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Ada, and the independent congiuntivo
The congiuntivo is usually taught as a dependent mood — the verb after credo che, voglio che, benché. But it also stands on its own in a handful of very common constructions: che + congiuntivo for orders and wishes about someone else (che entri pure), magari for wishes (magari avessi), come se for comparisons, and fixed formulas like che io sappia and sia chiaro. These are a mark of fluent, natural Italian, and older speakers like Ada use them constantly. Ada's answer to Alex's question gives the novel's key and something true about Trieste. Between 1914 and 1954, someone living in the city saw Austrian, Italian, Yugoslav and Allied administrations come and go — «tre bandiere cambiate in trent'anni», as she puts it, compressing the years for effect — and a sardonic, self-mocking humor is often described as part of the Triestine character. Writers from the city have been famous for irony since Italo Svevo, whose great novel is narrated by a man laughing at himself. Note too the moment Ada offers her first name. In Italy, an older person or a superior is the one who proposes moving to a more familiar footing; the younger person waits to be invited. Ada keeps the formal Lei — that would take longer — but lets Alex drop the signora.