A previous post discussed the first steps in tracing your Italian roots (click here to read the post). Some of the strategies included consulting home sources and interviewing older relatives for information about your Italian origins. Sometimes, however, knowledge of a family’s ancestral town is not known by the older generation or discoverable in family sources. This is when it is necessary to introduce some good old-fashioned genealogy research into the mix. Some may find this research more challenging than…
The first two episodes of the “The Italian Americans” aired nationally on PBS on Tuesday, February 17, 2015, from 9-11 PM ET. “The Italian Americans” is an exceptional series and highly recommend viewing for both Italian-Americans and those with an interest in culture, heritage and history in the United States. Watching this series will tug at the heartstrings of descendants of immigrants of all nationalities. THE ITALIAN AMERICANS: La Famiglia (1890-1910) — Click here to watch the full episode online. A brief history…
(Click here to read “Retracing Noni’s Footsteps – Part 1”) Sometimes one’s family history comes into unexpected convergence with world shaping events. My grandmother Loredana Tedesco (nee’ Stenech) was a young girl living in Rome when World War II broke out. She remained in the city throughout the war. It was a difficult period for the Italian people and for my grandmother. Many lives were lost. Families were disrupted and destroyed. Prior to Rome being declared an “Open City,” buildings…