It was wonderful to attend in person, and in the company of various friends and colleagues, the promotional book event that took place in Florence on Thursday evening, 25 October, of Alessandra Jatta's latest publication, 'L'apolide' (Voland, 2024). This is Alessandra's second book that follows her earlier publication, 'Foglie sparse' (Voland, 2022). The story recounts Alessandra's ancestral family, the Olsufiev's, flight to Europe following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The family made the arduous and incredibly long journey from their home in Moscow to the port of Batumi on the Black Sea. From there, they boarded a British warship, leaving Russia for good, with stops at Constantinpole and Athens, amongst other cities, before finally reaching Florence on 28 March 1919.
The story also involves the first engagement of Alessandra's great-grandfather, Vasilij Olsufiev (1872-1925) to Maria Pavlovna, Princess of San Donato (1876-1955). This engagement was broken-off when Princess Maria became engaged and then hastily married, the much older, Prince Abamelek-Lazarev (1857 - 1916), and within only one month in 1897. This episode is especially controversial given that Kislovodsk, the place of Prince Abamelek-Lazarev's passing, aged only 59, is also where Vasilij Olsufiev was posted during the First World War giving rise to speculation that the two adversaries crossed paths leading to lethal consequences for the Prince.
On 24 April 1905, Vasilij Olsufiev married Olga Pavlovna Šuvalova (1882-1939) by whom they had four daughters and one son. It is the story of their tribulations and bravery as they make their way to settle in Florence that is the focus of 'L'apolide'. This adds to the history of Florence, that has welcomed other Russian families, including the Demidovs, who commenced living in Florence from the beginning of the 19th century and that ended only relatively recently, with the passing of Princess Maria Pavlovna at Villa Demidoff in Pratolino, Italy on 25 July 1955.
During the course of the evening, Alessandra Jatta was joined in conversation with Professor Lucia Tonini, who is currently professor of Russian literature at the University of Pisa. After the rich and passionate dialogue, that included a series of images of Alessandra's illustrious ancestors in the background, those in attendance were treated to an exquisite piano performance by Alessandra's close relation, Alice Michahelles. The selection of pieces played included some well known and some lesser known Russian songs. Needless to say, the response from the audience at the end was warm and appreciative of the evening's series of interesting and entertaining events.
In the end, it was wonderful to be able to support my cousin's wonderful and important latest publication, 'L'apolide'.
Alexandre Tissot Demidoff
