L'Italo-Americano

italoamericano-digital-3-4-2021

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US who continue praising that "beloved village." "I am very proud to be a ' g r a n d d a u g h t e r ' o f V a l g u a r n e r a C a r o p e p e . I know my father, his sisters and their families treasure the connection to that beauti- ful hillside town," says Anne Ruisi, whose paternal grand- parents were from there. M s . A n n e R u i s i i s a n American journalist currently working in Bejing, China. "I have been researching my family history there and I hope to return after I retire in a f e w y e a r s t o d o s o m e research," she says. Anne R u i s i h a s b e e n t o Valguarnera twice, in 1975 a n d 2 0 0 8 , a n d l o v e d t h e place. " M y g r a n d f a t h e r w a s C r i s t o f e r o R u i s i , b o r n i n 1889," she says. "He was a s h o e m a k e r w h o t r a i n e d u n d e r h i s f a t h e r , m a s t e r shoemaker Almirante Ruisi. They lived at Via Purgatorio 70." " T h e n g r a n d f a t h e r l e f t Valguarnera in about 1910 or 1912 – all my records are in storage in the US," she notes. A n n e R u i s i ' s g r a n d f a t h e r went directly to Rochester, NY, where he worked in a s h o e f a c t o r y . T h a t j o b allowed him to raise his fami- ly, provide for them, which stood at the core of Italian- American life. " M y g r a n d m o t h e r G i u s e p p a D' A m i c o left Valguarnera in 1906 when she was 5," she continues. " H e r f a t h e r w a s S a n t o D'Amico, a barber-surgeon." M s . R u i s i s a y s t h a t t h e r e were many Valguarneresi in Rochester. "They even had t h e i r o w n c l u b , t h e Valguarnera Society," she says. H e r e x p e r i e n c e i n Valguarnera Caropepe was memorable. She soon fell in love with the place. "I loved the history there the most, I think." In 1975, she met her grandfather's surviving sis- ter-in-law and stayed in her home. "In 2008, I was able to visit the Ruisi family mau- soleum at the cemetery – so fascinating!", she says. Also after WWII, a new wave of Valguarneresi went to Rochester, NY, and many of them found a job in the local clothing factories. " T h e V a l g u a r n e r e s i a t t e n d e d t h r e e C a t h o l i c churches in Rochester: Holy Redeemer, St. Michael's, and St. Francis Xavier," wrote Salvatore Mondello in the b o o k A S i c i l i a n i n E a s t Harlem. "The tailor factories w h e r e t h e y w o r k e d w e r e located near these churches." Besides Rochester, many other Valguarneresi settled in Phoenix, Arizona, explains Mr. Bellone. "As well, many others lived in Union Street i n B r o o k l y n , N Y C w h e r e everyone brought a relative. They all ghettoized there," he says. Some others moved to the gold country, California. "The Tambè family, then La Delfa, D i V i n c e n z o , C a n t a g a l l o , Miccichè and Sardisco fami- lies are among them," says C a r l o B e l l o n e ' s n e p h e w , Paolo Totò Bellone, a young historian who is in charge of Museo Etno Antropologico e d e l l ' E m i g r a z i o n e Valguarnerese, a migration m u s e u m f o r v i s i t o r s a n d locals to get a deeper under- standing of what it means to b e V a l g u a r n e r e s i i n t h e world. "Many departed as miners, even child miners, the so- called 'carusi' who worked in the Sicilian sulfur mines," Mr. Bellone remarks. They worked in near-slavery. Bellone introduces me to a descendant of one of those m i n e r s . H i s n a m e i s M r . Charles DiVita . He is a retired university professor who has written a book enti- tled History of the DiVita Family. From Central Sicily to Northern New York and Southern West Virginia. The document is being withheld from publication until next year to coincide with the ded- ication of the DiVita Family History exhibit in the Museo E t n o A n t r o p o l o g i c o e d e l l ' E m i g r a z i o n e Valguarnerese. The pan- demic forced the cancellation of the planned June 2020 e v e n t i n V a l g u a r n e r a Caropepe. " W h e n I w a s a c h i l d i n West Virginia, my father, the son of Sicilian immigrants, often told me: 'La famigghia è tutto'— family is everything," says Professor DiVita from his home in the US. "I always wondered why. I should have known. After all, I was sur- rounded by Sicilian aunts, uncles, and cousins. What I did know was that family was everywhere." "As an adult, I began to realize what I did not know about these relatives who gave so much love and joy. As they passed and disappeared, I was haunted by my "legacy deficit", about what I didn't know." DiVita says he didn't know about his grandparents' six- teen offspring. "I didn't know about infants they left buried i n V a l g u a r n e r a … I d i d n ' t k n o w w h e r e a n c e s t o r s endured abject poverty. I did- n't know why, how, and when t h e y e m i g r a t e d … M o r e importantly, I didn't know how far, we descendants had progressed, because I didn't k n o w f r o m w h e n c e o u r ancestors began. C o n s e q u e n t l y , I d i d n ' t k n o w h o w m u c h w e a r e indebted to them. Now, at age 78, I know these things and more". DiVita says that when he visited in 2014 and 2018, he knew he was home. "My dis- covery of Valguarnera was the key to overcoming my 'legacy deficit' and adding meaning and value to my life." There is gratitude in his words. "That small town is, in large measure, responsible for who I am; for successes enjoyed in life; for traditions and foods I cherish; and for my perspective about what is possible and important in life," he remarks. "Without my discovery of Valguarnera, I would be adrift from the endless timeline of history. Without Valguarnera, I could never fully understand why my father told me 'La famig- ghia è tutto '. I now know why. Without that knowl- edge, I would be less me." And he continues: "Several a n c e s t o r s s e t t l e d i n Rochester, NY; others went to West Virginia to mine coal instead of Sicilian sulfur. They were amazing people: family-focused, faith-filled, and appreciative of American opportunities and Sicilian heritage." " W i t h i n d e c a d e s , t h e y leveraged their will and inge- n u i t y t o c r e a t e a m a z i n g opportunities for their first G e n e r a t i o n - A m e r i c a n descendants. They did so despite poverty, illiteracy, discrimination, the Great Depression, and two world wars. Today, their Sicilian DNA and values persist in the lives of subsequent descen- dants, who now benefit from sacrifices made by immigrant ancestors." T h e D i V i t a f a m i l y h a s achieved distinction in the worlds of finance, the arts, athletics, business, educa- tion, engineering, govern- ment, law, medicine, and the military. F i n a l l y , a n o t h e r w e l l - r e s p e c t e d V a l g u a r n e r e s e from the past was Girolamo Valenti, an editor, a labor leader, and an anti-fascist who emigrated to New York at 19 in 1911. Incisive Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci defined him as "the Italian- American intellectual of great value." He helped establish the Italian Chamber of Labor and worked as a labor organizer f o r t h e A m a l g a m a t e d Clothing Workers in the east- ern United States, as well as f o r t h e A m e r i c a n S h o e Workers Protective Union. In New York, he was also editor of several Italian-American newspapers, including the antifascist daily Il Nuovo Mondo (1925-1931). During World War II he served as a consultant for the Italian desk at the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). In the post- war years, he worked as an Italian-language radio com- mentator in NYC, where he died in 1958. LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Statues of the Virgin Mary and the Christ carried in the street on Good Friday (Photo: La Vaccara) Continued from page 32 THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 34 L'Italo-Americano

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