Entry 2: Calabrisella Mia
- Basilia Staltari
- Jan 3
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 20
Location: Australia
Date: 1962
As patriarch of a large family, Salvatore Moschilla carried the huge responsibility of ensuring suitable marriages for his daughters. Having a household full of females, he felt this heavy burden at least six times more than most fathers.
By the time Martino first indicated his interest in Genny, her older sisters, Angelina and Cecilia, were already married to "good men" approved by their father. In many Calabrese families, the preferred way of arranging marriages was according to chronological age, in order to prevent older sisters from being overlooked and remaining a spinster. Fully aware of this custom, Genny knew she was next in line, so even though she had only recently met Martino, she decided to trust her father’s wise judgement and agreed to the union. There was no Calabrese term for "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" because casual relationships between females and males were not allowed. Genny and Martino immediately became ‘una coppia fidanzata’ – an engaged couple. This meant that any eligible bachelors who might have been considering Genny as a potential wife, were now too late and had missed their chance!
Salvatore’s next role in the pre-marriage process was to safeguard his daughter’s reputation. Social media and mobile telephones didn’t exist in the 1960’s but word of mouth communication was just as effective in spreading news throughout the close-knit Osborne Park community. Therefore, to prevent unnecessary gossip, all outings that took place were chaperoned by a large entourage of family members. Needless to say, there were no date nights for Genny and Martino, no romantic restaurant dinners and definitely no sneaking out of the house for a secret midnight rendezvous.
Working within these strict restrictions was frustrating for Genny, but it was also an exciting time for her - after all, there was a future husband to get to know and a wedding to organise. The date was set for July, giving her about four whirlwind months to prepare.
The marriage of Genny and Martino took place on Saturday, 28 July 1962 at St Kieran’s Catholic Church in Osborne Park. This Italian migrant woman, born in a small, rural village in Siderno, Calabria experienced a wedding she never dreamed possible. There was an abundance of food and red wine; glamorous gowns and tailored suits; lively music and dancing. Everywhere Genny looked, there was so much to be grateful for. But most important, considering the Moschilla family had only recently been reunited in Western Australia, she was grateful that her parents and all her seven siblings were in attendance, celebrating her wedding together.
That day, Salvatore successfully fulfilled and completed his fatherly obligations in regards to Genny.
That day, no-one was more fortunate than the groom himself. With no awareness yet of just how truly extraordinary his bride was, he was happy simply to have claimed and married his beautiful ‘Calabrisella Mia’.*
That day, Girolama Moschilla became Genny Casella. Barely out of teenage years, she married and moved into a household consisting of a husband, a mother-in-law, a father-in-law and two brothers-in-law. Her life journey with a new family on an isolated, ten acre orchard in Forrestfield was about to begin.
EXTRA INFORMATION
* 'Calabrisella Mia' is a popular folk song from Calabria and one of Martino's favourites. The song is thought to tell the story of a Sicilian man who fell in love with a Calabrese woman.
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