Archive | July, 2014

Bagnoli dei Trigno

8 Jul

Last winter, when I started making plans to visit Pietrabbondante, I noted that the town did not have any hotels, but listed some nearby. I booked the closest one, as it had a few good online reviews, and never really thought about it again.

After our wonderful visit to Pietrabbondante, we headed to Bagnoli dei Trigno where the hotel was located, a town close as the crow flies, but about 30 minutes by car as we had to head down one “hill” and up another. Len said it was the curviest road he had ever been on, one switchback after another.

Finally we came to an intersection: Bagnoli dei Trigno was one direction, and the Domus Hotel another. Since this was our hotel, we headed left, followed the road around a large curve looking for a tiny hotel, and came upon this…

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blogginginitaly.com

and even better, this incredible view!

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blogginginitaly.com

It turns out our hotel is a medical/sports/health spa, large, lovely, very clean and only three years old. Interestingly, there was only one other hotel guest that night, but it was a Monday.

We were hungry after a long morning in Pietrabbondante and they were more than happy to prepare lunch for us. This is a vegetable flan on one side and suckling pig on the other…I forgot to take a photo before Len and I split it, but you get the idea…fresh and delicious, and prepared only when ordered.

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blogginginitaly.com

After lunch, we strolled around the property, sat in the sun, and marveled at the view.

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blogginginitaly.com

I also had a massage, and why not since this was a health spa. For dinner, we enjoyed their homemade pasta with local tomatoes and fresh mozzarella from the region.

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blogginginitaly.com

I don’t really know much about the town of Bagnoli dei Trigno except that as of the end of 2004, it had a population of about 850 living in fourteen square miles. What I do know is that from the hotel, it is a sight to behold, especially from our vantage point at sunset.

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The next day, we visited the town of Bagnoli. The few people we spoke to were very friendly and a nice man even opened his market/bar/cafe to make us fresh paninis. The newer part of the city is at the base, with the ancient part still somewhat inhabited. We were told that the Lombards built the castle at the top, although it was closed for reconstruction so we weren’t able to get near. What we did find was a very quiet ancient city, actually much lovelier from a distance.

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This is a view looking at our hotel (center) from the top of the ancient town.

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blogginginitaly.com

At night, our hotel put on its own light show.

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blogginginitaly.com

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Per their brochure, Domus offers dancing under the stars as well as concerts on weekends. A perfect setting for sure! They even have a wood burning pizza oven which is large enough for seven pizzas at once.

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blogginginitaly.com

Such a pleasant surprise and an incredibly relaxing stay in a tiny hill top town. As we left Bagnoli, we couldn’t help but look once more at the vista we will long remember.

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blogginginitaly.com

Ciao,

Judy

 

 

Cortona Liberazione

6 Jul

Today in Cortona, the locals celebrated 70 years since the liberation of their city in 1944.

With proud veterans

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and original military vehicles and equipment,

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Italians and members of the Great Generation Airborne Group (dressed as British and American soldiers), stood at attention

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as a wreath was laid.

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blogginginitaly.com

Songs were sung and people joined in the parade

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vowing never to forget those who served and liberated their ancient and lovely town.

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blogginginitaly.com

Ciao,

Judy

Through His Words and Now Mine: Pietrabbondante!

3 Jul

Reflections From and About My Grandfather
Alexander Capraro, Architect

At long last, our journey is realized – we find Pietrabbondante.

76 years, 10 months and 10 days after Alex returned to his birthplace, so too did Len and I, being the first and only ancestors after Alex, we think, to step foot in this town of his birth.

The town’s name comes from pietra, meaning stone, and abbondante, meaning abundance, hence Pietrabbondante. And there certainly is an abundance of stone in the area.

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Pietrabbondante – blogginginitaly.com

When Alex was born, Pietrabbondante was in Abruzzo, but with redistricting (a la US politics), it is now part of Molise. On the map below, Pietra is between Agnone and Isernia, in the Apennine Mountain range.

molise

In 1895, when Alex was born, there were about 4000 residents in Pietrabbondante. Today, there are less than 800.

As soon as we arrived in the main square, the few people around greeted us kindly, but knew instantly we were visitors. This definitely isn’t a town with a tourist issue. The main square has a beautiful war memorial like so many we see throughout Italy, dedicated to the soldiers who died defending their country and towns.

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blogginginitaly.com

We made our way to the church my grandfather described in his last letter and easily found it at the end of the main street.

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This is where my great-grandparents, Emerenziana Vitullo and Vincenzo Iacapraro were married and where their first-born son Alex was baptized.

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blogginginitaly.com

blogginginitaly.com

Next stop was the Municipal building. Armed with Alex’s parents’ birth records, we were eventually united with the vice mayor (vice sindaco), Michele Zullo. When I told him I was hoping to find Alex’s parents’ house, he shook his head saying that without an address, it would be difficult to find. The mayor did not know any Iacapraros, but said there were many Vitullos still in town, so we decided to search for those records.

Forget computers – this is an efficient manual process. We experienced this once before, years ago, when we went to Calabria to find Len’s ancestors.

First, find the book with the right year span. Check.

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blogginginitaly.com

Next, cut the twine as the book hasn’t been opened in years! Check.

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blogginginitaly.com

Then, search for the date of birth in 1873. Check.

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blogginginitaly.com

And just like that – Alex’s mother’s name and records.

Emerenziana Vitullo blogginginitaly.com

Emerenziana Vitullo – blogginginitaly.com

The mayor patiently reads the page and suddenly says he knows the house. He tries to explain where it is, but then decides to walk us there himself. I can hardly believe this is about to happen!

We walk for about five minutes, when he stops abruptly… “Guarda, questa è la vostra casa!” (Look, this is your house!) he proudly proclaims in Italian.

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And there it is – right on the main street, 83 Corso Sannitico.

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Time for photos.

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Vie Sindaco e Judy blogginginitaly.com

Vice Sindaco Michele Zullo and Judy – blogginginitaly.com

Michele explains that there had been a little shop or bar on the fist floor, hence the door on the left with curtains.

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Amazing! Mission accomplished.

We talked, hugged and kissed arrivederci, then thanked Michele for his genuine hospitality.

Then Len and I stopped to imagine Alex running up and down this lovely street until age four…

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blogginginitaly.com

and couldn’t help but wonder why his parents decided to leave Pietrabbondante and their ties behind. What caused them to seek a new life in America, so very different and so very far away?

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How did this young family manage, in 1899, to get from this town, high in the mountains, to the harbors in Napoli, where they would have boarded a ship destined to a land unknown?

Talk about courage. Whatever they envisioned, never could they have imagined that one day, their four-year old Alex would become the first licensed Italian American architect in the state of Illinois.

There is much more to Alex’s story, but for the next month or so, I will relish in this encounter with my ancestral origins and just smile.

To Alex, my grandfather, thank you for your incredible letters and for the history and insights that led us to your roots, as well as ours. And to Aunt Marion, and all of Alex’s descendants, a bit of history we can now cherish forever, and as Alex did so well, continue to pass on for generations to come.

Salute!

Ciao,

Judy