In any respectable italian family there has been, is or will be a worman by the name of Mary. There is hardly anyone who cannot claim to have had a sister, a mother, or perhaps a grandmother, or even an aunt called Mary.
A name that reminds one of the sweet smell of the Holy Land : let us recali the first Mary, the Holy Mary. A descendant of the royal stem of David, she was bethrowed to Joseph when she received the Annunciation by Arcangel Gabriel. Even though her biography is scarce, great relevance was placed by the Church in elaborating the doctrine of the Virgin Mary, the woman who was chosen by God himself to fulfil this Divine role of giving birth to Jesus, the Redeemer. Therefore her name has always been given the highest respect with words such as: Deipara (Theowkos; Pius XI, Enc. Lux ueritatis, 25-XII-1931); the Holy Urgin, before, after, and during delivery (martin I, coae. Latheranensis, 649); Immacolate (Pius XI, Papa] Bull Ineffabilis Deus, 8-XII- 1 ó54); Assunta (Pius XII, Papal Bull Munificentissimus Deus, i-xi-i9so) and finally, superb among ali, Queen of the Universe (apoc., v,9-io).
Such an important name should make one shudder; but it breeds familiarity, instead. Just like those grit wash-basins which one could find at grandmother's.
That is Nonna Maria.