L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 2023 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D e a r R e a d e r s , B u o n C o m - p l e a n n o t o a l l y o u " B i g B a m b i n i " delivered by the September stork and Buon Onomas- tico (Name Day) to all you Michaels and Michelles! T h e f e a s t d a y o f S t . Michael the Archangel is September 29. He is also the protector and patron saint of m y f a t h e r ' s h o m e t o w n , Pomarico, in the province of Matera, Basilicata. My father Vincenzo was born in September, therefore, each September I make arrange- ments for a memorial mass t o b e h e l d i n t h e s a m e church where he was bap- tized. My father always said that the history of his hometown w e n t w a y b a c k p r i m a d i Cristo. I recently discovered he wasn't exaggerating and will share some interesting facts about Pomarico, a hill- t o p t o w n s a i d b y s o m e boastful Pomaricani to be higher than nearby Tricari- co, Bernalda, Pisticci, Grot- t o l e , S a l a n d r a , M o n t e Scaglioso and Miglionico combined! What follows comes from t h e P o m a r i c o c h u r c h ' s archives, which date back to 1540, as collected and tran- scribed in Historical News a b o u t t h e L a n d o f Pomarico by local attorney a n d h i s t o r i a n A n t o n i o Giordano in 1911; in Brief H i s t o r i c a l N o t e s a b o u t P o m a r i c o , w r i t t e n b y Dr Donato Pasquale in 1 9 4 0 ; a n d i n P o m a r i c o , C h r o n i c l e o f T h r e e C e n - turies and Family Album of Pomarico, written by school teacher Pietro Varuolo in 1979 and 1994. *** Three hundred years before the Christian era, t h e c u l t o f H e r c u l e s w a s thriving among the ancient p e o p l e o f t h e r e g i o n . Mythology tells us that one o f t h e l e g e n d a r y " t w e l v e l a b o r s o f H e r c u l e s " w a s stealing golden apples from t h e g a r d e n o f t h e H e s - perides, which was guarded by the dragon of one hun- dred heads. For this feat, H e r c u l e s w a s g i v e n t h e name of Pomarius, namely protector of the orchards. *** After its original settle- ment was destroyed three times, Pomarico was recon- structed 455 meters above s e a l e v e l o n a h i l l i n t h e shape of a truncated cone. Its identification goes back to an extremely tumultuous and bellicose time in the middle of the 9th century AD, a period characterized by many invasions by the Saracens. The year 1043 AD m a r k s t h e b e g i n n i n g o f the Norman domination of Basilicata, and Pomari- co was linked with the des- tiny of the County of Mon- tescaglioso. *** The archive of the church of Pomarico supplies us with valuable information, n o t o n l y a b o u t b a p t i s m , m a t r i m o n y , a n d d e a t h o f parishioners but also about facts and historical events that took place in the com- munity. From the archives' records, we learn that the parish, composed of eight churches, had an average of 30-35 priests, with a peak of 65 in 1743. An interesting fact is that, while most peo- ple at the time lived an aver- age of 45 years, the majority of priests lived to be 70. The a c t u a l c i v i c c e n t e r o f Pomarico was founded in 850 AD after old Pomarico was destroyed by Turkish hordes. *** As years went by, the pop- ulation of Pomarico grew. In 1400, several Greeks settled outside the walls and formed t h e t o w n o f C a s a l e d e i Greci (the Greek colony). In those years, Pomarico had many feudal lords: the most f a m o u s w e r e G u g l i e l m o Braccio di Ferro (William the Iron Arm), Roberto il G u i s c a r d o , G i o v a n n i d i Monforte, and Francesco del Balzo, who is credited w i t h t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f Pomarico's Chiesa Madre in 1450. *** Pomarico's first musical b a n d d a t e s b a c k t o 1 8 1 6 when it performed on the o c c a s i o n o f the onomastico of King Fer- dinand IV. In 1853, the band Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. with its own regular sched- ule was formed. It used to p e r f o r m f a i t h f u l l y a t t h e f e a s t o f S t . M i c h a e l t h e Archangel every year. *** In 1828, the population of Pomarico numbered 5,427 inhabitants. In 1835, a man of intellectual talents and heart was born, Dr. Arcan- gelo Rossi. He graduated i n 1 8 6 0 i n m e d i c i n e a n d surgery and, in 1861, he was appointed physician attaché with the Italian army. In 1866, he took part in the w a r a g a i n s t A u s t r i a ( t h e Third War of Independence) a n d e a r n e d a M e d a l o f Honor. After the war, he set- tled in Pomarico and was on the list of physicians assist- ing and prescribing medi- cines to the poor. *** In the entire province of Matera, the only gold medal decoration was conferred in 1 9 2 7 t o F r a n c e s c o Caggiani, born in Pomari- c o i n 1 8 9 5 . H e w a s a sergeant in the 156th Foot Soldier Regiment: "In the war action of August 4, 1916, after all the officers of his u n i t h a d b e e n k i l l e d , h e assumed direct command, leading his men to the victo- r i o u s a s s a u l t . " P o m a r i c o then dedicated a city street and the school building to his name. In 1925, the mon- ument to the war veterans was dedicated, too. Sixty people died during the Sec- o n d W o r l d W a r a n d , i n 1989, the city administra- tion ordered a plaque to be erected in memory of those who lost their lives in that war. ***

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