Angela Corradi: Home is Where the Heart is

story and photos by Jackie Kerns

It is late afternoon as Angela Corradi walks through Piazza Matteoti. She passes Cafe d’Italia and waves to her friends, who sit around a crowded café’ table and enjoy an appertivo. She does not stop to discuss the happenings of another warm day in Cagli but gives a friendly “Ciao!” to the ladies who gaze across the piazza. She knows they will be there again tomorrow, and she must hurry home with her groceries. For Angela, the best things in life happen inside the walls of her home, and she is eager to see her husband Paulo Corradi who waits for her in their home library. They have been married for 50 years.  

A native to Le Marche region of Italy, the 4-foot-10-inch Italian woman with a sophisticated sense of style has called Cagli home for 40 years. Her sun-kissed olive skin tells a story of days spent outdoors, and her short blond hair frames her sweet face. Her gentle eyes peek through her feminine, gold-rimmed glasses, and her soft pink lipstick stands out as she speaks. The maternal smile on this petite and delicate Cagli woman reflects the story of her past. A mother of three daughters, Angela began her adult life as a teacher but stopped after four years to devote her life to her husband and children. She worked hard to raise educated, polite and passionate women. She glows with pride as she explains the girls are now professionals who live on their own. They visit often.

“My job is now done; I now enjoy life with my husband Paulo,” she explains with a smile of relief.

She tells stories of times she drove her daughters up Mount Patrano to visit their father who worked at the Italian broadcast station RAI.  “We would drive up the mountain to visit Paulo who was at work at the station, but then we would get snowed in,” she says, laughing as she explains. “He worked for several days on top of the mountain, and we wanted to see him, but then the snow would stop us from coming home.”

Now retired and living a quieter life, Angela and her husband embrace their time together. Paulo’s former job working for the Italian broadcasting company affords the couple the luxury of travel. They have journeyed the world, and their home decor depicts their many adventures abroad. The myriad antique collections of mahogany furniture, blown glass, and detailed pocket watches have places of their own and are free of dust.

Inside her immaculate home, Angela fluffs velvet-adorned pillows set atop her sofa and walks toward the desk to find a stack of old family photographs. Angela laughs as she says in Italian, “In our house, we have no photographs on the wall of our daughters, but we have many of our dog.”

Hung on the wall of the library is a framed poster of a playful brown-and-black dog that looks like Angela’s dog Eli, a standard terrier. On the far end of the library, medals and ribbons rest in glass bookcases. Below the top shelf sits a picture of Eli with a red medal attached to her collar. Angela holds her leash. An international award winner, Eli traveled around the world with the Corradis while they took her to competitions. The dog recently passed away, but Angela explains that Eli remains an important part of the family.

As the late afternoon turns into evening, Angela offers Paulo a glass of orange juice, and they sit near the veranda overlooking the deep green mountains framing Cagli. The house, once hectic and fast-paced when filled with three daughters, is now a place of peace and quiet. Angela misses the joy her daughters bring, but she knows they will come visit soon. For now, she prefers her home as it is, everything in its place and Paulo by her side.