L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano in town the first university of Calabria known as the Accad- emia degli Inculti. C a r m i n e C a v a l i e r e could read and write when he left his family in Montalto Uffugo to migrate to the US. It was the year 1905. Carmine, born in 1878 in the nearby Zumpano, a vil- lage on the slopes of the Sila Grande, fled to the States twice in his life. "In Montal- to, my grandfather had put down roots - his family was growing in number in the new house he had built with m y g r a n d m o t h e r , " s a y s F r a n c e s c a C a v a l i e r e , Carmine's granddaughter. Francesca is a translator spe- cializing in German in Rome. O n e d a y h e r g r a n d f a t h e r Carmine felt that he had to go and had the guts to leave. "Even going to Naples from Montalto Uffugo was quite difficult at that time," says Francesca. There were no train connections from the village. "That day of 1905, my granddad crossed the Apen- n i n e m o u n t a i n s f o r m o r e than 20 km to get to the sea- s i d e t o w n o f P a o l a . T h e mountains were much qui- eter than they are today, and w o l v e s o f t e n c r o s s e d t h e f o o t s t e p s o f m e n , " s h e r e m a r k s . " I t t o o k a d a y ' s walk, maybe more. And if he used a cart or rode a horse, it would have taken at least 6 hours," she says. "He trod along the path Saint Francis o f P a o l a d i d t r e a d w h e n going from Paola to Montal- to. I am sure my grandfather in his heart asked the holy man for special protection over his family as he was leaving, and for himself too." Carmine finally reached the port of Naples, and from t h e r e s a i l e d t o N e w Y o r k aboard the Cretic ocean liner. "Granddad touched ground o n U S s o i l o n M a r c h 1 3 , 1905. His younger brother was with him. Nonno was 27, and his brother 17. They had a few dollars in their pockets. They were heading to Mid- d l e t o w n , P e n n s y l v a n i a , w h e r e t h e i r c o u s i n S a n t o Bernardo lived." The long journey across the ocean was scary. "Vio- lence aboard ships would add to the perils of the sea. The healthy would arrive sick," Francesca says. "There were thousands of emigrants on t h e C r e t i c s h i p t h a t d a y , 1,000 passengers crammed together in the steerage, and m y g r a n d a d w a s o n e o f them." "It took so much courage for him to venture to "La M e r i c a , " t o t h a t g r e a t u n k n o w n w h e r e p e o p l e spoke a different language. But family prayers were sus- taining my grandfather," she says. In 1906 Carmine moved to Pittsburgh. What specific work he did for five years is unclear. "The stories my rela- tives told me did not give me the certainties I was looking for," she says. "Perhaps he was a miner, a bricklayer, or maybe a worker in a steel mill. All three things com- bined are possible in a 5-year stay in two different cities." A f t e r t h o s e f i v e y e a r s , Carmine returned in 1910 to M o n t a l t o U f f u g o , " b u t i n 1913, ten months after the b i r t h o f h i s f i f t h s o n – G i u s e p p e , m y f a t h e r - h e d e c i d e d t o f l e e a g a i n , " Francesca explains. "Nonno w a s d e p a r t i n g f o r t h e U S again for his five children's well-being. He wanted to give them the hope of a better future." On that second herculean adventure, he was a passen- ger on the Stampalia that a r r i v e d i n N e w Y o r k . H e landed on October 25, 1913, after 12 days traveling in third class with 2,000 other migrants. Once he got off the s h i p , h e h a d t o u n d e r g o p h y s i c a l i n s p e c t i o n s a n d medical examinations. "They measured his height -- 5 feet, 6 inches read the s h i p m a n i f e s t r e c o r d s " , r e c a l l s F r a n c e s c a . " T h e y noted down that his eyes and hair were brown. In reality, my granddad had blue eyes! The immigration officer must have thought that color blue was inconsistent with the stereotype of Italians, espe- cially southerners, that they are all dark!" "They wrote down he had n o d e f o r m i t i e s - - h e w a s healthy in body and mind. They only detected an identi- fying mark on the cheek." "In the registry room, the officials asked him about his p r o f e s s i o n , d e s t i n a t i o n , availability of money, possi- ble criminal charges, and other information such as "are you an anarchist?". What job do you do? "The f a r m w o r k e r , " h e r e p l i e d . T h e y m e t i c u l o u s l y n o t e d d o w n e v e r y d e t a i l a t t h e immigration station on Ellis Island. C a r m i n e w a s f i n a l l y allowed to disembark. This t i m e , h e w a s b o u n d f o r K e n o s h a , W i s c o n s i n . I n Kenosha, he worked in a tan- nery. "Laying the skins flat to dry on hard-to-reach mezza- n i n e s w a s h i s t a s k , " s a y s Francesca. The job involved exposure to the toxic materi- als used to tan hides. Howev- er, Carmine could put aside money for his family through t h a t d a n g e r o u s w o r k . A c c o r d i n g t o F r a n c e s c a ' s research, her Nonno worked at the N. R. Allen & Sons Company, the only tannery in town at the time. But on May 23, 1915, when Italy declared war on Aus- tria-Hungary, entering WWI on the side of the Allies— Britain, France, and Russia-- - Carmine decided to return to serve his country. "The love of his home- land, the desire to defend the Italian soil where all his fam- ily members were living grew stronger and stronger with- in." Carmine was a patriot: He quit the job in Kenosha and moved back to join the Italian army. "He was serving the Italian nation, the same country that had pushed him out of its womb and sent him t o f e e d e l s e w h e r e , " c o m - ments Francesca. "The battlefields spared his life. And once back home in Montaldo, he enjoyed his 107 acres of land he could own thanks to the money he earned in the US, his wife's agricultural work in Calabria, and the inheritance of his parents", says Francesca. "He saw two more chil- dren being born, and then the children of his children. He was happy until the day pneumonia took its toll on his health, causing his death in 1949." T h o u g h p e n i c i l l i n w a s almost impossible to find in the region at the time, the miracle drug did help, but t h e n C a r m i n e h a d a f a t a l relapse. "Once he felt strong – penicillin had its prodi- gious effect on his muscular body not used to drugs –he wanted to be outdoors." "He wanted to be out to o v e r s e e t h e w o r k o f h i s employees, in his fields that now belonged to his children. But it was a wintry day of chilly Tramontana wind." F r a n c e s c a r e c a l l s h e r father's eyes shining with t e a r s w h e n h e t o l d h e r , "When I saw your grandad standing in the freezing wind that day, I soon realized that all was lost." C a r m i n e C a v a l i e r e belonged to a family of small landowners, but only thanks to the cash he earned in the US his rural landed estate could become more exten- sive. H i s g r a n d d a u g h t e r Francesca always loves visit- ing Montalto, a hidden gem imbued with the heritage of its cultural past. And to her, Montalto means family. "I love to walk among the land that belonged to my g r a n d p a r e n t s , " s h e s a y s . "From the top of the hill to the valley, my gaze becomes their gaze. And I feel their pride in having been able to give their family the unparal- leled fruit of honest work." Montalto gives her new eyes every time. "I am mes- merized by that sky so blue. It looks like a splash of color t h a t h a s f a l l e n f r o m t h e brush of a distracted painter. And I am captivated by those r o a d s t h a t c r e e p i n t o t h e m o u n t a i n s l i k e m a g i c a l streams in enchanted places. Those hills and olive groves enamor me. Each olive tree stands like a guardian angel watching over people. " Carmine Cavaliere (left) and a home in Montalto Uffugo (right) (Both photos courtesy of Giuseppe Cavaliere) ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES The beautiful hill town of Montalto located in Cosenza Province is most famous as the place where opera composer and librettist Ruggero Leoncavallo lived his childhood and adolescence Continued from page 20

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