Newbie to find relatives in Abruzzi, Italy
Jan 15th, 2006, 04:23 PM
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Newbie to find relatives in Abruzzi, Italy
I am so happy to find this site. I am going to Italy with my boyfriend, Cyrus, this summer to try and locate some of his father's cousins who come from a small village near the town of Terama in Abruzzi. His grandfather came to America in the 1930's and was born in Val Sangiovanni. He told Cyrus many stories about growing up there. We will be flying to Rome and renting a car for a week or so while we search around. Cyrus speaks some Italian so that should help. Cant' wait to go.
Jan 15th, 2006, 04:46 PM
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A few years back my wife and I traveled to Abruzzi to experience the land of my ancestors. My grandfather and grandmother came from Abruzzi in the early twentieth century, but my grandfather died relatively young and my grandmother never spoke of her family in Italy (or so my father said; I was rather young when my grandmother died). Therefore we weren't going on much information when we arrived in L'Aquila. Still, it was interesting to see that my last name wasn't almost totally unheard of (as it is here in the States) and to see people everywhere who looked vaguely like second cousins and people from old photographs. Most of the records we might have searched were not centralized, and since we weren't sure of the small town my grandfather had come from (knowing just that it was near L'Aquila), we abandoned any search and just enjoyed a couple of days in the region. From what I'd heard growing up, I thought Abruzzi would be a very poor and isolated area, kind of a backwoods West Virginia in Italy. It wasn't that way at all. In the last couple of years I've learned a little Italian, so I may go back and do some research. It should be a fun trip for you; Rome's a pretty quick two hour drive on the autostrada.
Jan 18th, 2006, 04:11 PM
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Have been to Valle San Giovanni many times. It is a small village located on the outskirts of Teramo in the Abruzzo region. Let me know if you need any assistance contacting your relatives there. Can write a letter for you in Italian if needed.
ulissi_at_hotmail.com
www.angelfire.com/film/casale
ulissi_at_hotmail.com
www.angelfire.com/film/casale
Jan 18th, 2006, 04:39 PM
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http://italiangenealogy.tardio.com/ - have a look at this site. Mormons have libraries in their churches all over the world - they let anyone use them - the volunteers at a library near you can help you search for relations before you go back.
Jan 19th, 2006, 05:35 AM
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You might enjoy reading the book, "Dances with Luigi" and its sequel, available on amazon & other sites. The author, Paul Paolicelli, a journalist, is originally from Pittsburgh where his family had immigrated a couple of generations earlier. He takes some time off to search for his grandfather's birth records & answers to some family questions in Italy. He bases himself in Rome, but travels extensively in central and southern Italy, including Abruzzo, in his quest. A lovely read. The second book has him in southern Italy, I beleive, but I haven't read it.
Jan 22nd, 2006, 04:24 PM
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Thank you Stefanaccio and Eliztrav for the good advice. I will try to give you an update on how things went in Valle San Giovanni once we return. I told Cyrus about Stefanaccio's house there and we will try to find it if we can during our stay. Grazia!
Jan 22nd, 2006, 04:35 PM
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Interesting! I am also a descendant of Abruzzi - my grandmother's family was from Castel Frentano, near Chieti. We're thinking of going back to Italy this year, but I don't think we'll make it to Abruzzi this time around. I have promised myself that I'll go there one day!
Jan 23rd, 2006, 07:11 AM
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Look forward to seeing your report, Daisypicker! Have a great time.
By the way, "Dances with Luigi" has lots of tidbits about his experiences dealing with the local churches, town halls, and locals in small villages when searching for geneaological information. Be prepared for some fascinating obstacles...but don't give up.
By the way, "Dances with Luigi" has lots of tidbits about his experiences dealing with the local churches, town halls, and locals in small villages when searching for geneaological information. Be prepared for some fascinating obstacles...but don't give up.
Jan 23rd, 2006, 02:36 PM
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On one of our first trips to Italy (80's) we drove thru the Abruzzi... one of our most memorable travel experiences.(Then..there were very few English speakers). I especially remember L'Aquila (spelling??) Even if your beau doesn't find relatives it should be fun.
Jan 25th, 2006, 04:45 AM
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I'm not sure what you mean. I know I sent you information on your towns once, but I think I just did fairly traditional research, using just my Michelin map, and then Google. Then I picked out a few sites that had good photos and/or information in English and sent you the links. There are websites that list the municipalities in each region. did you mean that? Or are you thinking of that site that enables you to find the frequency and loaction of ddistribution of various surnames in Italy? If so, that's this one: http://gens.labo.net/it/cognomi/ (Click USA to do the same kind of name search on the map of the USA.)
