the bandit Giuliano
May. 16th, 2015 08:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asakiyume![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
wakanomori and I are at my father's house tonight, just to make sure he's doing all right, and to bring over a spare computer that I can use if I need to be here again for any length of time.My father is telling us stories of his youth, of traveling to Italy after World War II, when he was a young man. He was visiting his grandmother in Palermo, and he recalls that they had to put two iron bars across the doors at night because there was a bandit, Giuliano, who was robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. (My great grandfather had started out poor but had made his fortune in Boston, so his widow counted among the rich.)
Salvatore Giuliano (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
Here, yanked shamelessly from his Wikipedia page, is an exploit worthy of the silver screen (and indeed, Giuliano got a film--and an opera):
The bandit's most famous exploit occurred early in his career in 1944—the robbery of the Duchess of Pratameno. He and his men sneaked into her estate unnoticed, and Giuliano was in her salon before she knew what was occurring. He kissed her hand and showed respect for her noble status, but then demanded all of her jewelry. When she refused, Giuliano threatened to kidnap her children. After she handed the loot over, he took a diamond ring from her hand, which he wore for the rest of his life, and borrowed John Steinbeck's “In Dubious Battle” from her library before leaving (which was returned with a respectful note a week later).
My dad also mentioned meeting up with a woman who'd been tortured by the Nazis, escaping from a bordello a well-meaning relative had tried to take him to--oh, all kinds of stories. But the bandit Giuliano stood out.
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Date: 2015-05-17 12:53 am (UTC)Thank you for passing his story on.
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Date: 2015-05-17 06:53 pm (UTC)King of the Mountain: The Life and Death of Giuliano the Bandit (http://www.worldcat.org/title/king-of-the-mountain-the-life-and-death-of-giuliano-the-bandit/oclc/17650222)
And Worldcat lists others (http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n79-018730/) as well.
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Date: 2015-05-17 06:58 am (UTC)Nine
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Date: 2015-05-17 04:15 pm (UTC)That's so much fun, omg. I love that tidbit about the Steinbeck. <3
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Date: 2015-05-17 06:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-05-17 04:28 pm (UTC)I suspect a lot of our relatives have "escaping from the bordello" stories of one kind or another. ;)
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Date: 2015-05-17 06:57 pm (UTC)(And I have to share these stories so I can try to remember them, myself. I should probably add a tag like "Dad" ...)
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Date: 2015-05-17 09:40 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2015-05-17 06:58 pm (UTC)My dad also told us about his half-year teaching in an austere boys' school, where his room was so cold ice formed on the cup of water he kept by his bed. Lots of stories, for sure.
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