English, he said, “It is a great pleasure for me to perform the ceremony of officially illuminating the symbol of the new project of the Association for the Radioelectric Development of New South Wales. The switches of the lighting system of the Town Hall of the City of Sydney will be activated by means of radio-telegraphy from the yacht, Elettra, which is at present in the Mediterranean at Genova. By pressing a key on board the Elettra I will automatically release a “wave train” through the ‘beam system” of the radio station in England, which will be received practically instantaneously at Rockbank in the State of Victoria in Australia. This impulse will be automatically re-transmitted on Australian territory over five hundred and fifty miles in a straight line to the Town Hall of Sydney, where I will provoke the intake of energy in the light circuit”.
I was standing not far from my husband. In the meantime, the group of journalists on the deck of the Elettra had become a crowd. At eleven o’clock sharp Marconi pressed a key, and immediately in the silence of the radio station, through the headphones, we heard the voice of Mr Fisk in Sydney, “All well! Wonderful! The leaves are falling here and there in Italy it is spring”. Guglielmo turned to me at once, looking deep into my eyes as he always did when he wanted to show me his love; then he smiled at me happily and embraced me. He was grateful to me for the long time I had spent at his side during the preparations for the experiment; all the more because I was expecting Elettra at the time.
From the receiving station in Sydney they informed us that the illumination had been a complete success. Thousands of light bulbs had lit up instantly, to be greeted by the enthusiastic applause of the crowds of people inside and outside the Town Hall. Those present on board the yacht Elettra were delighted. The Australian Consul presented me with a big bunch of red roses as a tribute from the women of his country. I was very touched. The event made headline news and there were long articles in the press all over the world praising the works and the genius of Guglielmo Marconi.
Today, witnessing the continuous progress of science and living in the era of space flights, I can understand more and more clearly what Guglielmo felt in his heart that day. I knew he was proud to be the only person who could communicate directly from Genova with Sydney in Australia in the antipodes and obviously also with other places that were closer. All this from his laboratory, his special experimental radio station, by means of the short-wave “beam system” that he had invented on board the Elettra. During his trials Guglielmo said to me: “Just think! Sydney is at almost the furthest point in the world from Genova. That is why I have chosen it.” The enormous distance between the two cities did not daunt him. He knew what he was capable of achieving and he was certain that his studies would prove him right. It was really thanks to this conviction of his that he succeeded in what was a unique experiment in those days; something other scientists and researchers had never even dreamed of. A new era had begun for humanity thanks to the type of contact that had just been made with Australia.
Apart from his confidence in his own work, another characteristic of Guglielmo’s genius was his ability to organise everything meticulously, without forgetting a single detail. He used to say to me: “The smallest details are indispensable for a perfect result”. He realised that he was privileged and exceptional but at the same time he faced the important events of life calmly and sensibly. He knew perfectly well that his work was unique and his inventions all his own but in spite of this, with the humility of the truly great, he often said: “This is a gift that has been given to me by God!” Since I understood his deepest sentiments so well, I knew how happy and satisfied he was at having succeeded with the illumination of the Town Hall of Sydney in creating another important invention for the benefit of humanity.
Talking about the Elettra, Guglielmo always used to say to me: “This is a yacht for work, not just for pleasure”. We went on adventurous voyages together, defying the terrible Atlantic storms. I remember that Guglielmo and I crossed the Bay of Biscay on board the Elettra seven times and the sea was almost always rough as is so often the case in those parts. Only once did we find a calm sea. At the end of these voyages I would arrive in port tired and thin and the same was true for the members of the crew. The only person who showed great physical endurance was my husband. More than once during our voyages Guglielmo told me that our love was a source of strength for him and that it also gave him the inspiration for new ideas. This encouraged me to go with him wherever he went.
When we were in Genova, while he was preparing the experiment of the illumination of Sydney, we were often invited by our Genoese friends to their beautiful palaces. I remember a wonderful evening at the Marchese Raggio’s castle where we were guests of the Marchesa Thea, a Spinola by birth, whose second husband was the Marchese Giuseppe Cattaneo della Volta. We had also become friends of the Marchese Marcello Gropallo and his wife Rosa, who often invited us to their famous villa “Lo Zerbino”, with the Marchese Rodolfo Pallavicino and his wife Maria, the Marchese and Marchesa Vistarino and the Marchese Carlo Raffaele Bombrini. We often went to the Marchese Franco Spinola’s splendid villa by the sea near Rapallo which was called “La Pagana”. He always received us wearing a naval officer’s uniform. As a Dame of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.) it is a pleasure for me to remember that this villa which we used to visit was later donated by the Marquis Spinola to the S.M.O.M. We ourselves enjoyed inviting our friends to lunch or dinner on board the Elettra. I remember that among them was a young naval officer, Luigi Durand de La Penne, the future admiral who was awarded a Gold Medal for gallantry for his exploits during the Second World War.
After the illumination of Sydney, having stayed at Genova for about two months, we sailed along the Maremma and the Roman coast as far as Fiumicino, off Mount Cavo in the Roman hills. Suddenly a storm blew up, just as Guglielmo was carrying out an important experiment. He immediately gave orders to Captain Stagnaro to take shelter in the port of Civitavecchia, which was the closest. The pilot of that area, knowing that I was on board, was anxious because of my condition and immediately came to meet us. He was the father of ten children! Guglielmo and my mother were very worried about me but all went well. My husband was so upset by the risk I had run that he decided to disembark. By then I was seven months pregnant with Elettra.
1. First signed photograph that Marconi gave to his future wife, Maria Cristina Bezzi Scali.
2. Annie Marconi Jameson with her sons Alfonso and Guglielmo (on the left)--Bologna, 1878.
3. Guglielmo Marconi with his invention--Wireless Telegraphy--1895.
4. Guglielmo Marconi and Maria Cristina, on their wedding day--15 June 1927.
5. Marconi with Maria Cristina leaving the Capitol of Rome, on the day of their civil matrimony, a few days before their religious matrimony.
6. (Caption part of the photo).
7. Marconi in his Radio Station, transmitting across the Atlantic. The antennas were called the Marconi Towers, located in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, 17 October 1907. The inventor, Marconi, is seated to the left, and the operator, James Holmes, is receiving a message from the Clifden Radio Station in Ireland.
8. Autographed photo of Marconi the day he turned on the lights in Sydney's Town Hall, Australia, from aboard the Elettra--26 March 1930.