Who's Katherine?

From the first time Frances noticed Katherine at the bazzar nuzzeling a baby duck, to when Katherine walked up behind her at the Real Estate Board advertising the house, I believe Frances felt a kinship with her because Katherine spoke english, and Frances felt incredibly over her head. I also think that Frances looked at Katherine as a mentor. She had always lived very safely, and with no risks, and here was somebody who was twice her age and had twice as much life!!!

I really enjoyed Lindsay Duncan's Katherine, I thought she was one of the best things in the film.
It seems to me that it would be the easiest thing in the world for a friendship to develop between the two. If you'll remember, when Frances sees her nuzzling the duckling, the expression on Frances' face gives away the fact that she's utterly intrigued by Katherine, to the point of following her when she leaves the market.
If you'll notice, the friendship doesn't really develop until after the dinner party. When the two are walking in the plaza, Katherine tells Frances how she was discovered by Fellini, and it's clear that to Frances, this is someone who enjoys living, and she could take a page from Katherine's book.
That is what I liked so much about Katherine, that she kept popping up when Frances seemed to need a bit of wisdom to keep from reverting.
Oh, and keep in mind that the time sequence is indeterminate from scene to scene, so the frienship didn't necessarily develop at an unusual pace. Not to mention that Cortona is a relatively small town, and probably doesn't have many conspicuous, hat-wearing, Englishwomen who appeared in Fellini films, so they were bound to keep crossing paths.

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