Monica and Romolo had common roots in London, before they married and relocated to Rhodesia in the 50’s.

Monica, born into a middle class family in Wimbeldon. She developed taste for design early in life. Her parents were ‘in the rag trade’ with a pre depression clothing manufacture business in London. Her elder siblings attended public school (in the English sense). Later she became a buyer for all women’s products for Greatermans department store in Salisbury (Harare) – one of the premiere stores in the country – in charge of producing high level fashion garments locally. .

Romolo on the surface was a strikingly good-looking and charming man who lines and manner engendered the the feeling that his life had been one big action adventure, He started out with roots, deep in the fine art world. – he being 3rd generation to be involved with the family business – Fiorini & Carney – which was bronze casting of artistic works. The business served Henry Moore, Eduardo Paolozzi, Giacometti and luminaries through the years. He also served in the Merchant Navy during the war and was a man of many stories from distant places – much in the vein of the cartoon character Tintin.

David and Ellen recruited Romolo as manager to the then successful marble and terrazzo business, Terrastone Ltd. David’s motivation was significantly biased in favor of Romolo on the basis of his hands-on experience in lost wax bronze casting. Between them they cast numerous of David’s sculptures over the years – the first lost wax casting ever done south of the equator in Africa. The Benin Bronzes were examples of this technology was current in West Africa between 13th-16th centuries AD.

Recently unearthed super 8 videos from the late 50s, show Ellen and David on holiday adventures to remote areas of the country as well as featuring the building of the Kariba Dam between 1955 and 1959.

In the late 50’s the Fiorini’s purchased a large neighboring property to the Chudy’s and in a symbol of how close the families were, a gate was constructed in the dividing fence between the dwellings which was never locked and people wandered back and forth without notice (extending even the relaxed norm at the time which was to turn up a friends’ places unannounced). Monica and Romolo were surrogate parents for Naomi and Philip when Ellen and David set off on their mega-yearlong overland journey through the far east from India to Japan and the Island chain to Java. But, on his return David had a heart attack as a serious rift developed about Romolo’s management of the company in his absence. David never spoke to Romolo again, although he remained on good terms with Monica and her sons. He let go of the business, selling it to Romolo (‘on the never never’) – retiring to do research into Bats’ echolocation and innovating sonar devices for the blind and sonic burglar alarms, David died in 1967 of another heart attack.

Ellen temperament led her to forgive but never to forget. Her relationship with Romolo was was tempered and muted but maintained mainly for the sake of her bond with Monica. Over the years – what was now Romolo’s business, suffered during politically difficult times. He seems to have paid of some of his outstanding debts to Ellen – although resolutions are uncertain – in the day people rarely talked about money. Romolo passed away after suffering badly from emphysema in circa 1990, undoubtedly from lifelong heavy smoking which was cool in those days – till it was not.

Monica continued as a close friend and confidant till Ellen passed away in 1994. Monica remained active for a further approximately 16 years in which birding and trips into the bush became a favorite pastime, though tragically she suffered increasing vision loss in her last years.

FIORINI’S – MONICA & ROMOLO

PHOTO – PETER WARD