Dear Brother Giuseppe Volpati, dear Domenico Ernandes,
I have had the
pleasure to read the extensive and detailed extracts from “Una Ragazza
Americana a Tripoli” by the author Victoria Giraud and published both in her
books and her blog. Actually I had the pleasure to ‘meet’ the author herself whilst researching on internet for stories
relating to Libya and more specifically to the American Base of Wheelus Field of
Tripoli. I became enthralled with her vivid memories of life in lived in
Tripoli in those years. Victoria Giraud has helped me to enrich my memories and
because of this I thought it useful to open a new folder and with Larry Tesler’s classic ‘copy and
paste’ save her writings for my archives. Looking at her sunny smile taken in those
wonderful 1950’s carries me back over the years
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Victoria Giraud now
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I
revived the style of yesteryear, our generation, those of the old
century where very nice read the testimony and the memories of people
who have lived there in Tripoli at the time, and at that actual
climate "vibrant", that we lived in those years. Some of
that enthusiasm would take in our day! The dress you wore me back
into a river of memories, those of the 1950s, when the fashion for
women was to life with such large poodle:
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Victoria Giraud in the
fifties
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there is a song called "the
fifties" written by Claudio Mattone and interpreted by a huge
Gigi Proietti that recalls "when
you wore lapels plentiful and large coat, when older kids spent hours
in front of a school to get noticed, when you went in Lambretta or
Vespa with vests, goggles and scarves, when the entire Sunday
families with vintage cars and early 600 went to the day, when
couples rushed to the movies and in the dark to kiss etc. The
years '50, remind me, when we had just put aside the pen, nibs, ink
and paper towel to give place to the then modern and contemporary bic
pen invented in France by Baron Marcel Bich in 1945, that spread and
also arrived from our parts. Also, it occurs to me that little
cartons of paper that contained the six colors of crayons Giotto. The
slim box contained an illustration was a shepherd boy, Giotto, who,
with a flask beside, drew on a rock one of his sheep. On the
sidelines, leaning on a wall, there was a gentleman: Cimabue, which,
with a red headdress, watched amazed and that natural skill of
stricken small Giotto welcomed him, then, as Giorgio Vasari, in his
Florentine workshop.
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Six colors of crayons
Giotto
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Dear friends, those years were also years
of
transitions; a few years ago, World War II was over and people were
starting to be reborn, socially and economically and the musical
fashion reflected this, with his swing or even more so the twist and
it was the golden age of rock, legendary music and loving it that
still there shaking the soul and guts, what for others is just a
nostalgia never lived to tell. The decoration of houses are enriched;
used at the premises the jukeboxes. They were the first years after
the proclamation of the United Kingdom of Libya, then Kingdom of
Libya. The 1955, was the year when the young State of the United
Kingdom of Libya joined in the UN. Remember the celebrations and the
great enthusiasm of the Libyan people, which was one of the main
stages in the journey of Libya. It was a party town, the streets were
decked out in flags and banners were everywhere with images of
Commander King Idris el Awal
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King Idris El Awal
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and, at the Centre of Maidan Essaraia
(Castle Square)
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Maidan Essaraia -
(Castle Square)
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and Maidan Algeria (Cathedral Square)
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Maidan Algeria -
(Algeria Square)
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had been
raised and secured large forms of Royal Crown.
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Royal Crown
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In your
writing, dear Lady Victoria, the Mehari Hotel reminds us with its
underpass
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Hotel Mehari
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where you were staying and that you have well
described: the hotel was built in 1935 at the same time with the Uaddan Casino Hotel;
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Hotel Casino Uaddan
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the two hotels were built by architect Florestano
Di Fausto and architect Giuseppe
Gatti-Casazza who took care of the
furniture. Unfortunately, today the Mehari remained only the name
because the old hotel, with rooms all overlooking five large
courtyards in Arabic, was demolished. Following her written and being
a lover of photography the I enclose some souvenir photos taken from
my photo gallery: the promenade (1922-1924) by architect
Armando Brasini,
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The Promenade (Adrian
Pelt Avenue)
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the Red Castle of Tripoli,
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The Red Castle of Tripoli (Libya)
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fishermen repairing their nets
and small fishing boats in the Harbour,
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Fishermen repairing their nets
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Tripoli Harbour and small fishing boats
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the Cathedral
dedicated to the Sacred Heart,
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The Cathedral
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the fountain of Gazelle ,
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Fountain
of Gazelle - 01
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Fountain
of Gazelle - 02
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Suk el Giuma flooded
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Suk El Giuma flooded - 01
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Suk el Giuma flooded - 02
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and, of those white
building surrounded by trees, which was precisely the Grand Hotel.
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The Grand Hotel
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This was the first large hotel in
Tripoli. Built in 1928
by the architect Alessandro Limongelli, was demolished in 1982 and
replaced by the new hotel, Al Kabir Hotel. Remember your visit to Tripoli of
36° Vice President of the United States Richard Nixon together with
his wife Mrs. Pat Nixon.
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Pat Nixon and Vice President of the United States, Richard Nixon
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This presence was an event and
there was a great turnout of all communities. It was March of 1957,
when important guests were met at the residence of the Ambassador
John l. Tappin. As I recall, the American delegation stayed at the
Grand Hotel and the Grand Hotel held a reception where there were the
highest Libyan Government officials, Ambassadors of various countries
in Libya and important characters.
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Arrival at the Grand Hotel
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Reception - 01
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| Reception - 02 |
In his days of
visit to Tripoli held bilateral issues were in-depth institutional
meetings for new relationships and further development of economic
and technical cooperation between the two countries.
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Sciara 24 Dicembre - 01
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Sciara 24 Dicembre - 02
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Visit to Sul el Turk - 01
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| Visit to Sul el Turk - 02
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The Grand Hotel hosted the cast John
Wayne, Sophia
Loren, and Rossano Brazzi interpreters of the film's characters
Timbuktu (italian title) or Legend of the lost (american title), on the 1957.
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Legend of the lost - film
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Rossano Brazzi, John Wayne and Sophia Loren
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In the large entrance hall of the Grand
Hotel, at the end of the film, was made the interview with actor
Rossano Brazzi, interview by journalist friend Gianni Massa Director
of Corriere di Tripoli, newspaper of Tripolitania, along his
collaborators Stephen Licata, Frank Cosentino and Vittorio Halfon
(unfortunately the latter out image).
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Rossano Brazzi's interview
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Against the Barbary
pirates, history tells us that it was the first war fought by the
United States of America outside the American territory. It was in
October of 1803 the USS Philadelphia ran aground during a patrol
along the coast and the Tripolitanian Corsairs did not lose their opportunity.
Stormed the ship resulting in a violent gun battle with the crew of
Philadelphia. Despite the resistance by the crew of Philadelphia, the
Corsairs managed to take possession of the boat after several
attempts of sailors to sink the ship before it could fall into enemy
hands. About three hundred crew members, among whom was also the
Captain William Bainbridge, were taken prisoner. The pirates
eventually to bring the boat up to the entrance of the port of
Tripoli, where it was docked and used as a coastal battery against a
possible attempt by the Americans to storm the port. On the night of
16 February 1804 though Captain Stephen Decatur Jr. decided to attack
the port of Tripoli with the help of the USS Intrepid, a small boat
taken earlier to Privateers and subsequently returned to service with
the Navy the United States. Together with a small group of the first
Regiment of Marines, Decatur managed to take control of the USS
Philadelphia, which was immediately sunk, allowing marines to attack
the city of Tripoli. On 04 September 1804 in an effort to
scuttle the entire fleet anchored in the harbour of Tripoli's Pasha,
the Commander of the USS Intrepid, Captain Richard Somers, attempted
to lead his own boat filled with explosives inside the port to make
it explode. The ship was however hit before reaching the port and
exploded killing Somers and four seamen of his crew. The photos
testify to their burial in a specific section of the cemetery of
Hammangi is reserved by the Greek Orthodox community and, on the
other hand, is buried in Protestant Christianity where their,
remember each anniversary of that period historian.
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| Plaque in memory of the American crew of Intrepid volunteers maarines sunk in the harbor of Tripoli on 4 September 1804
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The mounds of Marines and of the Captain R. Somers
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Umberto Vaccarini and his wife, Angela,on the ramparts of the Castle, next to the cannon which (the say) sank the Intrepid
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Basketball: the American Quintet was
known to the nearby air base
were strong but, more often it happened that American basketball
history against the adrenaline of our athletes rose to the stars and
that there was nothing to do, baskets taken made the difference, and
our American friends were disheartened at the base. Our team was in
all schools of other communities and it was not easy to overcome a
quintet formed by: Dino Mercatanti, Piero Pieroni, Augusto Belpassi,
Alberto Mallia, Franco Taliana with entries like Bruno Cosentino,
Domenico Romeo, Bito and Italo Nemni, Orestes Sagona, Alberto
Candelaria, Antonio Marcello, Giorgio Devruscian, Harold Tartaglini,
Giancarlo Eminian, Franco Venza, Antonio and Sebastian Palmer. Strong
kids who formed a great representative of Italian schools.
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The Italian of Basketball
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Also I
like to remember the Rodeo in Tripoli. "BIG TEXAS RODEO"
17th United States Air Force and Wheelus Air Base in cooperation with
the Government of Tripolitania present "WILD WEST"
EMOTIONS, says the program. The event was held at the Hippodrome of
Busetta (30 November – 01 December 1957),
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Program
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Organizing Committee -
Information lines
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Eco printing
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I
was there, I had never seen before such an event and it was a
memorable experience.
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Various photos
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I attach the program and also
photos of
Rodeo Queen Claudia Sobczak,
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Opens the parade the
Queen of the Rodeo, Miss Clauda Sobczac
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which
in small part
I took from my photo archives and witness the successful
event.
Dear
friends, a blast from the past, integrating something to reminders
of An
American girl in Tripoli with great pleasure I did it
because they're memories and memories are
emotions.
Assalam
Alaikum
Umberto Vaccarini
P.S. See also about
Victoria Giraud
