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Ghislanzoni

GHILANZONI FAMILY'S (1832-1952)

Andrea Forti, priest of Arlate, died on august 6th 1830. In his will, which he wrote in 1828, he mentioned his great grandson Ignazio Ferdinando Ghislanzoni, son of his granddaughter Anna Maria Regina Forti, as his universal heir to whom he bequeathed the property of Vescogna to be distributed in equal parts among his cousins. During the following years Ignazio took exclusive ownership of the villa and he moved in at the age of 23 in 1832.
Ignazio Ghislanzoni was born in Lecco in 1809 and he was a relative of Roberto Ghislanzoni (1824-1893), librettist and writer whose name appears in the "Aida" Libretto (1871) of Giuseppe Verdi with whome collaborated editing also other operas such as "Forza del Destino" and "Don Carlos"; during summer holiday, he attended the famous Villa Gomes in Lecco together with other famous characters of the Scapigliatura Lombarda and he was also often invited as a guest at Villa La Vescogna.
In 1838, Ignazio got married, in the church San Marcellino in Imbersago, with Maria Lavelli and he had seven sons among which Giuseppe Giuditta Maria (1840-1904), Giovanni Ermenegildo Andrea (1842-1905) and Giacomo Carlo Maria (1845-1928).
During those troubled years, the Ghislanzoni's were taking actively part to the rising of the Risorgimento: Antonio, supporting Mazzini's politician side, was first forced to seek refuge in Switzerland and was later captured by the Franch and then deported to Corsica; Ignazio was arrested by the Austrians and imprisoned in San Vittore jail between 1851 and 1852. Probably this episode led to the tragical cosequences of his mental halth to the point of his death that happened in 1862 at the mental hospital of San Vittore in Milan.
Among his sons, Giovanni became mayor of the village of Calco from 1871 to 1894. He was described as an extremely sensitive person: in 1897, when taxes over families were doubled, he stand out against it to the point that he resigned as public officer convincing the other officiers and the mayor to leave a petition to the king Umberto I. He used to pay off the debts of the farmers with the shopkeeper whom they were not able to settle. He did not get married and died at the age of 62.
His son Giacomo Carlo Maria married Alessandra Eusebia Serassi in 1891. She was born in Bergamo in 1863 and she was the daughter of Giuseppe IV, inheritor of the Sarassi's family. The founder was Giuseppe (1694-1760) whose nephew Giuseppe Antonio (1750-1817) was know for having reached the best technique in playng organs during the first years of the XIX century.
The couple had 3 sons: Mario Giuseppe Giovanni Eusebio (1895-1967), Giuseppe Maria Emilio Carlo Alessandro (1896-1918) and Andrea Umberto Annamaria (1899-1926).
Giuseppe, lieutenant of the Aviation, died an air combat near the plateau of Asiago, on february 26th 1918. He was honored with a Silver Medal for his military service and later the street leading to the hill of Vescogna the monument to the fallen in front of the church and the Aero Club in Como would be named after him.
The Ghislanzoni brothers are known in the area for some interesting episodes. They say that one of them used to have fun loading the car with farmers in their work attire and then take them to Lecco or Bergamo. Once arrived, he would drop them off and then leave right after si that they would have walk all the way back fo 20/30 kilometers without shoes.
Mario, lieutenent of the Engineers Corps, was often residing in Rome and was always moving in high society circles when he met the noblewoman Sveva Vittoria Colonna, wife of the Spanish Prince Pio Falcò, owner of Villa Mombello in Imbersago. In 1921 he married in Rome Clara Pacifici, but he broke up after few years and two sons.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was in Ethiopia when he was captured by English and then sent to jail in Australia. When he came back in 1947 the economic situation of the Ghislanzoni's family was compromised. In 1948 his mother died and he moved with his fiancée Maria Celestina Tomasini (1915-1999) in the Castellaccio of Vescogna while putting the villa on sale.
(ref."Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani-Edizioni Treccani" Historic research by Anselmo Brambilla)
(ill."Lake Sartirana View with La Vescogna - Print - 1820)