On October 21, 2013, I began a “journey” with my paternal grandfather, Alexander Capraro, via letters he wrote home to my grandmother, Modesta Rose (Maude). He was returning to Europe in 1938 for the first time since he left for America at age four with his parents and younger sister.
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My final post of that series, written on July 3, 2014, was about Len and my reaching his birth town, Pietrabbondante, and finding his birth home… or so I thought!
For those seeking information about your ancestors, my advice is to never give up. As you will see, in this and several posts to follow, TEN YEARS LATER, my new incredible “ending” has become an extended awareness of our family history as well as the beginning of wonderful new familial connections.
Len and I returned to Pietrabbondante September 14-16, 2024, for an incredible recognition of my grandfather. But first, some expanded information I learned about the town and its history.
When my grandfather visited in 1938, he described Pietrabbondante in his letter home:
“The town has about 4000 people, electric light, and a secondary railroad. It is well named for the mountain peaks of stone and rocks… The scenery is beautiful beyond imagination.”
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©blogginginitaly.com
Today, the full time population is less than 200, but expands greatly during holidays and summer months. As with large and small towns throughout Italy, the annual cultural and religious festivals and celebrations are always on the calendar. There are no longer schools or restaurants in town, but among the places I noticed on my walk were two bars, two groceries, two butcher shops, a tabacchi, a post office, a pharmacy, a barber, a beauty salon, the church, and the municipal building. Some of these are pictured below.
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©blogginginitaly.com
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©blogginginitaly.com Church of Santa Maria Assunta
©blogginginitaly.com Pietrabbondante Municipio
Pietrabbondante is located in the province of Isernia, (Molise region), a two hour train ride from Rome. Interestingly, when my grandfather was born in 1895, the town was part of the Abruzzo region. (Seems like redistricting happens everywhere!)
Looking closely at the monument above, you’ll see a statue depicting an ancient Samnite soldier. This statue is a tribute to the fallen soldiers from Pietrabbondante in WWI. The funds for the statue were raised by an immigrant committee in America in 1919, and in 1920, the local city council used the funds to construct the monument.
But why a Samnite soldier, and who were the Samnites? More about the ancient history of Pietrabbondante in the next post.
For now, I’ll leave you with a short lesson in Italian:
Pietrabbondante = pietra [stone] + abbondante [abundance].
As my grandfather said, it is well named indeed!
Ciao,
Judy
Blogging In Italy 
Wonderful!!!! And you both look great!!Sent from my iPhone
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So nice to see your name pop up! Thanks and much more to come!
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Judy, this is so interesting. Can’t wait to read more! Love to you and Len!
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Thanks, it was quite the adventure, lots more to come. Love back to you both!
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Thank you Judy for your dedication in documenting and capturing the essence of your grandfather’s journey from his Italian childhood through his beautiful architecture in Chicago. ❤️
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It’s truly been an honor for me. Thanks for your message!🤗
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Well done Judy. EnjoySent from my iPad
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Thanks Rudy! Much more to follow….
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So great Judy !! Can’t wait to read the next chapters :} Sorry I missed your call ! I’m a bit under the weather today (overdid the steps yesterday 😉 so going to bed now … talk tomorrow ! Xoxoxo
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Good to hear from you but sorry you’re not feeling great. Hope tomorrow is better! So much interesting info to share. xoxo
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wonderful info and photos. What an interesting journey.❤️
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Thanks, Julia! I’m happy you were able to read the whole journey. 🤗
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This was, and will be, fascinating to read. I just finished an article referencing the development of the West Ridge area of Chicago where, “Joseph Aeiollo commissioned Alexander Capraro, THE FIRST ITALIAN LICENSED ARCHITECT IN ILLINOIS, to design a new home for his growing family in 1927.”
I assumed he was related to you!
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Maureen, how timely about the article. Please forward to me via email if you can, I’d love to see it. There will be much more about him and his early beginning coming soon.
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i e-mailed you the link!
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Great, thanks!
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Hi Judy,
What an exciting adventure and an interesting looking town. It’s good to see a blog from you again. Hoping to get back to Italy in the fall of 2025.
Regards,
Carol
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It was quite the adventure and nice to have new material to write about. Hope you are able to return next year!
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Yay! Judy and Len back on the beat in Italy! Have a ball.
You aren’t missing anything back here. 🙂
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Back on the beat indeed!
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How very special for you and Len to experience this.
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Thanks and sorry we didn’t get to have an aperitivo together. Enjoy the rest of oyur trip!
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Lovely to see you in my inbox again. I see so many parallels in your family story to that of my husband’s family. Great great grandparents emigrated to USA, but his own father came to Australia in 1965. We journeyed back to his home town in Calabria in 2009, his 1st and only trip back home Same small town, diminishing population due to emigration and a statue to the fallen of WW1 in the piazza A wonderful culture
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Sue, so many of these stories have so much in common, and it’s such a great feeling to uncover them! Thanks for sharing.
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Such beauty in such a small town! Thanks for sharing about your journey.
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You are so right, and wait till you see today’s post. We were so taken with our tour and learning about this incredible site!
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Loved this!
Hope all is well with you. All is good here. Cris and Lucy are expecting a little boy in December – sooooo excited!
Hugs,
Debs
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Deb, thanks and good to hear from you and about your exciting news! All good here too! Hugs back.
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