Giovanni, a well-known person and thanks to his profession he had earned respect in Fratte Rosa and beyond, especially in livestock’s trade and agricultural production.
He was a generous and very altruistic man who kept excellent relations with his co-worker. Certainly Giovanni had never quitted regarding friends’ difficulties and welcomed people into his home ensuring their welfare.
Giovanni is still today remembered as a very jovial person with his unfailing tuscan cigar or pipe who crossed the countryside by carriage, flanked by his youngest son, Primo.
After he returned from America he had finally abandoned the role for which he was known in the other part of the World as
“John Baldelli”; in fact more frequently he was given the dialect nickname of “Giuan d’ Tasella”.
He loved so much to talk about his American experience to his grandchildren, and, with a note of nostalgia, he mentioned his si-sters who he had never seen again, even if he had had frequent and affectionate correspondence exchanges over the years.
Giovanni got married twice.
His first wife was Livia Cesarini who was born in Fratte Rosa from Luigi and Anna Mondelci; they got married inside Santa Vit-toria Convent Church on November 17th , 1924 when my grandfa-ther was 26 years old and Livia was 20 years old.
Livia’s mother had been the darling of “Sora Nena” or Madalena Filippini in Guerrieri, a very wealthy lady who lived in the palace above the Malatesta well, in the Fratte Rosa old town.
Anna was considered as a daughter by “Sora Nena” who had no
children and after her death a large hoard of gold was inherited by Anna.
The whole inheritance consisting in real estate was instead as-signed to the teacher Ridolfi who had lived, as tenant, in the same palace for many years and who later got married with Margherita Fraternali and then they moved to Fano.
Livia was a very beautiful girl but destiny had reserved her a dramatic end. After giving birth Clara, she felt ill with tuberculosis (unfortunately very widespread at that time) and died at the age of 23 when her daughter was just over a year.
This tragic loss had caused a lot of pain to Giovanni and the members of the respective families, Cesarini and Baldelli.
A few years after this tragic event, my grandfather knew Linda Gigli who taught in Fratte Rosa at the School for Children.
She was born in Montebello of Orciano but she lived in Mon-tevecchio, near Pergola, at her cousin’s home. Don Francesco Ber-gamini, a priest, had given hospitality to Linda because she could reach her work easily.
In 1922 Linda had achieved the Diploma of Master Gardener at the School of Science for Educators of Children of Fossombrone.
Giovanni and Linda got married in 1928 and from that marria-ge Tina and Primo (my father) were born.
Linda, besides taking care of his loving family, was very present in the town’s social activities, in particular she supervised the orga-nization of the Children’s annual exhibition during the town’s ce-lebration.
A photo shows Linda with her students on the “Celebration day”.
Linda’s parents, Eugenio and Maria had settled into the home on via della Pieve, which had been in the past, the first Baldelli’s home.
However a fact very unpleasant was happened.
Don Camillo Ortensi, the town’s parish priest, decided to intro-duce the School for Children run by Ursuline Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Don Camillo was a Pastor and a Treasurer from 1931 to 1932 and then from 1935 to 1936 and finally from 1953 to 1963 and the adopted name “Orsoline” is precisely synonymous of “Teachers”.
Don Camillo’s decision was irrevocable and my grandfather’s protest was useless.
Linda lost her job and moved to “Rio Freddo”, near the town where she taught at the primary School.
We still remember the existence of Rural Schools, located in countryside, with a population relied mostly on agriculture.
In 1938 these structures became state schools and they worked in a different way from Urban Schools because they were organized in mixed multi-classes with education level up to 5th grade.
The distinction between Urban and Rural School disappeared in 1942 with the fascism fall in Italy.
Following a phlebitis, Linda felt ill and died in a very short time after an heartbreaking agony; at the age of 36 she left Tina and Pri-mo who was 3 years old while the girl little Pri-more.
It was unfortunately another terrible event for Giovanni and his Family.
I haven’t had the opportunity of meeting my grandmother but I’m keeping with care her household linen with her initials embroi-dered by hand, the Diploma for Studies and a photo with her stu-dents during a “Celebration Day”
I think of her as a very sensitive and sympathetic woman who was dedicated to her family and her job.
I was just a child when, many years later, I remembered very well a meeting with a very nice and distinct woman who was born in Fratte Rosa.
She lived in Fano but she often came to Fratte Rosa because she had relatives there and so she frequently was our guest for lunch and I perfectly remember that she was always on a diet so she pre-ferred to eat a simple salad for lunch.
However I couldn’t well qualify her presence but I was said that she was my grandfather’s friend.
However, this situation did not lead to anything. Giovanni will not get married anymore.
Around the beginning of 1940, Giovanni bought another ho-me, more recently known as the teacher Ivo Poeta’ home
It was a three-storey palace, always within the town’s walls, whe-re the whole family moved because mowhe-re spacious and comforta-ble.Over the years in which my grandfather Giovanni was alo-ne with three young children, the family menage was conducted exclusively by his mother Rosalba, or Ermelinda.
We have already said she was a very strong woman and as in the past, also in this situation she was energetic and determined with her grandchildren’s education even if she was getting older.
Ermelinda, once again was the undisputed home’s mistress and I was told that the activity inside the home was always very chao-tic for the continual coming and going of what was taking place in the countryside.
In fact, every day, all kinds of vegetables and fruit coming from the countryside had to be kept in large warehouses on the ground floor of the house and in the underground cave.
At the end of the year, during the St. Thomas celebration, the Fa-mily was used to offer the “Pranzo del Cappone” to all farmers who numerous came, from the countryside.