Synopsis

One of the things I liked about my new job was that everyone treated me with respect. The boss, the warehouse worker, the insurance adjuster—they all called me "Miss Crovato." It was a sign of respect that made me very proud of myself.Luciana was three and a half years old when "misfortune" struck her family. It was 1936, and Venice was still a city where people greeted each other in the street, a vibrant city, full of shops, small artisans, and professionals. Her beloved father, a clarinetist, atheist, and anti-fascist, could no longer provide for the family, and her mother was forced to make do: for her, it was the beginning of a long series of vicissitudes marked by the constant nagging of poverty. Luciana endured them all, patiently, without ever losing the joy of life and the curiosity that made her so unique and special. In the meantime, she learned a thousand trades. Entrusted to a peasant family, she finds herself tending livestock, sleeping in a turkey crate; then she improvises as an apprentice hairdresser, a baker's boy, a "little helper" for a brush wholesaler, and an embroiderer of handbags for twenty lire a piece; she learns French at the home of a wealthy family, helping the girls with their homework and entertaining them like a true "lady-in-waiting"; she works as a sales assistant on the Gran Viale at the Lido and as a dance hall singer. At night, meanwhile, she trains as a typist, hoping to find a permanent position: and when, finally, her dream comes true, a new world opens up before her, wonderful and unexpected. With a delightfully retro style and a language rich in detail, Luciana Boccardi retraces the adventures of a little girl from another era, an example of vitality and courage, determination and tenacity, in an exhilarating tale capable of instilling joy and good humor. Suspended between fiction and reality, “Miss Crovato” is the story of a stolen childhood and the incredible resilience of a free spirit, told with a lucid and brilliant attitude and a truly unmistakable touch.