The Biography of Elvira Ruocco (by Elvira Ruocco) Chapter 2

My first day in Alfa

It was a cold and clear morning on January 3, 1972. Until previous Friday, I had been in the employ of a distribution company having its premises in Saronno, where I looked after accounting. I remember that when I told to my boss that I was leaving to join Alfa Romeo, he looked at me with an air of admiration and told me: “You’re lucky, madam. Alfa Romeo is the diamond point among the industries of the whole Lombardy, it’s a glorious firm… it makes cars that are fabulous…”. I answered that I knew it well and that, by going to work in Alfa, I realized the dream of my life. That morning I took the 7:15 train leaving from the Saronno station. It was overcrowded, full of kids going to school in Milan. I heard their voices, but I could not listen; I thought that my new life was beginning, maybe a less “confortable” life than that I just resigned by giving up a job near home to go to slip into a Milan full of traffic, cold weather and smog. Moreover, I did not know yet what I would have had to do, what my job would have been; I only knew that I would have joined the Servicing School Management.

I got off at the Bullona stop, and I almost run all the way that divided me from the check in entrance in Gattamelata Street, not only to feel less cold but also owing to the eagerness to arrive. Do you recall the check in entrance picture? Well, when I crossed it, there were parked in front of me and displayed to advantage one white Giulia 1600, one red 2000 GT Veloce and one orange-coloured Montreal that took my breath away, so much it was beautiful; it was the first time I saw one. “Good start,” I thought and, full of “sprint” I went towards the Servicing Management premises which lay a bit more inner than the entrance, on the right side. I was immediately impressed by a huge door with heavy plastic shutters which, pushed by entering cars, opened as they were voile wings. On both sides, there stood a normal glass door bringing into the reception room. A smell of tyres and petrol struck me, I turned my attention to a couple of cars which had been hoisted upon an auto lift and, around me, blue overalls on the go, onto which two italic white-embroidered words stood out sharp: Alfa Romeo. I made for the door of the Office in which I had done one of the last interviews and went in. I recognized Mr. Guglielmi at once, the supervisor who had “examined” me, who gave me a warm welcome and introduced me promptly to Mr. Lisi (I apologise for only citing family names but so much time has passed that I do not remember every first name), the colleague with whom I would have had to work together. However my boss was Eng. Cargnelutti, somebody with whom I have had very little relations, just some greetings while he was passing by me to go in his office. I immediately found myself behind a desk full of papers (it was destined…); it was manuscripts by supervisors who, on return from their secondments in Italy but also abroad, reported on their experience. It was technical notes also sometimes difficult to understand because of their incomprehensible handwriting. There were quite a lot pending because the clerk in charge had retired for three months and the business was at a standstill. I started at once and when I ran into difficulties I sought Mr. Lisi’s help.
On the second day, something happened that made me feel very uncomfortable. I had noticed that a microphone stood on my desktop and I was wondering what was it for. While I was concentrating on tapping on the stiff keys of an old typewriter, Mr. Lisi asked me to call a guy who was in the workshop by means of a microphone announcement in order to tell him that he was wanted on the telephone. He made my blood run cold; I want to say first of all that I was very shy and always very nervous because of everything I was doing and because of things I was learning; I had not enough the face to announce loud: “Mr. Galizia is wanted on the telephone, Mr. Galizia on the telephone!.” Even if with trembling voice, I did it. A few minutes later, I saw through the office panes a dozen of blue overalls coming… how was it possible? I mentioned one name only! I immediately discovered that the reason of such presence was to know to whom that unexpected female voice belong. It was a hearty meeting which made me certain that they were not disappointed at all and, since then, I was really feeling that I became one of such big family that the Servicing School was.

Stay tuned!

Elvira Ruocco

Copyright Information and Credits
All the multimedia materials and the texts present in this page cannot be reproduced in any way without the explicit permit of authors and/or owners of the contents. In particular, this applies with reference to texts and pictures of Ms. Elvira Ruocco and of the Alfa Romeo Historic Archive who explicitly authorized the AlfaSport Club for publication.

Translation by Fabio Grandi