mnsss279 Grace Nobili Papers, 1880-1953 Finding Aid Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College

Northampton, MA

Finding aid exported into EAD from InMagic DB/Textworks 7.01. Encoded by Margaret Jessup and Jennifer Smar. 2006-04-07 Finding aid written in English. Sophia Smith CollectionSmith College Grace Nobili Papers, 1880-1953 Finding Aid MS 114 2005 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview Nobili, Grace, 1870-1962 Grace Nobili Papers1880-1953 MS 114 3 boxes (1.25 linear ft.) English Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College Northampton, MA

Red Cross volunteer, World War I. Biographical material, clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, and a journal pertaining to Nobili's World War I service in Italy as a Red Cross volunteer and hospital worker for the YMCA. Also included are artwork; writings of her husband, Cavaliere Riccardo Nobili; photographs of John Burroughs, n.d.; and correspondence (1930s-50s). Correspondents include Bernard Berenson, Cecil Gould, Cecil Roberts, Frank Mather, and Ham Rosewell. Biographical Note

Grace and Ricardo Nobili in the garden of Dommus Amicorum, their home in Venice, undated

Grace Cleveland Porter Nobili was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Dodge Porter and the grand-niece of President Grover Cleveland. She served in Italy during World War I as a volunteer nurse with the Red Cross in an Italian hospital, and as Director of Recreation Sevices in Italian War Hospitals in Rome under the auspices of the YMCA. She wrote "Negro Folk Singing Games and Folk Games of the Habitants" and "Mammina Graziosa" (1916). Nobili received numerous awards and decorations from the Italian government for her war service. She married Florentine nobleman Cavaliere Riccardo Nobili in 1933. Owing to her extraordinary service to Italy, she was granted special permission to be buried next to her husband in the family chapel near Florence, a privilege not usually granted to Protestants.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The collection contains biographical material, clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, and a journal pertaining to Nobili's World War I service in Italy as a Red Cross volunteer and hospital worker for the YMCA. Also included are artwork; writings of her husband, Cavaliere Riccardo Nobili; photographs of John Burroughs, n.d.; and correspondence (1930s- 50s). Correspondents include Bernard Berenson, Cecil Gould, Cecil Roberts, Frank Mather, and Ham Rosewell.

NOTE: The container list for this collection is available in the Sophia Smith Collection. Please contact us to request a copy.

Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.

This collection has not been fully processed and therefore may be difficult to use.

Copyright to unpublished materials may be owned by the creator, or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Grace Nobili Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

Search Terms Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959--Correspondence Nobili, Grace, 1870-1962 Mather, Frank Jewett, 1868-1953--Correspondence Burroughs, John, 1837-1921--Photographs Gould, Cecil Hellon Mouk, 1918- --Correspondence Roberts, Cecil, 1892- --Correspondence Rosewell, Ham Gray, 1891- --Correspondence World War, 1914-1918--War work--Italy--Red Cross World War, 1914-1918--Women--Personal narratives, American World War, 1914-1918--War work--Young Men's Christian Association