Comments on: Where are you from?

By: Sal

Sal — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:16:06 +0000

Ciao paisani. My family is from Pratola Peligna in Abruzzo. Both parents born and raised there and still have close family there. I go back every couple years. I love being Italian.

By: BM Camilli

BM Camilli — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:53:54 +0000

My paternal grandparents came from Ascoli Piceno – grandmother Livia (Fiorvanti) and grandfather Ettore Camilli – anyone out there connected to them? By the way, we make the stuffed olives here – best thing on the planet!!!!

By: Raffaella Rapone

Raffaella Rapone — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:59:52 +0000

Raffaella
January 27 2012

My maternal grandfather came to Australia from Ripa Alto (AQ) in the latet 1920s and my father arrived after WW2 from Sulmona (AQ) Anybody out there with connections to Sulmona?

By: Adrian

Adrian — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:08:42 +0000

Gday from Australia!

My dad was born in Ascoli Piceno in the Marche region (the duomo has a concrete phallus on the roof – interesting story!), and my mother is Australian-born of mostly English with a small (fairly invisible) amount of Chinese Mongolian.
I love the Italian and Chinese food culture of freshness and handmade. Track down the recipe of stuffed and fried olives popular in Ascoli if you’ve neger had them and you’re guaranteed a food-gasm!

By: Pina

Pina — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:03:04 +0000

I was born in the village Mercuri, Commune di Platania. My last name is also Mercuri and still have distant relatives living there

By: Robert Palermo

Robert Palermo — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:23:05 +0000

I am trying to find the lost information on Derafino Palermo, my great-great grandfather.

All that is known is that he was born in Calabria around 1873 then moved to Tortorella.

Any help will be much appreciated.

All the Best!

By: Lorelei

Lorelei — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:44:22 +0000

I love your blog, Joe! My maternal grandfather, Vincent Caristo, emigrated from Stilo, Calabria around 1910. He passed away in 1978 but I remember stories he would tell us – especially during prohibition. I recently traveled to Roma for a couple of nights and then we rented a villa in Pian Di Sco in the Arrezzo region. It was fantastic! We traveled to Firenze, of course, and Pisa, Luca, Arrezzo and visited an amazing monastery from around 1100 AD that has an herbal farmacia (and gift shop) called Vallombrosa up in the mountains.

By: Linda

Linda — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:56:58 +0000

Joe, I love your website! I live in Massachusetts and my grandparents were from Messina in Sicily. Regrettably I have not been able to visit Italy yet…..but I’m determined to get there very soon! I would love to see where my grandparents came from and to see the country itself. Keep up the good work on your website. It’s fun to read the familiar stories of all the wonderful food! Do you still live in MA?

Buon Natale!

By: everett cilla

everett cilla — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:44:11 +0000

for megan andrewski
i think the town you aare looking for as the place your husband’s nonno was from is Genzano Di
lucania. the ellis island folks got it wrong.

By: Chuck Bruscell

Chuck Bruscell — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:40:33 +0000

My grandfather, Vito Canio Bruscella, was born in Genzano di Lucania, which is in the Basilicata region, and my grandmother, Vita Maria Giordano Bruscella, was born in Bari, which is in Puglia. I am proud to be Lucani!
And to Everett Cilla, I believe that you are correct regarding the Genzano di Lucania connection. My paternal great-aunt, my grandfather’s sister, Maria Pasquale Bruscella (I don’t know her married name), had a daughter, Angela, who married Rocco Cilla; they had a son named Antonio “Tonino” Cilla, who lives in Genzano di Lucania – we communicate regularly.
On a side note, there are almost 100 Bruscellas living in Genzano today. My father was born Rocco Michael Bruscella, but the US Army changed his last name to Bruscell when he enlisted; that is why my last name is not the same as my cugini.