Giovanna ( Nannina mea) is not a play, but a story which my grandma told me to get me to marry the right person. Since I have not got married yet it is worth repeating and telling the story so I don’t get it wrong when the time comes.
Giovanna was her cousin, a beautiful sixteen-year-old, who was in a fairy-tale romance with Paolo, interrupted when Paolo was called up to fight. Meanwhile Carlo, a highly commended officer, returning from the front falls in love and decides to marry her, exploiting his position. He is welcomed with a complicit smile by her mother and approved by her police-officer father. Giovanna’s opinion is drowned in sobs the night of her engagement. My grandma is by her side as she dries her tears: who knows how Paolo will react when he finds out I am engaged to an officer!”. From that night onwards a profound silence settles in her which leaves her at the mercy of the ensuing events in the drama.
