Читать книгу Marconi My Beloved - Maria C. Marconi - Страница 39

My husband was gifted with a self control and a presence of mind which never deserted him, even on days when important events were taking place.

Guglielmo and I were very close. We complemented one another and for this reason we always wanted to be together. Our mutual love was so strong and profound that we could not bear to be separated for long. During the spring that preceded the birth of our daughter Elettra, my physical endurance was put to the test. When it was certain that I was expecting a baby, Guglielmo thought it was too dangerous for me to go to sea. He did not want to leave me alone and in a serious and firm tone of voice he said to me, “I have decided to give up my research on board the Elettra. I will stay with you somewhere on land”. I knew, however, that he was working on some important experiments at that time and in order not to interrupt his great work I insisted on taking the risk of going with him. So in March, as usual, I went on board the Elettra with him. Since I was expecting a baby I felt terribly sick whenever the sea was rough and I also felt tired and unwell because of the strong vibrations and the noise when the generators which were necessary for my husband’s experiments started up. I often had to lie down on the deck. Guglielmo was anxious about me and decided I should have my mother with me. As usual her presence was invaluable and gave us great peace of mind.

Finally, on 26^th March 1930 in Genova, my sacrifice was rewarded. I was able to be present at the wonderful, unforgettable moment when Guglielmo, from the radio station on board the Elettra, touched the key which simultaneously lit up the thousands of electric light bulbs of the Town Hall and the World Exhibition at Sydney in Australia. We were on board the Elettra, anchored in the little ‘Duca degli Abruzzi’ harbour in front of the Italian Yacht Club of which we were members.

The evening before Guglielmo went to bed as usual around half past ten and fell asleep at once, just as if he had nothing special to do the next day. He slept soundly without ever waking, breathing deeply and regularly, until the morning. He woke up at half past seven, well-rested and calm. He had his usual English breakfast, consisting of tea with milk, two eggs boiled for precisely three minutes (they had to be just so) and toast with butter and marmalade. Then he went to the yacht’s radio station, his laboratory; looked at the barometer, checked the temperature and concentrated on the short-wave experiment which was planned.

The appointment with Sydney was fixed for eleven o’clock in the morning which was eight o’clock in the evening in Australia. I can still see the Elettra’s big radio cabin with the tall heavy apparatus of the short-wave “beam system” which formed the receiving and transmitting station--the only one in existence in the world at that time--as well as the large high-kilowatt valves; on one side of the cabin there was a table with a push-button, radio sets and headphones. Guglielmo was standing by his desk, calm, smiling and sure of himself; he had complete faith in the successful outcome of his research which, by then, he had been working on for a long time. My husband’s experimental scientific work and the preparations to set up this exceptional contact with Australia had been long and tiring. Various dignitaries were present, including the Prefect and the Mayor of Genova, the British and Australian Consuls, as well as the Captain of the Elettra, Girolamo Stagnaro, the ship’s officers, the Chief Engineer, Giuseppe Vigo, as well as many representatives of the Italian and foreign press. Everyone was anxiously awaiting the outcome of Marconi’s exceptional experiment which had kept the whole world in suspense for the past few days. It was destined to mark a very important stage in the field of radiocommunications.

Guglielmo sent a message by radio telephony to Australia, where the excitement about the event was intense. Speaking in English, he said, “It is a great pleasure for me to perform the ceremony of officially illuminating the symbol of the new project of the Association for the Radioelectric Development of New South Wales. The switches of the lighting system of the Town Hall of the City of Sydney will be activated by means of radio-telegraphy from the yacht, Elettra, which is at present in the Mediterranean at Genova. By pressing a key on board the Elettra I will automatically release a “wave train” through the ‘beam system” of the radio station in England, which will be received practically instantaneously at Rockbank in the State of Victoria in Australia. This impulse will be automatically re-transmitted on Australian territory over five hundred and fifty miles in a straight line to the Town Hall of Sydney, where I will provoke the intake of energy in the light circuit”.

I was standing not far from my husband. In the meantime, the group of journalists on the deck of the Elettra had become a crowd. At eleven o’clock sharp Marconi pressed a key, and immediately in the silence of the radio station, through the headphones, we heard the voice of Mr Fisk in Sydney, “All well! Wonderful! The leaves are falling here and there in Italy it is spring”. Guglielmo turned to me at once, looking deep into my eyes as he always did when he wanted to show me his love; then he smiled at me happily and embraced me. He was grateful to me for the long time I had spent at his side during the preparations for the experiment; all the more because I was expecting Elettra at the time.

From the receiving station in Sydney they informed us that the illumination had been a complete success. Thousands of light bulbs had lit up instantly, to be greeted by the enthusiastic applause of the crowds of people inside and outside the Town Hall. Those present on board the yacht Elettra were delighted. The Australian Consul presented me with a big bunch of red roses as a tribute from the women of his country. I was very touched. The event made headline news and there were long articles in the press all over the world praising the works and the genius of Guglielmo Marconi.

Today, witnessing the continuous progress of science and living in the era of space flights, I can understand more and more clearly what Guglielmo felt in his heart that day. I knew he was proud to be the only person who could communicate directly from Genova with Sydney in Australia in the antipodes and obviously also with other places that were closer. All this from his laboratory, his special experimental radio station, by means of the short-wave “beam system” that he had invented on board the Elettra. During his trials Guglielmo said to me: “Just think! Sydney is at almost the furthest point in the world from Genova. That is why I have chosen it.” The enormous distance between the two cities did not daunt him. He knew what he was capable of achieving and he was certain that his studies would prove him right. It was really thanks to this conviction of his that he succeeded in what was a unique experiment in those days; something other scientists and researchers had never even dreamed of. A new era had begun for humanity thanks to the type of contact that had just been made with Australia.

Apart from his confidence in his own work, another characteristic of Guglielmo’s genius was his ability to organise everything meticulously, without forgetting a single detail. He used to say to me: “The smallest details are indispensable for a perfect result”. He realised that he was privileged and exceptional but at the same time he faced the important events of life calmly and sensibly. He knew perfectly well that his work was unique and his inventions all his own but in spite of this, with the humility of the truly great, he often said: “This is a gift that has been given to me by God!” Since I understood his deepest sentiments so well, I knew how happy and satisfied he was at having succeeded with the illumination of the Town Hall of Sydney in creating another important invention for the benefit of humanity.

Talking about the Elettra, Guglielmo always used to say to me: “This is a yacht for work, not just for pleasure”. We went on adventurous voyages together, defying the terrible Atlantic storms. I remember that Guglielmo and I crossed the Bay of Biscay on board the Elettra seven times and the sea was almost always rough as is so often the case in those parts. Only once did we find a calm sea. At the end of these voyages I would arrive in port tired and thin and the same was true for the members of the crew. The only person who showed great physical endurance was my husband. More than once during our voyages Guglielmo told me that our love was a source of strength for him and that it also gave him the inspiration for new ideas. This encouraged me to go with him wherever he went.

When we were in Genova, while he was preparing the experiment of the illumination of Sydney, we were often invited by our Genoese friends to their beautiful palaces. I remember a wonderful evening at the Marchese Raggio’s castle where we were guests of the Marchesa Thea, a Spinola by birth, whose second husband was the Marchese Giuseppe Cattaneo della Volta. We had also become friends of the Marchese Marcello Gropallo and his wife Rosa, who often invited us to their famous villa “Lo Zerbino”, with the Marchese Rodolfo Pallavicino and his wife Maria, the Marchese and Marchesa Vistarino and the Marchese Carlo Raffaele Bombrini. We often went to the Marchese Franco Spinola’s splendid villa by the sea near Rapallo which was called “La Pagana”. He always received us wearing a naval officer’s uniform. As a Dame of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.) it is a pleasure for me to remember that this villa which we used to visit was later donated by the Marquis Spinola to the S.M.O.M. We ourselves enjoyed inviting our friends to lunch or dinner on board the Elettra. I remember that among them was a young naval officer, Luigi Durand de La Penne, the future admiral who was awarded a Gold Medal for gallantry for his exploits during the Second World War.

After the illumination of Sydney, having stayed at Genova for about two months, we sailed along the Maremma and the Roman coast as far as Fiumicino, off Mount Cavo in the Roman hills. Suddenly a storm blew up, just as Guglielmo was carrying out an important experiment. He immediately gave orders to Captain Stagnaro to take shelter in the port of Civitavecchia, which was the closest. The pilot of that area, knowing that I was on board, was anxious because of my condition and immediately came to meet us. He was the father of ten children! Guglielmo and my mother were very worried about me but all went well. My husband was so upset by the risk I had run that he decided to disembark. By then I was seven months pregnant with Elettra.

1. First signed photograph that Marconi gave to his future wife, Maria Cristina Bezzi Scali.

2. Annie Marconi Jameson with her sons Alfonso and Guglielmo (on the left)--Bologna, 1878.

3. Guglielmo Marconi with his invention--Wireless Telegraphy--1895.

4. Guglielmo Marconi and Maria Cristina, on their wedding day--15 June 1927.

5. Marconi with Maria Cristina leaving the Capitol of Rome, on the day of their civil matrimony, a few days before their religious matrimony.

6. (Caption part of the photo).

7. Marconi in his Radio Station, transmitting across the Atlantic. The antennas were called the Marconi Towers, located in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, 17 October 1907. The inventor, Marconi, is seated to the left, and the operator, James Holmes, is receiving a message from the Clifden Radio Station in Ireland.

8. Autographed photo of Marconi the day he turned on the lights in Sydney's Town Hall, Australia, from aboard the Elettra--26 March 1930.

9. Marconi in his radio cabin aboard the Elettra, at the moment he is throwing the switch to light Sydney's Town Hall in Australia--26 March 1930.

10. Aboard the Elettra, anchored in the small Duca degli Abruzzi harbor, Genova, Italy, Marconi throws the switch that lights the Town Hall of Sydney in Australia. Signed photo.

11. The yacht, Elettra, in the Duca Degli Abruzzi harbour in Genova, Italy, with all flags flying in honour of Marconi's having turned on the lights of Sydney's Town Hall from his radio cabin--26 March 1930.

12. Pontifical mission of 1911 in occasion of the crowning of His Majesty, King George V., Cardinal Gennaro Granito Pignatelli of Belmonte, Monsignor Eugenio Pacelli, Count Francesco Bezzi Scali, Lord Crichton Stewart, and Count Medollago Albani.

13. Marconi with his Eminence, Cardinal Secretary of State, Eugenio Pacelli, at the Christening of Marconi's daughter, Elettra.

14. Countess Bezzi Scali with her son, Antonio, and her little daughter, Cristina--Rome, 1901.

15. Countess Anna Bezzi Scali, born Marchesa Sacchetti.

16. Count Francesco Bezzi Scali, in uniform, was Brigadier General of the Noble Guards of the Pope.

17. New York, Columbia University, 1927: Chancellor Nicholas Murray Butler confers Honorary Doctorate on Guglielmo Marconi.

18. Marconi with His Royal Highness, the Duke of Abruzzi- Savoia. Marconi is in full regalia and serving as President for the Royal Academy of Italy--29 November 1930.

19. Marconi dressed as a yachtsman--1928.

20. Marconi and Maria Cristina aboard the Elettra--1929.

21. Marconi aboard the Elettra--1929.

22. Marconi's new-born daughter, Elettra, in her mother's arms. Looking on is the grandmother, Contessa Anna Bezzi Scali--July, 1930.

23. Studio picture of Marconi with his wife, Maria Cristina, and daughter, Elettra--Rome 1931.

24. Full view of Marconi's Elettra at Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

25. Aboard the Elettra, 1931: Marchesa Maria Cristina, the nurse holding Elettra, and Marconi.

26. Marconi with the Duke of Kent, exiting from the Marconi's Wireless Telegraph, Co.

27. Marconi with Pope Pius XI and with Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli at the inauguration of Radio Vatican--1931.

28. Marconi, with headphones, sits in front of the microphone, giving one of his many addresses. The verse beneath the photo is:

His image will continue

Among the people of the sea.

In silence, they bow their heads

and say with deep emotion,

`He is Marconi.'

29. Photo of Marconi dedicated to his wife Maria Cristina:

To my always beloved Cristina, forever yours.

Guglielmo--Rome 28 April 1932.

30. Signed photograph of Marconi during a conference at the Royal Academy of Italy.

31. Marchesa Maria Cristina Marconi wearing the emerald necklace given to her by Marconi at the birth of their daughter, Elettra--Venice.