To her daughter Luana, Elisa is an inspiration.
Elisa grew up in the town of Itri, in central
Italy. Situated along the Appian Way, Itri connects Rome to the south of the
country.
Itri,
with its landmark castle, nestles in a valley in the foothills
of the Aurunci
Mountains
Photograph:
trecancelle.wordpress.com
Gaetano Manzi (1850-1931), Elisa’s maternal
grandfather, came from an ancient family that traces its lineage far back into
history. Considered wealthy, he had extensive property holdings.
When his first wife died, leaving Gaetano a
widow with seven children, he remarried. Elisa’s grandmother Francesca had been
a servant in the house, and bore Gaetano a further eight children.
A
historical collection of family photos has Gaetano and Francesca Manzi
with
five of their children on the album cover
Photograph
from the personal collection of Elisa Sandrone
When Gaetano lost much of his fortune in a
financial crisis, he found employment as a guard in the royal household at
Casserta.
Milena Manzi (b.1913) was Gaetano’s sixth child
from his second marriage. She married Giovanni Lorello in 1934, and they too
made their home in Itri. Giovanni was a builder, working in Rome. Leaving at
3 am on Mondays, he would not be home again until Saturday night.
Milena and Giovanni also had 8
children - 4 girls and 4 boys. One daughter died at the age of four. Elisa, the
fourth child, was born during World War II.
The town of Itri was badly damaged during
wartime bombing. The family moved to grandfather Gaetano’s farm for safety, two
hours walk from Itri. After the war, they all moved back to Itri where
Giovanni built an extension on the house to accommodate his family.
When the war ended, and things returned to a kind
of normality, Milena reassessed her situation. Her husband was away 6 days out
of 7, and the children were growing up virtually without a father. Milena longed
for a family life; for them to be all together.
By 1955, Milena’s daughter Bianca, then just
15, had married by proxy and emigrated to Australia to join her new husband
there. They were living in Broadmeadow, a suburb of Newcastle, NSW.
‘Mum missed Bianca,’ explained Elisa, ‘so she
decided to take the whole family to Australia’. It was a bold decision. Elisa had
government sponsorship, so she travelled two weeks ahead,
alone.
Elisa
Sandrone at Genoa, waiting to board the ‘Sydney’
Photograph
from the personal collection of Elisa Sandrone
With the 5 million lira she had brought from
home, Milena was able to purchase a house in Adamstown, within 6 months of
arrival.
Elisa was now 18. As was customary at the time,
she had completed just five years of schooling. After finishing school, she’d
continued to help her mother at home, learning all she could from this capable
woman. She also did some unpaid work in a local dressmaking shop.
In Australia, Elisa gravitated to food and
cooking early. She vividly remembers her first job in an Italian restaurant in
Beaumont Street.
‘I didn’t get paid for three weeks,’ she told
me. ‘Then someone told me to go to the Union. The rep came with me to the
restaurant owner, and made him pay me!”
Elisa tackled the challenge of learning
English. She applied herself to listening to people as they spoke, and reading
the newspapers.
‘I was
always interested in history, cutting out articles to keep,’ she says.
When
Elisa had gained sufficient restaurant experience, Milena decided to set her
daughter up in her own restaurant at the corner of Hunter and Wolfe Street,
Newcastle. Named simply ‘Elisa’s Restaurant’, it was next door to Giuseppe Risicato's photographic studio.
When Elisa
met customer Peter Sandrone, Elisa was impressed. He’d migrated from the Piedmont region in 1949. ‘I’m tall,’ laughs Elisa, ‘and so was he!’
Luana
explains:
‘My Dad
was big. Not only in height, but he had
a big personality when with his friends and always seemed
larger-than-life. He always reminded me
of Dean Martin in the Rat Pack era – the suave suit, cufflinks, shiny shoes and
a gold-tipped, Courtleigh brand cigarettes (the cigarette bit I never liked,
but they were the times!). Many of Mum’s
photos would show you why I say that … He could talk big and liked big,
American cars!’
Peter had
lived in Ingham cutting sugar cane and working in a bar at night so he could
save for his first ‘big American car,’ until he moved to Newcastle with his mother.
Wedding of Peter and Elisa Sandrone 1965
Photograph
from the personal collection of Elisa Sandrone
The
Sandrone’s first home was in Mayfield West. In 1968 they bought a house in
Hamilton, where Elisa now lives in her retirement.
Among
other things, Peter had run a card gambling club above some shops in Hamilton
(across from the former Italian Centre), a barber shop and a canteen for hungry
mainly-migrant workers at Electrical Power Transmission (EPT) at Carrington.
‘It was
very much Peter,’ says Elisa, ‘a place he could go to chat to people and have a
coffee or two – always forgetting about the time while he chatted about soccer,
politics and everything in between. He made many
great friends during his time – too many to name. He always seemed to have jobs
which involved talking with lots of people!’
Peter Sandrone (right) at work in the EPT canteen
Photograph
from the personal collection of Elisa Sandrone
Happily
for his then young kids, Peter Sandrone was also the owner of an amusement
business, supplying pinball machines, pool tables and all of the newest arcade
game tables of the time (such as Space Invaders) to milk bars and shops around
the greater Newcastle area.
Peter and Elisa Sandrone with son
Vincenzo and daughter Luana,
early 1970s
Photograph
from the personal collection of Elisa Sandrone
Later, Peter
set up a business contracting out labourers at some of the large industrial
sites. He became a JP and an Interpreter, helping many Italians in need, and
even had a wedding car driving business. Peter
was Honorary Consular Agent for Newcastle.
‘Dad was
even a background actor with his friend Domenico Buresti in the TV mini series
‘The Cowra Breakout,’ Luana remembers.
Throughout
all of this, Peter worked tirelessly for the Highfields Azzurri Club, most of
it on a voluntary basis. He was the Honorary Secretary for many years.
‘He loved that club and he loved soccer,’ says
Elisa. ‘One of his final wishes was that the Highfields Azzurri team was
returned to 1st Division.’
Peter
wasn’t the only worker in the Sandrone family.
I’ve
worked practically all my life,’ says Elisa. ‘Six days out of seven.’
At
Highfields Azzurri Club, Elisa was chef at the Club’s popular bistro, La Piazza
during the 1990s. Where else could customers buy all the pasta they wanted for
$5 in 1997? [1] Later,
she also ran the bistro at Alder Park Bowling Club at New Lambton.
Peter and Elisa Sandrone taking a break in La Piazza
at the Highfields
Azzurri Club
The Newcastle Herald, Thursday December 4, 1997
A
highlight of Peter and Elisa’s long association with Highfields Azzurri was the
Hamilton Azzurri Soccer Club winning the first championship of the Northern NSW
Grand Final.
Peter Sandrone, President, Hamilton Azzurri
Soccer Club and WW Jones,
President of the Northern NSW Soccer Federation
with
the championship trophy 30 October, 1970
Photograph
from the personal collection of Elisa Sandrone
Peter’s
collecting interests included many mementos from his favorite soccer teams –
Juventus and the Azzurri (both the Highfields and Italian teams). Elisa tells
me he had soccer balls signed by winning Highfields Azzurri teams which not
even his beloved grandchildren were ever allowed to touch.
Elisa brought
her mother’s culinary skills and secrets to Newcastle.
Not only
did she cook for hundreds, if not thousands of customers in her lifetime, but
through teaching for WEA, she also shared her skills with Novacastrians keen to learn the secrets of
authentic Italian cooking.
Elisa Sandrone (second from right) conducted
classes
at the WEA, Newcastle during the 1990s
Booklet from the personal collection of Elisa Sandrone
Elisa
has preserved hundreds of recipes from her teaching career, beautifully typed.
Wistfully, Elisa realizes that with the right encouragement and support, she
could have published her own cookbook.
In 1994
Elisa had a chance to honour what she’d learned from her mother. Four of her
recipes were included in the cookbook ‘Buon Appetito – Regional Italian
Recipes’ published in 1994 by the
Italian- Australian Women’s Association and the NSW State Library. All the featured
recipes had been handed down from mother to daughter.
Invitation to the launch of ‘Buon Appetito’
From the personal collection of Elisa Sandrone
‘What is the most common mistake we make when
we try to cook the Italian way?’ I ask Elisa, as we look through the cookbook
for a recipe to include in this story.
She doesn’t hesitate.
‘Not enough salt, and not enough oil!’
‘And by the way,’ Luana comments later, ‘Mum is
frustratingly right about that!’
Throughout their busy lives, working and
raising their family, Peter and Elisa Sandrone gave generously of their time,
energy and enthusiasm to their community. Luana remembers them raising tens of
thousands of dollars for an Italian Earthquake appeal and the Oncology Unit at
the Mater Hospital.
‘The fact that I never recall even one day when
we didn’t have a visitor at home is testament to their popularity ... People were always dropping by to chat, eat
or share stories with both Mum and Dad. It was an interesting childhood …,’
recalls Luana.
When Peter died in 2009, Elisa found that he’d always carried her passport photograph in his wallet.
Elisa’s passport
photograph, taken at the age of 18,
and
treasured by her husband Peter
Photograph
from the personal collection of Elisa Sandrone
It’s not just Peter that is 'big', according to
Luana.
‘Mum has
a big personality too. She NEVER stops and is afraid of nothing! To me, she
seems different from many people of her age because she is always willing to
try things. I showed her how to use the internet when she was in her late 60s
and she has been using it ever since.’
When I meet Elisa for interviews, I get to know
something of this vivacious, energetic woman who strongly believes everyone
should have a chance in life.
Her immense
capability shines through.
‘I can
do anything,’ she tells me. ‘If you need to cook for 100 people, I can do it.’
Elisa, when
I need to cater for 100 people, I will definitely call you!
ELISA’S RECIPE for
saltimbocca alla Romana
500g
thinly sliced topside
4 slices
shoulder ham
4 slices
cheese
Half a
cup of oil
1 clove
garlic
Rosemary
Parsley
1 cup
milk
Flatten
meat with a meat mallet to make as thin as possible. Into a pan wide enough for
4 portions, add oil, crushed garlic, rosemary and a pinch of salt. Heat. Flour
meat and quickly place in pan. Cook each side for one minute.
Place
ham then cheese on each piece of meat and pour milk over them. Sprinkle
parsley. Put pan under grill or in oven for a few minutes until cheese is
golden.
Serve
with salad, green vegetables or rice.
Acknowledgements
Thank
you to Elisa and Luana Sandrone for sharing this story and photographs.
2 comments:
Wonderful story! La vita รจ bella
Thanks so much Louise.
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