The most famous Italian actress of the nineteenth century was born in Cividale del Friuli on 29 January 1822. But the artist is also partly an illustrious daughter of Capodistria, where her father was born 

There was a time when Capodistria considered Adelaide Ristori, one of the most celebrated artists of her time, the first Italian actress to perform in America, a glory that was also somewhat its own. On her eightieth birthday – in 1902 – she received thousands of messages of congratulations from all over the world and a visit from King Vittorio Emanuele III. Born “by chance” in Cividale del Friuli, Adelaide, to Antonio Ristori from Capodistria and Maddalena Pomatelli from Ferrara, two modest third-rate comedians, so the sources say, who happened to be performing in Cividale with a touring company. As Aldo Cherini recalls in one of his precious little books on the history of Capodistria, the Teatro Sociale took the name of “Adelaide Ristori” on 31 October 1906, shortly after the actress’s death, which had occurred in Rome a few weeks earlier. “On this occasion, telegrams were exchanged with her husband, Marquis Giorgio Capranica del Grillo. Although born in Cividale, the famous artist always showed interest in Capodistria, where her father was born,” writes Cherini. And it was February 1908 when, the author notes, “an entertainment took place in the Theater to raise funds for the monument to Adelaide Ristori, under construction in Cividale.” The evening was well attended, and Professor Celso Osti, appointed to deliver a commemoration, “also recalled episodes of life such as the visit the actress made in 1854 to see her father’s birthplace, hosted by the notary Biscontini.”

Coming now to the bicentenary celebrations, Cividale, proud to have given birth to such an illustrious figure, will remember the artist (and the woman, the entrepreneur, the patriot committed to the cause of Italian independence) with a whole year of initiatives, starting today on the exact anniversary with a ceremony and a show that will recall tonight at the Ristori Theatre the famous tour called “The World Tour”, undertaken by Ristori in 1874: over twenty months of travel, the grandest ever undertaken by a theatre company.

Events will also take place in Genoa, promoted by the Museo Biblioteca dell'Attore, where his rich archive is kept.

Ornella Rossetto

Source: Radio Capodistria – 29/01/2022