Today, Leslie and I leave for a 10-day trip to Italy and Sicily. I will be attempting to post daily travel blogs, but there will be fewer postings during this trip. We will start with three days in Rome followed by six days in Sicily and then one final day in Rome. I will be visiting the village of both of my grandparents Josephine and Dominick Piazza (I am half Irish and half Sicilian). The village of Cianciana is located about two hours from Palermo. We will also be staying at Syracuse and Catania in Sicily. Not since the likes of Hannibal and Garibaldi has a force in the field attempted such an ambitious campaign.
I hope to post every day but that depends on my connectivity and my sobriety. I have been to Italy before but this is the first time that I will be visiting Cianciana, which both of my grandparents told me about as a child.
I hope to have some good stories and good pictures to share. Keep in mind that there is a six hour difference so there may be a delay in posting. The weekend bloggers will be posting as usual on the weekend.
In my absence, I have asked Darren to keep an eye on the blog. He has graciously agreed and will have full authority to enforce our civility rule, including the ability to suspend commenters who continue to refuse to comply with the rule in my absence. I would appreciate our commenters making his voluntary stint as easy and uneventful as possible.
Until then, arrivederci!
Paul…”The situation in England is serious but not hopeless. The situation in Italy is hopeless but not serious”
@Paul, well, its more than just that of course, that area of Northern Italy, and in particular Cisalpine Gaul, ie “Gaul” this side of the Alps, as opposed to Transalpine Gaul, Gaul over the Alps. the Alps being a cultural/genetic barrier that isn’t quite impervious. On top of which you also have the Goths/Lombards who ultimately conquer the region.
Free NYC Pics – let’s just agree that genetically it is a big mess and nobody should get into it. 🙂
Tom, It was almost always a business and jobs that steered immigrants to a certain area. Then, after a bulkhead was established, the fact that someone had family in that area drew more immigrants. There is a great microcosm of this in Kohler, Wi. I got to know Herb Kohler, Jr. who runs the family owned Kohler Plumbing. A great man! Herb has expanded the plumbing business to include many others, his pride being the golf/hospitality branch. The business was started by his great grandfather, an Austrian immigrant, in the late 1800’s. Like all immigrant businesses, he started small, but grew rapidly because of need and superb craftsmanship. The business attracted German and Austrian craftsman and laborers from nearby Milwaukee. But, Kohler needed more skilled workers. So, he recruited from Europe and built a community, Kohler, Wi. Unlike the company coal towns, Kohler, Wi. is the antithesis. It is a beautiful small, town that is a destination place for visitors to Wi. Kohler built a large dormitory for the single, male immigrants. They ate food familiar to them. They had dances and parties to help them assimilate into the US culture. That huge dormitory has been turned into a 4 star hotel. You can tell it was not some Quonset hut back in the day, but a nice, brick structure.
Figuring out the history behind Walla Walla is intriguing to me. I am a history teacher and a PI. I’m mostly retired but take a case here and there, retaining my license. I’m going to make some inquiries. But, I surmise it would take interviewing and getting family histories. I bet it is a serendipitous event that started the Italian onion farmers. I have learned from both my professions that so much of life is serendipitous.
-Paul and Nick. PAUL, I have something of a Roman nose to begin with, so today’s additional growth is barely noticable. I didn’t realise the level of corruption and toughness of Italian cops. The “take no prisoners approach” was also on display by the Italian military during WW II.
In the WW II examples, their soldiers were far more likely to end up as POWs than to take prisoners, hence the WW II “twist” to the “take no prisoners ” concept.
NICK- There was actually a fairly well-established Italalian immigrant community in Walla Walla by 1911, when my Mom’s parents and family arrived. Some of the earliest Italian immigants were farming in the Ww Vapalley by the early-to-mid 1880s.
There is a wealth of Italian-American resourses/info on thosr earliest immigrants to Walla Walla, but I have never been able to find out why/how Walla Walla, 3,000 miles from Ellis Island, become a destination for these immithese immigrants….as you said, the vast majority settled in the NE
Oh! He’s gone, oh well easy come easy go.
Man-go, your name is kinda sexy!
My hubby Is never silent, he just talks my head off, so I just give him his pipe and encourage him to go smoke it, then he gets that munchy thing and yells “make me a sammich woman!”. He scares me sometimes.
maxcat, Just finished watching the Nats lose. Tough series. Their bats went silent @ the worst time. I think we’re both Royals fans now?