My paternal grandmother, Loredana Carla Pia Maria Stenech (now Tedesco), was born in the quaint northern Italian town of Rovereto, Italy. Located in the Province of Trento, Rovereto, is nestled in the Dolomites and boasts about 37,500 residents. I call my grandmother “Noni, an endearing diminutive of Nonna, the Italian word for grandmother. Telling Noni’s story is extremely important to me since she has encouraged my passion and pursuit of Italian genealogy more than anyone else. She is my heroine.
Noni was born in Rovereto to a language teacher, Mario Stenech and a nurse, Tecla Pellegrini (Click here to read more about Tecla.). When Noni was 2 years old, she and her family moved to Brunico in the Province of Bolzano for my great-grandfather Mario to pursue a job opportunity. Noni’s earliest childhood memories contain lots of snow, and she described people skiing in the streets. Having been to northern Italy in the middle of a blizzard, I can assure you these memories are justified!
During the early 1930’s, Noni and her mother moved to Rome. That’s right, just the 2 of them. Noni’s parents separated, and my great-grandmother Tecla, ever the independent woman, relocated to Rome with her daughter to start the next chapter of their lives. Noni’s father, Mario, would visit his cherished daughter whenever he could.
Noni remembers the 1930’s as a very happy time to be young, Italian and living in Rome. Her great uncle Tommaso Rosini, aunt Assunta Maraziti and their daughter, Luciana Rosini also lived in Rome. Noni and cousin Luciana were similar in age and played together nearly every moment they could. Noni describes blissful walks along the Tiber River, puppet shows in the park, and long Sunday afternoons at the cafe eating pastries with her mother, aunt, uncle and cousin Luciana.
My great-grandmother Tecla worked as a nurse and dietician assisting doctors in private hospitals. “My mother helped the patients get well, that was her job. She cared for the patients and chose the food for them to eat. She also assisted when the doctor performed surgery,” Noni recalled.
Her mother’s independence and career would leave a lasting impression on Noni’s character forever. This sense of independence would one day lead her over 4,000 miles across the ocean to Woburn, Massachusetts USA with her husband, my grandfather, Edward Tedesco.
In Rome, Noni attended private schools, and received a wonderful education. She studied Latin, Greek, Italian Language and Literature, Art History, Science, Math and other subjects. The schools she attended were small with probably about 30 to 40 girls attending each school. Noni’s parents emphasized the importance of education – something Noni would later encourage in her children and grandchildren.
Noni’s fondest childhood memories were summers at her grandparents’ house in the scenic coastal Tuscan town of Piombino. She would go to the beach everyday and spend time with friends and her own beloved grandparents, Rosa Rosini and Angelo Pellegrini. Noni’s childhood memories very much mirror my own. I grew up up spending time with her and my grandfather at their home in Gloucester, Massachusetts USA. My grandparents actually purchased their house because it reminded Noni of her grandparents’ house in Piombino.
Unfortunately, not all of Noni’s childhood recollections were filled with joy. Noni described the death of her dear cousin Luciana Rosini as the greatest tragedy of her childhood. Luciana unexpectedly died from tuberculosis in the early 1940’s at the age of 16 or 17. She was the person Noni was closest to besides her mother. To this day, Luciana is still a frequent mention in family stories all these years later.
Luciana’s passing was shortly followed by World War II in Italy. Noni’s home was bombed before Rome was declared “Open City” and bombing was no longer permitted in the Eternal City. She said the British were trying to bomb the Fascist office behind her home. Noni recalled digging her mother out of the rubble before fleeing the obliterated building. One of the only possessions she was able to save was a painting of the Madonna and Child that was hanging on the only wall left standing in their home. Noni’s life was spared as she crouched under her bed next to this painting.
“I lived a lifetime before I even came to the United States,” Noni recounted many times. These memories would further define my grandmother’s life and cement her ability to endure anything life would bring her including surviving a bout with cancer at the age of 84!
In the next few installments of Noni’s story, she will meet and fall in love with my grandfather, immigrate from Italy to the USA, and begin a new life after World War II. Stay tuned!
(Click here to read “Retracing Noni’s Footsteps – Part 2”)
(Click here to read “Retracing Noni’s Footsteps – Part 3”)
-Mary M. Tedesco, ORIGINS ITALY.
