Marriages (July 24)

Mr. & Mrs. Vittorio Crescimanno di Capodarso

Binghamton Press, August 6, 1961

Norwich [Chenango Co., NY]:  The 10th wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Vittorio Crescimanno di Capodarso of Thornbrook Hall on the Country Club Road near here was celebrated quietly recently, despite the  historical and royal backgrounds of the couple.

 

Mrs. Crescimanno, the former Mary Adaline Cook and a native of Norwich, is a descendant of Gov. William Bradford of the Plymouth Colony. Abial Cook, her grandfather, married a descendant of the Bradfords.

 

Mr. Crescimanno, an Italian attorney and journalist, is listed in the International Register of Nobility.  His grandmother's father --Mr. Cresimanno's great grandfather--was Prince Julio Tomasi of Lampodusi, Sicily.

 

Thornbrook Hall is the couple's summer home.  They spend their winters in Southern Pines, S.C.

 

Although their anniversary celebration was a quiet one, Mr. and Mrs. Crescimanno enjoyed the day in the nostalgic surroundings of Thornbrook Hall.  The hall was built by her great grandfather, David Cook, who came to Norwich with his wife, Alice, shortly after the American Revolution. Additions to the original homestead were made by Mrs. Crescimanno' s father, Walter A. Cook, who was an attorney here.

 

Although Thornbrook now shows its age a bit, it impresses the visitor with its imposing elegance. The house had four connecting wings with a large patio in the center, visible from any of the inside windows.  High above the rooftops is a tower. The building is situated on a tree-shaded hill and overlooks a scenic spot on Canasawacta Creek.  Inside, Thornbrook's 30 rooms are filled with American and Italian antiques and relics. There are massive Florentine mirrors from Italian palaces, rare hand carved teakwood pieces from China, palatial beds and other furniture once owned by royal families in Italy.  The gallery, once used by the late George Cook, is illuminated by a long skylight.  Walls of the gallery literally are covered with his paintings of the Chenango Valley and Sicily and numerous portraits.  The Crescimanno's most valuable painting, however, is kept in storage at a bank, Mrs. Crescimanno said.  It is an original work by the famous 15th Century artist, Antonio Allegri, of Correggio, who now is known simply as Correggio. This painting is Correggio's Madonna, for which Mr. Crescimanno said he and his wife once were offered $25,000.  In another room, appropriately called by the Crescimanno's the Throne Room, stands a high-backed, ornate chair which the couple believes was the throne of the last Spanish Burbon king of Sicily, Ferdinando di Burboni, who was overthrown during the rise of Garibaldi in the 1860s.  As one enters the chapel, as Mrs. Crescimanno calls it, he cannot help being impressed by a giant oil painting of the Madonna of the Rosary which almost covers one wall. This, Mrs. Crescimanno said, was painted by Valasquez.  It was hung in the palace of the Inquisition, she said, and later was in the palace of the Prince of Baucina.

 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Crescimanno have artistic backgrounds.  At one time, she studied under Charles Adams, who she said was considered the greatest American tenor of his time;  Mrs. Barry of Boston, who was a student of Vanricini of Florence; and Santoro Sabatini, the father of the author, Raphael Sabatini.  Mrs. Crescimanno's vocal career included performances in Queen's Hall, London, Rome, Paris, and with the Lole Fuller company on tour, she said.

 

Mr. Crescimanno is a contributor to Italian periodicals published in Italy and Argentina.  In 1952, an article he wrote on Wagner's "Parsifal," appeared in The Opera News, published by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc.  He recently completed the lyrical script to an original Italian opera called "Il Lupo di Gubbio" which has St. Francis of Assisi as its principal character.  Music for the work, Mr. Crescimanno said, is being composed by Carmelo Castronovo of Palermo. 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Crescimanno both have a sense of humor.  During a tour of the gallery, Mr. Crescimanno pointed to a framed canvas which had been used for missing paints and said with a smile,  "This is our Picasso." 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Crescimanno met at an opera in Palermo in 1924; both were guests of the Duchess dell'Arenella.  On the eve of their anniversary, strains from a familiar opera could be heard in Thornbrook Hall.  Mrs. Crescimanno was playing the piano.