la Famalia
Beyond wine tasting, a focus of our travels was to visit the towns where our grandfathers were born. As it turns out, the towns were less than an a hour from each other.
Tony - Ateleta, Abruzzi
Patty - Cantalupo, Molise
The first thought was this was just an interesting stop, knowing that neither of us had any living relatives, but it turned into much more than that.
No, we didn't meet any relatives, but we learned more about what they gave up. We had been to Ateleta on our honeymoon, and visited Tonys great aunt on those travels. With her gone, this time we wandered the town to find the monument erected for those killed in the town due to the bombings of WWII, I think one third we're LeDonnes another third Donetteli (his god parents name). Although we couldn't trace the names back to a direct family line, it was obvious how close they were in relation.
Then we went to my grandfather, Gennaro Manfredi, birth town. Only to find his grandfather on the monument of those who died in the town during WWII, Antonio Peccia. Wow to have that hit so close to home. In all of our travels, seeing the many monuments to the war, this somehow made it real. Luckily my grandfather had long since came to America, but I felt a loss for my father who never knew his grandparents, or where they came from, or maybe even that they lost their lives during the war.
Tony - Ateleta, Abruzzi
Patty - Cantalupo, Molise
The first thought was this was just an interesting stop, knowing that neither of us had any living relatives, but it turned into much more than that.
No, we didn't meet any relatives, but we learned more about what they gave up. We had been to Ateleta on our honeymoon, and visited Tonys great aunt on those travels. With her gone, this time we wandered the town to find the monument erected for those killed in the town due to the bombings of WWII, I think one third we're LeDonnes another third Donetteli (his god parents name). Although we couldn't trace the names back to a direct family line, it was obvious how close they were in relation.
Then we went to my grandfather, Gennaro Manfredi, birth town. Only to find his grandfather on the monument of those who died in the town during WWII, Antonio Peccia. Wow to have that hit so close to home. In all of our travels, seeing the many monuments to the war, this somehow made it real. Luckily my grandfather had long since came to America, but I felt a loss for my father who never knew his grandparents, or where they came from, or maybe even that they lost their lives during the war.