Notes For a Documentary Film. A Photo in Pietrasanta - The sudden death of Giuseppe Piccirilli in February of 1910, was a devastating blow to the family. Giuseppe was the patriarch of the clan and funder of the Piccirilli Marble Carving Studio in the Bronx which by then had become the go to place for the most celebrated sculptors in America.
His unexpected death had a severe impact on his wife Barbara’s health. Her sons then decided that a trip to the homeland to visit friends and family might help her recover. A few months later Barbara embarked with her son Attilio, his wife Julia and her sister Iole.
A Photo in Pietrasanta
The photograph, part of the Conner-Rosenkranz Collection currently being analyzed and restored for The Italian Factor, a documentary film in progress by Eduardo Montes-Bradley, was taken shortly before Attilio and Julia’s return to New York. The location was determined to be at the beach in Pietrasanta, not far from the site where the Piccirilli had built a beautiful villa which no longer survives. Centerstage is Julia, Atilio’s wife wearing a white dress, over her right shoulder is Attilio holding a white handkerchief, and in the opposite side is Iole wearing black, as was customary for mourning at the time.
La location della fotografia non può essere la spiaggia che non ha scogli ma una zona collinare di Pietrasanta, forse un belvedere dove la comitiva forse ha fatto una gita. Iole è molto bella.