by Elvira Serra
The virologist and his wife, an anesthesiologist, met in line at the university in 1979: he told me: “I have all 30 with distinction”. The flaws: She’s a bit overbearing, he always takes more than he can chew
Nicoletta: I didn’t want to do this interview!.
So why did he accept?
Because my husband was so stubborn and arrogant that in the end he gets what he wants as always.
But he cared! When I called him, he even remembered the day of your first kiss: October 10th.
And wrong: It was November 10th. October 10th is my birthday.
But in short, do you remember that kiss or not?
How could I forget that… I already knew he was the one.
Nicoletta Catteruccia, 64 years old, wife of Andrea Crisanti, 68, new Senator of the Republic with the Pd. They are sitting side by side on the sofa in the living room of their home in central Padua, where they have just celebrated the 23rd birthday of their only son Giulio.
When did you meet?
Andrea: Queuing at the University of Rome, September 23, 1979. Two and a half hours of queuing for enrollment, me in the fifth year and she in the first. I saw this beauty and decided to take a step forward.
Nicoletta: The line was long and he didn’t go. But what does he want, I thought? Then he said to me: Do you know that I’ve never taken a 30? And I: come on, sooner or later you’ll get it, don’t worry. And he: what did you understand? I have all 30 and praise! And this thing caught my eye: maybe we should have followed him. We got married seven years later.
They just celebrated 36 years of marriage. How did they pass?
Nicoletta: They spent chasing him all over Europe. I would never have moved from Rome, which hits the left ventricle. I have family in Rome, my childhood friends… And instead of chasing this madman, I first went to Basel, then back to Rome, then they called him to Heidelberg, then he returned to Rome and he swore he wouldn’t go , then went to London to Imperial College and was only meant to be for 1-2 years.
Andrea: Look, my wife also has a great job in London. Head of the anesthesia department in one of the main hospitals in the city.
Nicoletta: Do you know how it went? It was he who sent the curriculum in my place. One day when I was having lunch with my parents, I heard this woman call me and she asked me: Why do you want to work in our hospital?
Meanwhile Giulio was born. How did you organize yourself?
Nicoletta: On the day of the interview, the bus dropped me off in front of a Spanish nunnery on the way home. It seemed like a sign to me. I asked them if they knew a reliable girl who could babysit.
Andrea: Then we changed a lot, because the better they were, the faster they found another job. The choice has always been complicated. We put an ad in the newspaper, I interviewed her first, then Nicoletta, then the two of us together, then we asked for references and finally our son spent the day there: he had the last word.
Julius was late.
Nicoletta: It was a complex thing, really love’s child. I wish I had more, but it’s not just you. But the most beautiful and most important thing we have done.
Andrea: He went to Cambridge University and is now doing a PhD in Physics in Padua. Culturally Italian and wanted to see what life is like here.
Nicoletta: And that’s how they all left me.
Tell me one strength and one weakness of each other.
Andrea: My wife is one of the smartest and nicest women I’ve ever met. She was always the prettiest in the class. very generous. As a defect, he has a strong personality and also a bit overbearing.
Nicoletta: But with what courage! Give me an example: absurd!.
Andrea: Let’s assume you know how to assert yourself. For example: I always vacation on Elba, where you live with your family, relatives and friends. I did the math and spent the four years of my life, and unlike Napoleon, I didn’t destroy Europe…
Nicoletta: He had the advantage of speaking first: I would have said the same thing. a generous person, the fastest neuron in the west and never gives up. He has blind faith in himself, always takes the longest step and counts on the full availability of his fellow human beings.
Was he also the prettiest in the class?
He was certainly a handsome boy, but I was struck by his generosity. He never had a lira, but he gave away whatever he had. Once he invested all the proceeds from a seminar in Padua, where I had come to see him from Rome to buy me a beautiful bag of an important brand that I still keep, a token of his love.
How did you take the purchase of the Palladian villa and the controversy that ensued?
Nicoletta: Aside from the purchase itself, which would have killed him, I was fiercely opposed to it because it meant never retiring. Knowing him, I will say later that he bought it for me… Even then, as with everything that concerned him, I found out because I received many messages of solidarity from my friends.
Andrea: I’ve always liked Venetian villas. We have already laid out the garden and hope to be able to finish everything in September next year. like owning a piece of renaissance. And in any case, it cost half of what was written. If I had bought a house in Cortina, no one could have said anything about it. The problem is that in Italy the social elevator is at a standstill. And few thought that I bought it with the money I rightfully earned.
By the way, what is your salary history now?
The Clear Law. But considering my role, I will avoid causing disputes.
Nicoletta, how did you take this idea of running as a candidate?
We were on Elba where he’s so bored and he thought it best to liven up the end of summer with this idea. We’re still in shock, I wasn’t for it at all. After that I gave up. So I said, if you have to do it, try to do it right and win.
Do you ever watch it on TV?
But please! Luckily I don’t have Italian TV in London. I would live in anonymity.
A quirk of her husband?
Well, he’s a little weird… And he makes legendary slips. He once devised a system in the soccer pools to make 13 and make two! Do you know why? He had made a mistake filling out one ticket and made it the same as the other.
The best gift you’ve ever given yourself?
Andrea: He just had me tailor two suits and gave me the red tie for the Senate swearing-in ceremony. He says I don’t know how to dress.
Nicoletta: For one of the last birthdays, he turned up unannounced at midnight and one minute in London. I had to work the next day but at least we went to Battersea for dinner. Then left again.
who cooks at home
Nicoletta: He is able to make the best pasta in the world with whatever he finds in the fridge. Today was even better: pasta with baby octopus sauce and sea bass with potatoes!.
November 30, 2022 (Change November 30, 2022 | 07:24)
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