’s 2016 article The Economy in Fascist Italy:
Mussolini wanted to make Italy economically stronger and near enough self-sufficient. Hence, his desire to grow grain. However, the plan was to grow grain at the expense of fruit and vegetables which were cheaper to produce. Italian grain became expensive at home, and the price of bread rose. This hit the poor hard, as bread was a major part of their diet. Rich farmers did well as they were guaranteed a good price for what they produced. But small farmers like the Quattrins could not produce enough to take advantage of the prices.
In terms of economic growth, Italy did not have the expanse of industry to bolster her farming-based economy. Whereas Germany had its industrial power house in the Ruhr and Britain had South Wales, the North-East, Midlands and North-West, Italy had relatively few of these industrial zones. Though laudable in theory, Mussolini’s plans for Italy’s economic growth were based on weaknesses he could not overcome.
Between the Wars, the family had little money. Perbacco died in 1923, leaving land and two houses to each of his sons, but there was little in the way of cash or liquid assets. Though she had given up her dream of teaching, Elisabetta was still a very industrious individual and wanted to do more than be a wife and mother. She decided to start a business. She bought leftover wine from her neighbors to mix and resell. Literally, it was a liquid asset. A jealous neighbor, Angelo Sartor, accused her of watering the wine. He went so far as to put a fish in his wine, supposedly proving that she had used water from the creek. Luckily, no one believed him.
Life went on as it had for generations. Tita worked in the fields all morning and came home for dinner (the noon meal) when the Church bell rang the Angelis. The meal was usually bean soup and polenta during the week. The Sunday meal would be chicken broth with pastina, stew, cheese, and bread. The bread was baked in a large outdoor brick oven which had been built by Tita. Other women from the town would do their baking there in exchange for a loaf or two of bread. AnnaMaria remembered, “Best was Easter time when the panettone was baked called focaccia pasquale, the fragrance of which I still remember.”
Mussolini’s Italy was the prototype for other dictatorships which existed between 1918 and 1939. Nazi Germany, in particular, used and expanded on developments of Fascist Italy. People had little control over their personal lives, and the state controlled as much as it could. Those who opposed the state were suitably punished. All Italians were expected to obey Mussolini and his Fascist Party. Authority was enforced by Fasci di Combattimenti—the Blackshirts. Like the Black-and-Tans in Ireland, these men were usually ex-soldiers. Though they were probably less feared than Hitler’s SS, the Blackshirts did maintain an iron rule in Italy. According to C N Trueman in his 2015 article Life in Fascist Italy (historylearningsite.co.uk):
One favored way of making people conform was to tie a ‘troublemaker’ to a tree, force a pint or two of castor oil down the victim’s throat and force him to eat a live toad/frog etc. This punishment was enough to ensure people kept their thoughts to themselves. The murderous tactics used by the Gestapo and SS in Germany were rarely used in Italy.
Mussolini said, “Italy wants peace and quiet, work and calm. I will give these things with love if possible and with force if necessary.” The message was clear.
The economy of Italy had made little recovery after WWI, and Mussolini knew that this was a major area to address if Italy was to become a major European power. His plan to advance the economy was based on a two-fold approach: attacking the power of the trade unions and thereby controlling the workers, and setting Italy population goals. As in Nazi Germany, women were seen as having a specific role in Fascist Italy. The task of young girls was to get married and have children – lots of them. In 1927, Mussolini launched his Battle for Births.
Mussolini wanted Italy to have a population of 60 million by 1950. In 1920, it stood at 37 million so his target was a tall order. Those children would be educated to be warriors through a program that was the prototype for the Hitler Youth in Germany. Families were given a target of 5 children. This interference in personal life was a main reason why Andrea immigrated permanently to San Francisco to raise his son. The Battle for Births was a failure. Though the population grew as people were living longer due to better medical care, the birth rate actually went down between 1927 and 1934.
For the attempt to get Italy on the road to economic prosperity, Mussolini introduced three other “battles” – the Battle for Land, the Battle of the Lira, and the Battle for Grain. The Battle for Land was to clear marshland and make it useable for farming and other purposes. The Battle of the Lira was to restore some of the purchasing power the Lira had before the War. These two “battles” were somewhat successful, mostly because the Great Depression hit the industrial nations more than an agricultural nation like Italy. But the Battle for Grain was particularly hard on a place like Zoppola.
Again, according to C N Trueman’s 2016 article The Economy in Fascist Italy:
Mussolini wanted to make Italy economically stronger and near enough self-sufficient. Hence, his desire to grow grain. However, the plan was to grow grain at the expense of fruit and vegetables which were cheaper to produce. Italian grain became expensive at home, and the price of bread rose. This hit the poor hard, as bread was a major part of their diet. Rich farmers did well as they were guaranteed a good price for what they produced. But small farmers like the Quattrins could not produce enough to take advantage of the prices.
In terms of economic growth, Italy did not have the expanse of industry to bolster her farming-based economy. Whereas Germany had its industrial power house in the Ruhr and Britain had South Wales, the North-East, Midlands and North-West, Italy had relatively few of these industrial zones. Though laudable in theory, Mussolini’s plans for Italy’s economic growth were based on weaknesses he could not overcome.
Between the Wars, the family had little money. Perbacco died in 1923, leaving land and two houses to each of his sons, but there was little in the way of cash or liquid assets. Though she had given up her dream of teaching, Elisabetta was still a very industrious individual and wanted to do more than be a wife and mother. She decided to start a business. She bought leftover wine from her neighbors to mix and resell. Literally, it was a liquid asset. A jealous neighbor, Angelo Sartor, accused her of watering the wine. He went so far as to put a fish in his wine, supposedly proving that she had used water from the creek. Luckily, no one believed him.
Life went on as it had for generations. Tita worked in the fields all morning and came home for dinner (the noon meal) when the Church bell rang the Angelis. The meal was usually bean soup and polenta during the week. The Sunday meal would be chicken broth with pastina, stew, cheese, and bread. The bread was baked in a large outdoor brick oven which had been built by Tita. Other women from the town would do their baking there in exchange for a loaf or two of bread. AnnaMaria remembered, “Best was Easter time when the panettone was baked called focaccia pasquale, the fragrance of which I still remember.”
As before WWI, Zoppola was out of the way and beneath the notice of the Government most of the time. The family continued in its way of life of rising early, working in the fields until noon, breaking for dinner, returning to the fields in the afternoon until supper. Tita was popular and had many friends. He would spend time in the piazza at the Bottega Agosti, playing cards in the late afternoons and often inviting his friends home late at night for a meal. The famous artist Tullio Silvestri painted them. Tita might to be the man on the left. His granddaughter Mirella remembers that, when she was in kindergarten, he would end his card game when she got out of school, and he walk her home.
In terms of culture, singing was very important in Zoppola. The Count Pancieri opened Castle Zoppola every Sunday for singing lessons. All the girls in town were invited. He had a stage built, and the whole town would be invited for a concert. The girls would get dressed up and put flowers in their hair. After the show, the women of the Castle would feed them corn on the cob.
The mid-1930s were a difficult time for Tita and Elisabetta personally. In 1933, Palmira became pregnant by Emilio Lenarduzzi, but he refused to acknowledge his responsibility. Tita and Elisabetta helped raise their new granddaughter, Anna Maria. She remembered Tita walking her around town and pointing out which boys could not talk to because he might be her brother.
In terms of culture, singing was very important in Zoppola. The Count Pancieri opened Castle Zoppola every Sunday for singing lessons. All the girls in town were invited. He had a stage built, and the whole town would be invited for a concert. The girls would get dressed up and put flowers in their hair. After the show, the women of the Castle would feed them corn on the cob.
The mid-1930s were a difficult time for Tita and Elisabetta personally. In 1933, Palmira became pregnant by Emilio Lenarduzzi, but he refused to acknowledge his responsibility. Tita and Elisabetta helped raise their new granddaughter, Anna Maria. She remembered Tita walking her around town and pointing out which boys could not talk to because he might be her brother.
In 1934, tragedy struck the family when Osvaldo Severino—one of the two sons who stayed in Italy—died. He had been a bersaglieri (messenger) in the Italian Army. He was home on a 20-day leave in Zoppola and had been singing and partying with friends. He went out on his motorcycle and got into a fatal accident, leaving behind a wife and two children. Tita and Elisabetta took them in as well.
In 1935, Elisabetta’s brother Paolo Antonio died. The next year, her brother Gianni was found floating in a canal in Venice. According to Paolo Antonio’ grandson Paolo, who had the story from his father Fiorino,
What I can tell you is what my father who was 17 at the time told me, the uncle's corpse was found on a channel of Venice on 23 December 1936, he was a wealthy man. He owned houses and land, and he had no financial problems. Therefore, it seemed unlikely that he committed suicide. Being a business broker, it is more likely that some enemy had him pushed him into the water.
Gianni and Paolo were 55 and 56 years old respectively, when they died. Both had served in World War I, but, being older, they had remained in the rear, safe from the action.
In 1935, Elisabetta’s brother Paolo Antonio died. The next year, her brother Gianni was found floating in a canal in Venice. According to Paolo Antonio’ grandson Paolo, who had the story from his father Fiorino,
What I can tell you is what my father who was 17 at the time told me, the uncle's corpse was found on a channel of Venice on 23 December 1936, he was a wealthy man. He owned houses and land, and he had no financial problems. Therefore, it seemed unlikely that he committed suicide. Being a business broker, it is more likely that some enemy had him pushed him into the water.
Gianni and Paolo were 55 and 56 years old respectively, when they died. Both had served in World War I, but, being older, they had remained in the rear, safe from the action.
Despite his claim that he “would bring peace and quiet to Italy,” Mussolini had as many imperial intentions as the former government. In 1935, he attacked Ethiopia. His success there led to plans for an attack on British Sudan. In 1936, he became involved in the Spanish Civil War, sending enough troops in to tip the balance in the direction of Francisco Franco. In 1838, he invaded Albania, hoping to seize the Dalmatian Coast and recreate the Adriatic as mini-Mare Nostrum, one of the unrealized goals of the Italians in World War I. In 1940, he entered Italy into World War II by invading southern France.
Zoppola during the Second World War was initially different from what it was like during the First World War. The town was much further from the fighting. Even the later when the Americans invaded, the battles were hundreds of miles away in Sicily, Anzio, and the Apennines. Unlike in 1917, crop yields were good, and there was plenty to eat. Zoppola became something of a market town, where other towns came to trade salt and pork for wheat.
On October 30, 1942, twelve-year-old AnnaMaria found her grandmother in her room vomiting blood. Elizabetta must have had either a bleeding ulcer or gastritis. She died later that day. AnnaMaria remembered everyone crying, and she was afraid to go by the bedroom because she was afraid of the ghost.
The calm in Zoppola was disrupted by the surrender of Italy to the Allies in 1943. When the Germans rescued Mussolini from Rome, he founded his new Italian Social Republic at Brescia, just over 150 miles west of Zoppola. When the train depot in nearby Casarsa was bombed, a frightened AnnaMaria hid with her grandfather in the hayloft, looking out at the red sky. To calm his granddaughter’s fears, Tita told her that the bombs would not harm them because the hay would cushion the fall so they would not explode.
German soldiers were once more billeted in Zoppola, sleeping on mattresses in the upstairs hallways and drinking and smoking with the younger women in town. Lice and scabies were everywhere. Unlike some towns, there were no burning of houses, and AnnaMaria and Ilia Moretto both said the Germans were well behaved. The Germans did stage raids on the local bars to seize military age men and put them in internment camps. They passed out volantini, leaflets with the names of the executed on them, to scare people into submission. Sometimes the information was wrong, and someone who was thought to be dead would walk back into town.
The Fascists became more aggressive in cracking down on the Partisans, as their opponents were known. Because of age and family situation, the Quattrins were not particularly active, but they definitely had Partisan leanings. They hid men in their hayloft, helped Partisans escape German search units, and sent the children to bring food to men hiding in the local fields, woods, and ditches. Toward the end of the war, Italian soldiers from nearby Casarsa came to the house to ask for civilian clothes so they could desert and escape on the trains. Angelo gave his suit to one man. The man came back years later and said the suit had saved his life. He was the only one among his group that escaped detection and capture by the Germans. (Whether he brought the suit back is unknown.) When the end of the War in Italy came in April 1945, the town spontaneously celebrated in the piazza. AnnaMaria remembered Olga Bortolussi’s older sister Arda with a rifle on her shoulder and realized there had been female Partisans.
Unfortunately, Tita did not live to see the end of the War. On Sunday morning, March 20, 1945, AnnaMaria went up to visit Tita. He was shaking and shaking, so she told her mother and aunt and left to spend the day at the nunnery. She was afraid to be there as she had been for her grandmother’s death. She came home late in the afternoon, and Tita was gone. He had had a stroke. He was buried in the Cimitero Comunale di Zoppola. No one ever sat at his place in the folcolare after his death. AnnaMaria would often see the empty space by the fire and remember him sitting there in his stiriana (the traditional lamb’s fleece jacket which hunters wore in the Alpine valleys of the Austrian province of Styria) and with his bastone (walking stick). And those blue eyes.
Zoppola during the Second World War was initially different from what it was like during the First World War. The town was much further from the fighting. Even the later when the Americans invaded, the battles were hundreds of miles away in Sicily, Anzio, and the Apennines. Unlike in 1917, crop yields were good, and there was plenty to eat. Zoppola became something of a market town, where other towns came to trade salt and pork for wheat.
On October 30, 1942, twelve-year-old AnnaMaria found her grandmother in her room vomiting blood. Elizabetta must have had either a bleeding ulcer or gastritis. She died later that day. AnnaMaria remembered everyone crying, and she was afraid to go by the bedroom because she was afraid of the ghost.
The calm in Zoppola was disrupted by the surrender of Italy to the Allies in 1943. When the Germans rescued Mussolini from Rome, he founded his new Italian Social Republic at Brescia, just over 150 miles west of Zoppola. When the train depot in nearby Casarsa was bombed, a frightened AnnaMaria hid with her grandfather in the hayloft, looking out at the red sky. To calm his granddaughter’s fears, Tita told her that the bombs would not harm them because the hay would cushion the fall so they would not explode.
German soldiers were once more billeted in Zoppola, sleeping on mattresses in the upstairs hallways and drinking and smoking with the younger women in town. Lice and scabies were everywhere. Unlike some towns, there were no burning of houses, and AnnaMaria and Ilia Moretto both said the Germans were well behaved. The Germans did stage raids on the local bars to seize military age men and put them in internment camps. They passed out volantini, leaflets with the names of the executed on them, to scare people into submission. Sometimes the information was wrong, and someone who was thought to be dead would walk back into town.
The Fascists became more aggressive in cracking down on the Partisans, as their opponents were known. Because of age and family situation, the Quattrins were not particularly active, but they definitely had Partisan leanings. They hid men in their hayloft, helped Partisans escape German search units, and sent the children to bring food to men hiding in the local fields, woods, and ditches. Toward the end of the war, Italian soldiers from nearby Casarsa came to the house to ask for civilian clothes so they could desert and escape on the trains. Angelo gave his suit to one man. The man came back years later and said the suit had saved his life. He was the only one among his group that escaped detection and capture by the Germans. (Whether he brought the suit back is unknown.) When the end of the War in Italy came in April 1945, the town spontaneously celebrated in the piazza. AnnaMaria remembered Olga Bortolussi’s older sister Arda with a rifle on her shoulder and realized there had been female Partisans.
Unfortunately, Tita did not live to see the end of the War. On Sunday morning, March 20, 1945, AnnaMaria went up to visit Tita. He was shaking and shaking, so she told her mother and aunt and left to spend the day at the nunnery. She was afraid to be there as she had been for her grandmother’s death. She came home late in the afternoon, and Tita was gone. He had had a stroke. He was buried in the Cimitero Comunale di Zoppola. No one ever sat at his place in the folcolare after his death. AnnaMaria would often see the empty space by the fire and remember him sitting there in his stiriana (the traditional lamb’s fleece jacket which hunters wore in the Alpine valleys of the Austrian province of Styria) and with his bastone (walking stick). And those blue eyes.
AnnaMaria remembered Elisabetta and Tita were very different in many ways. Elisabetta was not orderly but was hardworking and solid. Tita was bright and organized. They made a good team that way. Tita was an extrovert with lots of friends, while Elisabetta was quiet and calm, darning the socks and making sure there was a meal for whomever Tita brought home. She was the protector of the family, even from beyond the grave. When Palmira was in her late eighties and was in a rest home, Elisabetta appeared to AnnaMaria in a dream and told her, “I took care of you when you needed me. Now you take care of my daughter.” The next day, AnnaMaria moved Palmira out of the rest home and into her own home. Palmira lived there for her remaining years.
Together, Elisabetta and Tita raised ten children together and survived through two World Wars, the rise and fall of Fascism, and the immigration of many of their friends and family. They had 27 grandchildren and dozens of great- and great-great-grandchildren. Life was often very difficult, but they got through it together. They did not live to see the economic recovery of Friuli after the World War II, which occurred when the region became a garrison for many military units, in order to prevent a socialist Yugoslavian invasion from the east. They laid a new foundation for future success (Perbacco’s foundation financial having been mostly obliterated by the two World Wars) for their descendants in the way they raised their children to smart and hardworking.
Together, Elisabetta and Tita raised ten children together and survived through two World Wars, the rise and fall of Fascism, and the immigration of many of their friends and family. They had 27 grandchildren and dozens of great- and great-great-grandchildren. Life was often very difficult, but they got through it together. They did not live to see the economic recovery of Friuli after the World War II, which occurred when the region became a garrison for many military units, in order to prevent a socialist Yugoslavian invasion from the east. They laid a new foundation for future success (Perbacco’s foundation financial having been mostly obliterated by the two World Wars) for their descendants in the way they raised their children to smart and hardworking.