D
uring the long course of Julia Brambilla's life
she participated in many interesting events. Chapter 16, the
Roman question, extracted from her book Jottings From Julia's
Journal, recounts her involvement in beginning the process of
reconciliation between the Italian State and the Vatican during
the 1919 Paris Peace conference at the end of World War I.
Julia writes with great deference to her huband Giuseppe
and other participants in this story. The reader should
remember that Julia was not a diplomat, rather she was an
American national married to an Italian diplomat. It was highly
unusual at the time for her to be so central and present
during the events discussed in this chapter, evidence of
the degree to which she animated them from the outset.
In frank discussions I had with Julia, her Victorian decorum
absent, a truer picture of what transpired emerged. Julia
saw an opportunity and she followed it. A future HYLAND
article will explore the seeds of influence in my own life, where
Julia and Caprarola's more central role will be explored.
Suffice it to say Julia's historic involvement would eventually
lead to a treaty years later signed between the Italian State
and the Vatican, one which she would celebrate standing in
the crowd at St. Peter's square, knowing years before she
had initiated the process, a reminder that history is often
formed from the margins and not necessarily the center...
HYLAND
