Eleonora Guerra and Italian genius
Eleonora Yablochkina (Eleonora Guerra) is a Russian woman, who became a muse and a wife of great Tonino Guerra. By the way, Tonino was a cult Italian poet, writer and screenwriter, painter, sculptor, designer, gardener, philosopher, storyteller, dreamer and romantic.
“When he fell in love with Lora he fell in love with Russia”, said Russian poet Bella Akhmadulina.
Lora met Tonino Guerra in Moscow in 1975. The marriage of a Soviet woman with a foreigner was almost impossible. But even the party leadership of the USSR could not resist their great love.
Yablochkina was a 34-year-old widow. Her husband, Alexander Yablochkin, died right at the entrance to Mosfilm. Despite the great age difference, Lora was very fond of her husband and after his death she was depressed for a long time. She continued to write letters to him, went to the cemetery and categorically did not want to communicate with anyone.
When the great director Michelangelo Antonioni arrived to Moscow with his out-of-competition film Profession: Reporter in the framework of the IX International Film Festival, she was not going to go anywhere. But Inna Konovalova simply persuaded her.
The Italian director and his whole film crew were invited to stay in Alexander and Inna Konovalova’s house.
Inna convinced Eleonora that she wouldn’t have another chance to see the great Antonioni. The director was already considered a legend of the world cinema and Tonino Guerra wrote scenarios for his films.
The woman immediately turned her attention to Tonino, who was incredibly handsome at the age of 55. He asked if she had a desire to visit Italy. Hearing in response that this was not easy in the Soviet Union, he nodded briefly.
The woman almost forgot about that meeting, but after a while she received an invitation to Italy from Guerra, and it was addressed to his bride Eleonora Yablochkina. Tonino did so on the advice of an interpreter. He told him that he did not remember the girl herself, only a feeling of light tenderness remained inside.
In return Eleonora invited him to Moscow. He came in the winter, and their romance began. They walked through the snowy Moscow, went to the theater and circus, she introduced him to her friends, including Bella Akhmadulina, who translated his poems into Russian for the first time.
He gave her a real winter fairytale, full of love and tenderness. And after leaving, he left her as a gift an ordinary cage for birds, filled with his messages to her. The cage became a symbol of freedom and love.
Then she visited him in Italy. After meeting Fellini and Mazina, after visiting Armani and Missoni, she saw Margaret Hemingway in the restaurant and naturally lost consciousness. And in Moscow, she was demoted for communicating with a foreigner.
Later Guerra called her and reported that he had divorced. So they were going to get married, but Tonino was refused a visa. Guerra used all his influence and on September 13, 1977 he married his beloved woman in Moscow.
She became his wife, muse, helper and the most important woman in life. He did not understand how he could have existed without her before.
He arranged and painted everything in their house in Rome and in her apartment in Moscow, where they stayed when they came to the Soviet Union. And everywhere there was an incredible atmosphere of love.
He died and his Lora now knows for sure: love does not die. She still loves him and listens to the sound of rain …
The great star Sophia Loren presented Lora with a fur coat because “Russian winters are unbearable”.
Tonino Guerra presented Lora with a house in Italian province Pennabilli, where they lived until his death on March 21, 2012. They were together for almost 35 years and Guerra liked to say he was Russian by his marital status.
Lora Guerra believes she is a very happy person – “I am the bridge from Russia to Italy. This is my job”.
Source: gollitely.livejournal.com