FILÒFILÒ

A Quarterly for Tyrolean AmericansA Quarterly for Tyrolean AmericansFall 2012Fall 2012

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An Introduction . . . An Introduction . . .

The Filò is to be published and distributed on a quarterly basis and is targeted to the chil-dren of our immigrant parents. The Filò (pronounced fee-lò) was the daily gathering in thestables of the Trentino where the villagers met and socialized. The intent is to provide asummary of our culture, history, and customs in plain English to inform and provide youwith the background of your roots and ancestry.. If you wish to contact us, call LouBrunelli at 914-402-5248. Attention: Your help is needed to expand our outreach to fellowTyrolean Americans. Help us identify them, be they your children, relatives or acquaintanc-es. Go to filo.tiroles.com and register on line to receive the magazine free of charge. Youmay also send your data to Filò Magazine, PO Box 90, Crompond, NY 10517 or fax themto 914-734-9644 or submit them by email to filo.tiroles@att.net.

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Bishops & Barbarians . . .Bishops & Barbarians . . .After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Trentino found itself at the nexus ofthe forces that would define Europe for the next several hundred years: thegrowth of Christianity and the waves of Barbarian Invasions. After Rome’ssecular and spiritual authority broke down, both Church and State sought toreestablish order in this fluid and volatile environment. The Tyrol, lying mid-way between the remnants of Roman and Mediterranean and the newBarbarian Kingdoms had a central role in this drama.

During this time, few made as significant an impact as St. Vigilius, the firstbishop of Trento. Born a Roman patrician, and an associate and correspon-dent of early Catholic Fathers St. Ambrose and St. John Chrysostom, Vigiliusled efforts to spread Christianity throughout the region as well as establishingthe infrastructure of the newly created bishopric. He had a classical educa-tion, studying at both Athens and Rome before joining his brothers Claudianand Magorian in the Trentino in 380 AD. He shepherded other missionariesincluding Sisinnius, Martyrius and Alexander, who were famously martyred in Sanzeno, Val di Non. Although hehonored these missionaries by recovering their remains and sending their relics to Milan and Constantinople, heshowed magnanimity to the accused, pardoning them. This was consistent with his apostolic philosophy: “vinceresoccombendo” -- “winning by succumbing.” Vigilius tried to win converts not through threats or force, but by per-sonal, pacific example. Although the circumstances of his death are disputed, legend holds that he was martyred inthe Val Rendena preaching against the worship of the pagan god, Saturn.

One of Vigilius’ associates, St. Romedius, is also a popular figure in Trentino and Church lore. Romedius, often por-trayed with a muzzled bear, was a hermit-missionary active in the Val di Non. Once, while setting out to visit Vigiliusin Trento, his horse was torn apart by a local bear. Romedius ordered that his cloak be set on the bear, who becameimmediately tame, allowing Romedius to ride the bear all the way to Trento. Fittingly, the Trentino boasts one of thefew bears still living in the wild in the Brenta Dolomite Natural Park! In addition, the shrines in the Val di Nonaround Romedius’ hermitage exhibit critical artistic artifacts detailing the transition from the Roman-Byzantine styleto the more realistic Romanesque-style characteristic of the Middle Ages throughout the rest of Europe.

Following the fall of Rome, the first Barbarian group to establish authoritywas the Goths under Theodoric, but they were not able to hold onto powerlong as they became squeezed between the newly reformed ByzantineEmpire around Venice and the expanding Frankish kingdom. The Lombardsreplaced the Goths and ruled Northeastern Italy for the next two centuriesfrom Lombardy in the West to the Veneto and Friuli in the East. The firstCount of Trento, Euin, attempted to maintain the balance by forgingalliances and marriages with the Baiuvarii (“Bavarians”) to the north.However, political arrangements were fluid and the Lombard counts ofTrento often found themselves in conflicts. Alahis, another Trentino Count,attempted to created an independent Trentino state, but was unsuccessful.The regional infighting ended with the establishment of the FrankishKingdom under Charlemagne that created the antecedent of the HolyRoman Empire. However, even in this, the Trentino was a central setting, asthe Passo Carlomagno attests -- Charlemagne, on his way to his coronationby the Pope, passed through the Trentino with his retinue. Still, many of thelocal powers continued as the “castellani” that can be seen in the many cas-tles throughout the province. Christian Brunelli

Fresco of St. Vigilius, First Bishop of Trento

Burial Artifact from the Lombard PeriodLombard Tradition believed that a chickenshould be tied to feet of the deceased

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Ex Voto: Faith Expressed in ArtEx Voto: Faith Expressed in ArtThe Trentino has a special expression of our people’s faith expressed artistically onvotive tablets, the Ex Voto. An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or to God. It isgiven in fulfillment of a vow (hence the Latin term, short for ex voto suscepto, "fromthe vow made") or in gratitude or devotion. Ex-votos are placed in a church or chapelwhere the worshiper seeks grace or wishes to give thanks. When an illness seemed notto have a remedy or recourse, when the “medicine” was a science simply not available,the unfortunates, those who were ill would make a covenant with the divinity. The Ex

Voto tablet was a testimonial of a supernatural inter-vention in the face of ever present dangers anddeath itself. These tablets or framed pictures depictscenes painted in oils or tempera or drawn in pencilcommemorating grace received in cases of illness, accident or danger giving evi-dence of their piety and devotion. They were commissioned by individuals oreven communities from mostly unknown painters to record a “miracle” ofwhich they had been the protagonist and beneficiaries. They hang on the walls ofsanctuaries and side altars communicating the popular devotion or religious faithof our villages, the gratitude expressed by simple people to the saints or to those

persons to whom they turned in times of needs. These Ex Voto tablets have their expressive expositions in someof the major sanctuaries of devotion in the Tyrol. They include Montagnaga di Pine` (see article on page 29) S.Romedio, S. Valentino of Ala, S. Croce di Bleggio, the Madonna del Monte in Rovereto, l`Addolorata a Cavalese, theMadonna dell`Aiuto a Fiera di Primiero, the chapel of S. Antonio in Albiano; the Madonna of the Baselga ofBresimo, S. Vigilio of Tione…to name but a few.

These objects are considered “humble” art yet they served as expressive symbols, megaphones announcing and pro-claiming a special and blessed happening. It is within this world of legend, of piety and faith that ex votos recountthe stories of common folk. The creators of these pictures never claimed to have created works of art but they arestrikingly beautiful as well as being a precious testimony of the everyday life a bygone age.

In 1981 in Trento, there was an exhibition and a survey of the ex voto tablets that had been produced between 16thto the 19th century. There were approximately 1000 ex voto objects. In the parish church of S. Anna at Montagnagadi Pine`, 400 ex voto tablets were destroyed due to the negligence of the parish priest that had situated candles underthe tablets. In the Valsugana, the ex votos were gathered in chapels in the country side where there had resided her-mits. When the hermits had to leave these places by degree of the Emperor Joseph II of Vienna at the end of the18th century, the more “precious” objects were stolen by thieves. This happened in all too many places. In sum-mary, these historic tablets document a world of customs that has now disappeared but provide a glimpse of thehistoric and traditional religiosity of our people.

Alberto Folgheraiter — author of I Sentieri dell`Infinito-Storia dei Santuari del Trentino-Alto Adige

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The Farmer’s PriestThe Farmer’s PriestThe life of our ancestors was extremely difficult and they struggled to eke out a living outof the small plots of land assigned to them with the backwardness of their methods ofcultivation. In 1882 and 1885, there occurred severe natural disasters: severe flooding andnew and difficult plant diseases: downey mildew and oidium. Added to this was the silk-worm pebrine that destroyed the silkworm and that wiped out the cottage or individualhome industry of silkworm cultivation. Political forces also combined to increase the eco-nomic woes of the Italian Tyrol. The Risorgimento ot the war of “reunification” of a newstate of Italy, removed from the common empire both of the Trentino’s neighbors:Lombardy and the Veneto, their traditional trading partners under the regime of the

Austrian Hungarian Empire. The Trentino was forced to revert to the borders of 1796 when it belonged to the feu-dal domain of the Principato of Trento and Bressanone. Thus, custom duties were imposed increasing the hard-ships. Moreover, the inoculation against small pox increasing the economic hardships by an unexpected increase inpopulation. Emigration became an inevitable and harsh necessity The combination of all these circumstances creat-ed the great migration to the USA and to our very own community, the Tyrolean Americans

There is a story that deserves to be remembered and retold for everyone, includingthe readers of the Filo`, that want to better understand the past which becomes evermore distant but continues to emerge to add a freshness and a vitality to the manymen and women who are heirs of the history.The time that we refer to is the sec-ond part of the 1800’s (1850-1900) and the place is the Trentino or Tyrol, part of thePrincipesca Contea del Tirolo that succeeded the Principato of Trento andBressanone, the feudal state of the Bishops that had endured for 800 years endingin 1776 then succeeded by the Austrian Hungarian Empire.

The work of Don Lorenzo Guetti (1847-18989), the priest that was responsible forthe spread of the Cooperative system throughout the Trentino. He established“Famiglie Cooperative” (Family Cooperatives) and the “Casse Rurali” (Rural banks).These two entities were fundamental instruments for the survival and well being ofthe people. They were like beneficial rivers that brought life, liberation, dignity andsurvival and hope in a period of great misery, odious poverty and the lack of anyfuture for the Trentini people of that time.

The dream and mission of the Cooperative Movement was that of a humble but talented priest from Vigo Lomasoin the Val of the Giudicarie Esteriori. The birth of this Movement was the spark of an economic, social and spiri-tual rival for the Italian Tyrol. This area depended solely on the cultivation of everything from cereals and grains tofruit trees, from cultivating pastures for the grazing of animals, to the harvesting of wood from the mountain sides,to cultivation of their animals..cows and goats.. to create their dairy products, to their pigs for meat, to cultivationof mulberry trees and silk worm. Yet these many and varied pursuits remained individual to the particular contadi-no and lacked the capital investments and the specialization of industrial production. In context of all these eco-nomic, social and spiritual upheavals, Don Guetti was a real spring of fresh water, a flower to combat the universaldryness.

Fr. Marcello Farina is a priest, high school teacher of philosophy, an adjunct professor atthe University of Trent, author of many books including E per un uomo la terra regardingthe life and work of Don Guetti.

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The Sanctuaries: Madonna di PinèThe Sanctuaries: Madonna di PinèThere are many sanctuaries in the Trentino and we will explore them in the Filò.The sanctuary of the Madonna di Pinè of Montagnaga of Pinè is the most wellknown one in the Trentino. Here is its story....Domenica Targa, born in 1699, livedin the small village of Varda, the daughter of poor peasant farmers. She assistedher family pasturing their animals. In 1729 and 1730, she is reported to have hadfive visions of the Virgin Mary. Many would not acknowledge the assertions ofDomenica especially the pastor of Baselga of Pinè who would not even listen toher and demanded that she remain silent. Nonetheless, word got around theTrentino so that the curious began making their way to Montagnaga and along withthese visitors there came donations to reconstruct the ancient chapel of St. Anne originally built in the 16th centu-ry. A new phenomenon occurred in association with the chapel. there came the obsessives, possessed and convulsedwhich the people regarded as “ndemoniadi o spiritadi”...the possessed and spirited people. These people came toMontagnaga to receive special blessings and be “liberated from the demons.”

When Domenica Targa died on October 25, 1784, she was buried in the church ofSt Anna, in the very place where she had declared that she had seen visions of Maryon three occasions. With the passage of time and with the multiplication of eventsand episodes considered miraculous, the sanctuary of Montagnaga became thefocus of attention and devotion. In 1816, there occurred “l`an dela fam”, the yearof the hunger..famine that gripped the Trentino, the people of Montagnaga gainedan approval from the Church to enlarge the Church of St. Anna. Despite the hard-ships of the times, the restorations went forward and continued until 1880. LuigiLiberi was the architect that provided the grand design. Bishop Gian Giacomo della

Bona consecrated the new church and final decorations and restorations were completed in 1929, the second cen-tennial of the apparitions. The field where the apparitions occurred the field “della Comparsa” was bought by pri-vate individuals and added to the sanctuary. They also had cast a bronze statue of the Madonna e the young peas-ant girl. There was added a large painting that was “crowned” by Bishop Eugenio Carlo Valussi and placed in theparochial church of St. Anna. To celebrate the centennial remembrance of theapparitions, the same Bishop erected a memorial cross on the adjacent mountaintops. Don Giuseppe Zanotelli erected a monument dedicated to the Holy Redeemerby adding a devotional set of 28 steps that lead to a replica of a large crucifix, a copyof the crucifix that is venerated in the cathedral of Trento.

Although the Catholic Church has never recognized the authenticity of the allegedvisions, every year there arrive no less than 200,000 pilgrims to visit and pray at theComparsa. Hundreds of devotional pictures (Ex Voto) covered the sanctuary wallslike a great tapestry of St Anna. The more ancient of these devotional framed imagesrefer to exorcisms, deliverance from evil spirits and cures from man-made and ani-mal epidemics. While it is difficult, after three centuries, to know clearly what occurred in 1729-1730, there are thou-sands of testimonials of “grazie”. . . favors, hundreds of thousands of invocations, a devotion that has resisted theenormous changes of civilization and customs. Every year, “pilgrimages” from individual parishes, organized by thedioceses, of the young, the sick and the elderly come to the sanctuary of Pinè. None seem concerned about dioce-san approvals for their heart felt devotion and this place of piety.

Statues of Madonna and Domenica

Church of St. Anna

Holy Stairs of the Redeemer

Alberto Folgheraiter is the author of many books regarding the Trentino. This article is an abstract fromhis definitive and colorful book I Sentieri dell`Infinito-Storia dei Santuari del Trentino-Alto Adige The Paths of theInfinite-The Story of the Sancutaries of the Trentino Alto-Adige sanctuaries.

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De Gasperi: A European FounderDe Gasperi: A European FounderUnquestionably, Alcide De Gasperi is not only most celebrated personfrom the Valsugana, a Valsuganotto…and the entire currentTrentino…he is considered the most significant person in the creationof the modern European Union. To link him to us Tyrolean Americans,he was known to have said: Mi sun prestà` all`Italia..I lent myself toItaly…associating himself with the very same Tyrolean origins and iden-tity of our forbearer immigrants in the USA. We have the good fortuneof having a distinguished scholar and archivist of De Gasperi: MaurizioGentilini. Here is his article, the first in a series to follow.

Probably Alcide De Gasperi is the most famous person coming fromTrentino in the 20th century. De Gasperi was born the 3rd of April

1881 in the village of Pieve Tesino in the Valsugana, a valley in the province of Trento, historically the Tyrol andpart of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father was a local police officer of limited financial means. The youngDe Gasperi was active in the social Christian movement and in the Catholic social organizations in Tyrol as well asin Austria where he attended the University of Vienna. In 1905 he graduated with a degree in philology and beganto work as editor of the newspaper “La Voce Cattolica”, which was replaced in September 1906 by Il Trentino. Inhis newspaper he often advocated strongly in favor of an administrative and cultural autonomy for Sud Tirol or theWelch Tirol. At the same time he helped establish the Partito Popolare Trentino, for which he was elected to theAustrian Parliament in 1911. He was firmly neutralist during the First World War, which he spent in Vienna.

When the Sud Tirol or the Tyrol was annexed to Italy in 1919 at the con-clusion of the World World War as part of the post-war settlement, hebecame an Italian citizen, and became the founder-member of the ItalianPopular Party led by Don Luigi Sturzo, an activist cleric in the transition ofItaly from fascism. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1921, he initiallysupported the participation of his party in Mussolini's first government inOctober 1922, but was soon in conflict with the Fascists. He opposed theconstitutional changes to the powers of the executive, the election system,and the Fascist violence against the constitutional parties. The pressures ofFascism divided the Italian Popular Party, and De Gasperi becameSecretary of the remaining anti-Fascist Popolari in May 1924. In November1926, in a climate of overt violence and intimidation by the Fascists, hisparty was dissolved by order of the Ministry of the Interior. De Gasperiattempted to escape into exile and was arrested and imprisoned. After hisrelease in May 1928, he was unemployed and in serious financial hardship,until in May 1929 the Archbishop of Trento Celestino Endrici , life longconfidant secured him a job as a cataloguer in the Vatican Library, wherehe spent the next fourteen years until the collapse of Fascism in July 1943.During World War II De Gasperi became active in the underground, was one of the founders of the illegal ChristianDemocratic Party (Democrazia Cristiana, and founded the newspaper “Il Popolo”. After the liberation of Italy inJune 1944, he served as minister “without portfolio” and subsequently as foreign minister; in December 1945 hebecame Premier, a post he held until 1953. As chief of the Italian delegation at the World War II Peace Conferencein Paris, he elicited concessions from the Allies that guaranteed Italian sovereignty. After the formal end of the Italianmonarchy in June 1946 and the proclamation of Republic, De Gasperi functioned as head of the ChristianDemocrats, the party that dominated Parliament for the next 8 years. As Premier during this critical postwar period,his diplomacy and political skills maneuvered to maintain a precarious and moderate balance between disparate ele-ments within the party and the nation. By avoiding conflicts with the numerous Socialists and Communists, he

Pieve Tesino -- De Gasperi’s Birthplace

Alcide De Gasperi

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managed with great delicacy to put Italian democracy on a firm foundation. Besideshis successful negotiations with the Allied Powers, his most striking achievement inforeign policy was the agreement with Austria (September 1946) to establish thesouthern Tirol as an autonomous region. De Gasperi's involvement in the post-warreconstruction was of critical importance for the future functioning of the newItalian state. During his period of office, Italy voted to become a republic (June1946), the Peace Treaty was signed (February 1947), the Marshall Plan and other USsupport for Italy was agreed. The wartime coalition with the Communists andSocialists was ended (May 1947), and the new constitution came into force (January1948). The Democrazia Cristiana won a majority in the first parliamentary elections(April 1948), and Italy joined NATO (1949). With the guiding hand of De Gasperithe government planned and built many of the critical and important reforms.

His eight year tenure of office remains a landmark of political longevity for a leader in modern Italian politics. Agradualist and a firm believer in the importance of international alliances, he was a politician for whom the term"centrist" could have been coined. He was a good practical administrator and a deeply religious individual who hateddogmatism and abhorred extremism.

He is considered to be one of the Founding Fathers of the EuropeanUnion, with the French and German statesmen Robert Schuman andKonrad Adenauer. He helped organize the Council of Europe and sup-ported to the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community(CECA) – a forerunner in the process of European integration. He wasnamed president of the European Steel and Coal Community in 1954.Although the project of European Union eventually failed, De Gasperihelped develop the notion and the very structure of a common Europeandefense policy. In 1952 he received the Karlspreis (InternationalCharlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen), an award by the German cityof Aachen to people who contributed to the European idea and Europeanpeace.

When the Christian Democrats did not gain a majority in the elections of1953, De Gasperi was unable to establish a workable cabinet and wasforced to resign as premier. The following year he also had to leave theleadership of his party, and 2 months later, on Aug. 19th 1954, he died inhis beloved Trentino. He is buried in Rome, in the Basilica di San Lorenzo

outside the Walls. In 1993 the Catholic Church opened the process for his beatification.

De Gasperi is often regarded as one of the few undoubted statesmen of the Italian Republic, and as one of the mostimportant founders of democracy in Italy and in Europe.

De Gasperi Monument -- Trento

Maurizio Gentilini had been the archivist at Diocesan Archive of Trento, and now record man-ager of the National Research Council (CNR) in Rome, published many books and articlesregarding De Gasperi and was the curator of the Museum of De Gasperi’s birth house in PieveTesino. He will be contributing a series of articles that can also be found in Wikipedia, to whichhe contributed his scholarship. In subsequent articles in the Filo, Maurizio will present us with thefollowing topics: Early years in Trentino; The opposition of Fascism; De Gasperi Prime Minister;De Gasperi and the American support; De Gasperi and 1948 elections; De Gasperi foundingfather of Europe

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Women in Alpine AgricultureWomen in Alpine AgricultureAlpine women, especially those areas where there had occurred a great deal of emi-gration by men, engaged in the multi-faceted job of Alpine farming. Younger womentended cows and oxen as well as the flocks of sheep and goats while the older womencultivated the fields and crops, processing the sequences of chores to create and storehay for their animals without their neglecting their household tasks and families. Thisgave women more autonomy and independence in agriculture, previously carried outby men. In the Trentino, the emigration of the males was widespread. At first, seasonalmigration to the Po Plain south then the migration spread to Central Europe. Finally,as conditions demanded, the males began their emigration from the Trentino to Northand South America. Due to the wartime draft, womenfolk had assumed not only theordinary tasks but traditional male tasks.

In reality, even when the men were present, the women were always quite busy. Theybore many heavy loads on their shoulders and their heads or in the gerla, a basketattached to their backs. The gerla was their companion even as little girls, the balancing

rod to carry pails of water from the fontane, the one and only source of water in the village. On their backs, they car-ried large hay nets down from the fields to the haylofts above their homes. Their tasks and obligations away fromthe hearth of the home were many and varied: they sowed seeds, attended to fertilizing the fields, they harvestedcrops, milked the cows and goats, attended to their vegetable garden, they shucked corn, harvested the crops, tookcare of the stables refreshing the farlet, the bed of hay and leaves for the animals, fed the animals, grew flax seed andhemp and performing all the successive tasks to render the canepa into twine to make chairs. All these were the tasksand the functions of the women. Most of the haymaking process was exclusively the skills of the women. After themen cut the grass, the wives, mothers-in-law and daughters as well as the younger children of the family spread thegrasses to dry them, turning them over several times before stacking it for the evening. Hence, the many steps of thehaymaking involved the gathering of the hay,its rotation, gathering it in large nets (see illus-tration), bringing it in from the fields andarranging it in their haylofts situated on theupper levels of their homes. All these difficultand time consuming tasks were the work ofthe women of the household. In the Trentino,in particular the Vallagrina, there was a specif-ic and exclusive function of the women: thecultivation of mulberry trees and silkwormswhich was usually inside the homes of these“women farmers.” The difficult and demand-ing work involved the selection of the seed andthe incubation and rearing of the silkworms.

Obviously, these functions were integrated into in all that was entailed in their domestic economy and householdmanagement…the daily tasks and the feeding of their families, educating children in manners and religious educa-tion. A task particularly assigned to the women. Women were seen as the guardian of family traditions. Her activi-ties were fundamental to the social relationships of the family and the transmission of the ethical and cultural val-ues across generations. This was the “female role and function” in the Alps: a love for the work and the family, sac-rifice and physical fatigue of the tireless Alpine woman.

Daniela Finardi - Daniela Finardi, Communications Dept -Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina

Trentino Woman Tilling the Soil

Gathering the Hay

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Castel Pergine: Guardian of the ValleyCastel Pergine: Guardian of the ValleyThe Tyrol…now the Trentino is a land of mountains, extraordinary views, offorests, of waterfalls and meadows…and a land of castles, many castles.. morethan any where else in all of Europe. Their castles reflect lands that never had aking but Emperors and Lords and feudal Bishops and Castellani that ruled some-times sections and often the entire territory. The castles offer a distinctiveatmosphere where you quickly discern as you go through the massive entrances;walk through the lists where tournaments were once held and enter frescoedrooms where the shadows might cloak the presence of figures from distinctlegend. They are castles whose ruins, encountered unexpectedly on walksthrough the countryside, radiate mystery. Their square stones bring to life theshouts of soldiers who once guarded the walls and the loud cries of the grooms

in the stables and the soft voices of the knights keeping a vigil in a castle chapel….One such splendid castle is theimposing Castel Pergine.

Castel Pergine dominates the whole Alta Valsugana and the city of Pergine. It sits conspicuous-ly and dominantly on a high hill and overlooking the valley strategically protecting andguarding the once ancient and significant Via Claudia Augusta. It was the Roman roadthat linked the valley of the Po River with Rhaetia (modern Southern Germany) across theAlps. In 15 BC, the Roman general Nero Claudius Drusus, the adopted son of Augustus, gotorders from his stepfather to improve the passage through the Alps for military purposes and toincrease Roman control over Rhaetia and Noricum.[3] The project of converting a pack-animaltrail to serve wheeled vehicles was completed sixty years later in 46-47 AD by the son of Drusus,

the Emperor Claudius. People and goods could pass between the Adriaticand the broad valley of the Po to Tridentum (modern Trento), then north-ward following the Adige up to Pons Drusi, the "bridge of Drusus" which developed intoBolzano. Castel Pergine rises on the site of an old prehistoric fortress which later became aRoman settlement..and which became Pergine Valsugana. It was transformed into a Longobardstronghold. The castle in its present form was erected in the 13th century and belonged to theDukes of Austria under the reign of Margaret Maultasch, and then to the Emperor MaximilianI. Margaret, Countess of Tyrol was the last Countess of Tyrol. Upon her death, the Tyrolbecame united with the hereditary lands of the House of Habsburg. In 1531, it became theproperty of the Bishop of Trento Bernardo Cles, the great manager of the Council of Trent.The bishop of Trent was not only a bishop and “prince” of the church but a true Prince, a feu-

dal prince of the Principato of Trento that ruled for 800 years prior to the Austrian Hungarian dominance of 200years ending in 1918.

The castle boasts two surrounding walls: a medieval part, comprisingthe defensive features, such as the keep and the towers, and theRenaissance residential quarters. A very unusual historical and archi-tectural highlight is the huge octagonal pillar supporting the vault-ed ceiling of the entrance hall. Other interesting features include,the so-called Prigione della Goccia (Prison of the Drop), the Cameradel Camino (the Fireplace Room), which is notorious since pop-ular legends have it that the ghost of a mysterious lady in white, laDama Bianca, has been known to have appeared Notable also is theSala del Trono (Throne Room) and the Chapel of St. Andrew on thefirst floor. The five rooms on the second floor and the garden are usedexhibition venues.

Castel Pergine

Castel Pergine

Margaret Maultasch

Bernardo Cles

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Our Emigration: the “Miseria”Our Emigration: the “Miseria”Renzo Grosselli is a noted journalist of the Adige and author of many books. He has stud-ied, researched and written about the migration phenomena of the Trentino. He will be pro-viding us with on-going features of how our people needed to leave their beloved villages andvalleys and recreate their lives and establish their lives and create families here in the USA.

Around 1875-1900, the time of the “great emigration”, in the Italian Tyrol more than 20%of the children died prior to they were one year old. Tuberculosis and pellagra afflicted thevalleys and the towns. This might very well be the picture that explains why thousands ofTrentini left their lands to emigrate to other European countries and in America…in the USAmore than anywhere else.

We deal with that “misery” which has always been considered the reasonof every migratory wave. What was this “misery”? It is best to explain itby the analysis of the commentators of that era, the commentators inthe specialized journals, the medical journals or the scientific journalsthat were present in a very poor area but was strictly connected and tiedto Middle Europe, part of that Empire of Austria and Hungary towhich the peasant class was sincerely and emotionally attached. The firstinformation that springs to our eyes, in the various publications, was thatof the infant mortality rate. In the varied districts of the Italian Tyrol,the rate fluctuated in 1880 and 1890 between 18% and 24.5%. One childin every five died prior to his first year. What were the causes? More than20% of the new born would die from an illness that the doctors definedas “congenital weakness”. But what were we dealing with? Here is a diag-nosis of one such doctor. “The skin is withered, the stare is semi-alert,the brow is wrinkled, as if there had occurred the difficulties of life; theydo not have even the breath to cry.” The coloring was yellow and thechildren of several months were not able to remain seated since they hadnot the strength. It was a death tied not only to hunger but to a severemalnutrition. These young ones were the children of mothers who werethemselves undernourished and who had to work exceedingly hard inthe fields and in their homes, all the way up to the birth itself. They resumed this difficult regime of work shortlyafter their delivery, while still not full recovered. Those newborn, therefore, who were still breast feeding, were fedwith a breast milk of little caloric content so that in the mountainous areas, the breast feeding lasted just severalweeks and we learned that the premature weaning was often the cause of their deaths.

There was yet another endangering illness: tuberculosis, diffused primarily in the lower valleys. In the major centers:Trento, Rovereto and Riva del Garda, in the last decades of the nineteenth century there were the greatest incidentsof the disease up to 10% of the population. But conditions were getting worse. The doctors, in fact, since tubercu-losis was considered a “shameful” disease, often avoided the reporting, referring to the causes with euphemisms.Consumption was killing young people between 18 and 35 primarily. Yet another illness that was victimizing the val-leys of the Trentino in the period of the great emigration: Pellagra. This illness about whose causes were not knownwas according to a study by a doctor from Rovereto. “It had three stages of development. At first, the patient sawhis skin flake and dry on certain parts of the body exposed to the sun, elbows and knees. As a result, this weakenedthe patient and made it difficult to work. In the last phase, pellagra led to muscle atrophy, pulmonary tuberculosis,and in many cases even madness and suicide.” Only later did doctors and researchers discover that pellagra is causedby a vitamin deficiency. In the 1980’s, those afflicted with pellagra were 60,000 in Lombardy, 40,000 in the Venetowhile there were no exact statistics in the Trentino. A study was attempted that found that 5% of the deceased in

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Rovereto were due to pellagra and that 20% of the mental illness were due to the illness. Adisturbing finding was found in Terragnolo in the Municipio near Rovereto. In 1896 therewere 650 people afflicted with pellagra, 27% of the population. These individuals while work-ing spend more than what they have and do not repair sufficiently the wear and tear of theirwork. They are contadini (farmers) who pay with their premature deaths this time imbalanceand with the exercise of one of the most sacred and holy functions, their work, they dig fatal-ly an early grave.

These were not the only sicknesses that afflicted the Italian Tyrol. Many children were dyingof scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, whooping cough, consumption. Widespread among all

ages was scrofolosi, tuberculosis of the lymph nodes and rickets that was referred to as the dominant disease. Ricketscreated deformations of the bones in every part of the body. A doctor of that time wrote that among us thedeformed flourish like mushrooms….Even this infirmity had as a principal cause bad nutrition. One lived poorly inthe Trentino in second part of the 1800’s. In every one hundred children, there died 23 prior to their first year and43 would die before their twentieth birthday. The median life expectancy was between 36 and 37 years of age.Meanwhile the life expectancy of a German or French child was 43-45 year while a Scandinavian child was 48- 50years. It was evident that such a situation was due to a complexity of conditions. Sanitary practices were not wellknown and there was an absence of medical practices and instruments. But the principal reason was nor the lack ofsuch practices since in 1890 in the Trentino there was one physician for every 2770 inhabitants and 8 hospitals thathad infirmaries in various valleys. In 1889 such infirmaries numbered 703, 408 midwives and in 1882 there was estab-lished the Association of Trentino Medical Practice.

But it was a medical science at its very beginning andthe cures to which the majority of Trentini, the farm-ers, resorted to were those of a typical nature tied tothe use of herbs, to the practices of tiraossi (bonepullers-primitive chiropractic), and cavadenti (toothpullers performed by blacksmiths) and those whotreated sickness with magical-religious practices.These were signals that indicated the transition fromthe “ancient world” to modernity. There were yetanother significant cause for the diffusion of the sick-nesses that devastated the population. These causeswere connected with the type of habitation in whichlived the Trentino peasant class but also the poorerurban classes: environments poorly heated, in a landthat offered long and rigid winters, small rooms thatwere poorly ventilated. The houses were juxtaposed that did not allow the sun to enter; houses wherein was situat-ed their stables, rooms in which they lived many hours every day, especially in the winter…gathered frequently forthe real Filo`. The ally ways were replete with water that ran and carried with them garbage and wastes. The matureof the cow used to fertilize the fields were accumulated proximate to the homes.

But above all the Trentino people, the unfortunate, the small farmers principally, would poorly nourish themselvesin the latter part of the 1800’s. From the information gathered in the part of the 19th century, we can assert that in80’ and the 90’s, the amount of food was greatly reduced. The heart of their meals was polenta, few vegetables, milkand cheese. Meat was almost totally absent as well as bread while the consumption of potatoes because ever morewidespread in those years. Polenta, which today is the very symbol of Trentino folklore, could have been considereda condemnation.Many times…wrote an observer…especially among the poor, and during the hot months when thework increased and the need to restore what is lost by the body increases, it is not infrequent the case of farmersforced by the economic conditions to eat polenta, the base of their food, combine their leavy vegetables, turnips

Pellagra Victim

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with the remnant of sour milk. Since even in the mountains, where it was common to rear cattle, milk, butter andthe cheese needed to be sold to overcome the scarcity of food for their families. Here then is a brief overview ofthe “miseria” in the Trentino of the 1800’s. Insufficient nourishment hence was widespread sickness. Coupled withthis, there was a way of life based on extraordinary physical labor. The farmer, who had insufficient land, was forcedto work many hours a day to bring home the bare minimum to live. It equally engaged women, children and the eld-erly to work as hard. It was the only way to survive, a thing that needed to be done in times of grave economic andsocial crisis. The miseria that led to the emigration sprung from the impossibility to nourish oneself properly andthe necessity to work ever more to put on the table ever less and from the poverty of their houses and villages inwhich they lived.

One lived badly in the Italian Tyrol in those times of crisis. Very bad! But there was yet another circumstance. Fromthe world of Central Europe, Great Britain and especially the United States, there arrived news of a totally differentway of life; news of great consumption ma also of liberties and freedoms unthinkable in the Trentino. In the ItalianTyrol, the farmer, the very majority of its population, stood on the lowest level of the social scale. He was over-shadowed by the few but powerful rich, the clergy and the nobility. These were the social classes that farmer groupedinto word and concept of “siori,”the rich. They improvised a song as they faced the unknown and emigration. Aisiori del Tirol/ noi ghe daren la zapa/ la zapa e anca el badìl./ I siori a menar i boi, le siore a menar el plof (aratro)/e i contadini en Merica/ a béver el vin nof. To the rich of the Tirol, we will give them the hoe, the hoe and the shov-el, the rich women will lead the oxen, and the rich women will pull the plow…while the farmers will to America todrink a new wine. How then had they arrived at this point? It was because in the second part of the 1800’s, theyfound themselves on the threshold of hunger. But how they arrive to this comprehensive miseria. Truly, it wasbecause in the second part of the 1800’s, the Italian Tyrol was on the threshold of hunger. TO BE CONTINUED…

TYROLEAN IST --- total in honestyY --- youthful in natureR --- regard to his fellow manO --- obedient to our lawsL --- loving proud & independentE --- economy above allA --- always willing to help othersN --- nobility

When you have met a Tyrolean, you havefriend…

These words and image were combined into a small card by Dasalina Valentina Dalvet who lived in Middleport, PA.She was extremely proud of her Tyrolean heritage and identity.

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Stories: The Revolt of the TesiniStories: The Revolt of the TesiniOur story presents us with the Tesino, Valsugana, where its people, the Tesini, livedan orderly life ruled by the Regole, the Rules. They were oppressed by the wickedCount Biagio, who lived in his well fortified fort, Castel Ivano. Count Biagio,despoiled the Tesino and oppressed its people. He is eventually brought to justice andits episode is commemorated each year in the Valsugana with a reenactment of histrial, replete with a reenactment of the trial of Count Biagio. Verena De Paoli, Filò’sstoryteller presents the narrative…as if we were gathered for a real and actualFilò…shhhhhhh……..

That morning, Count Biagio got out of bed more angry than usual. He had slept poorly. On the day before, he cameto know from his spies that the people of the Tesino have begun again to plot against him. His representatives andtax collectors of Cinte di Pieve were weak and hardly had the respect of the people. The hour had arrived to pun-ish those people once and for all. Nonetheless, everyone knew what kind of a monster he was and the people of theTesino to resist in the defense of their rights. That morning, Count Biagio rode on horseback to the outskirts of theVillage of Cinte. He knew full well that the village was hostile tohim. He ordered all his soldiers to surround the houses of the ham-let and to forcibly gather all the villagers. His soldiers proceeded tosack the villages, taking the very little from their homes and broughtwith them the hostages. With their anger and fear overcome, therearose an uncontrollable rage among the villagers.. It was necessaryto seek help from the nearby villages and gather the necessary arms.This help did come. It was not difficult to convince the Tesini toretaliate against the Count Biagio. Yet it was necessary to find theCount away from his fortified castle to capture him successfully. TheCount decided on day to go hunting and as he made his waysthrough the woods, a woodsman took notice and informed every-one. As he rode through the bottom of a narrow canyon followinga narrow pathway that permitted the passage of only one of the horses. At night fall, the villagers positioned themat the ridge of a deep canyon through which the Count was to pass. As he entered the canyon, the villagers sentdown an avalanche of rocks and bundles of burning branches. There was an enormous hand-to-hand struggle butthe villagers prevailed. The Count Biagio was captured, tied up and brought to the village. The news of his capturereached all of the villages as well as the people of the countryside. The bells of the churches ran loudly and sum-moned all the heads of the households. The prisoner was brought into the village square according to their customsand rules. The Regolana, the head and chief justice of the community, pronounced his verdict: guilty on all counts.

The condemnation was confirmed and hewas sentenced to death. The Count’s regalclothes were burned in front of him and toall the gathered villages and peasants therewere read his crimes: He had killed manyinnocent people, and compelled unjustly peo-ple to hard labor and have committed manyother misdeeds.. So the Tesini cut off hishead. Thus, the Tesino people regained theirfreedom on Ash Wednesday 1365. To thisday, on Ash Wednesday, this trial is reenactedand the justice of Tesini is celebrated.

Castel Ivano

Castel Ivano -- Castle of Count Biagio

Annual Re-enactment of the Trial of Count Biagio

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Alta Valsugana: An IntroductionAlta Valsugana: An IntroductionThe Valsugana Valley was and remains one of the most impor-tant valleys of the Trentino. It contains distinctive parts thatincludes the different lower part of the valley, Bassa Valsuganaand the Val dei Mocheni. We will focus on the Alta Valsuganaand return in future to its other areas. The valley was a bridgeand a passage way from the Po River to Bavaria. It was theancient home and dwelling of the most fierce of the Alpinetribes, the Celts conquered by the Roman legions. The Valleyleads into the Alps foothills. It was the main north-southRoman road, Via Claudia Augusta. Historically it was one ofthe most important north-south European transit lanes becausethe route from the Veneto region to points near and beyond thefamed Brenner pass is significantly shorter than proceeding Venice to Verona to Brenner. Winding along the valley,it connected the Adriatic with the Frankish kingdom's centre of Augsburg and the Holy Roman Empire to whichthe Trentino belonged for 800 years as the Principato of Trento.

The Valle dei Mocheni is also of historic interest as it has remained a German-speaking enclave in modern Italy tothis day. This came about during the High Middle Ages while the region was ruled by the Holy Roman Empire .Many German-speaking farmers and miners settled into the region.

The western part of the valley nearest Trento has two notable lakes, Caldonazzo e Levico. Lake Caldonazzo is thelargest lake totally in the Trentino. The Lake of Levico resembles a Norwegian fjord. It is an extensive tourist areawhich began as a health spa during the late 19th century when the Levico Terme baths were established and becamepopular with the upper classes. The scenery is marked by vineyards and orchards and groves of edible horse-chest-nuts. Nearby Lake Caldonazzo and the village of Caldonazzo, is a further international tourist center located justsouth of the Dolomites Together, Caldonazzo Lake and the Dolomites create one of the most beautiful regions ofnorthern Italy and harbor a host of outdoor sporting activities, such as climbing, hiking, mountain biking, powerboating, sailing, and windsurfing to name just a few.

Running down the length of valley is the spectacular mountain range of the Lagorai chain , one of the areas withthe greatest naturalness of the whole province, including some of the wildest corners of the South-Eastern Alps .Lagorai is a name that has its roots in the word lake, in fact there are many lakes of varying sizes present at variousaltitudes.

Vibrant tourist and commerce town, Pergine Valsugana is the main town in the upper part of Valsugana. Its town-centre has medieval origins, as you can see from the historic towers with adjoining castle, and experienced a furtherdevelopment during the Renaissance. Hovering over the city is the Castel Pergine. Its prime position makes Perginethe perfect base station for hiking tours and many sporting activities. Pergine is also the ideal place for those wholove nature and culture, with an extensive range of events, including Pergine Spettacolo Aperto. In the town-centreyou will be amazed by some characteristic views, like Via Maier, dotted with artworks on both noble houses and reli-gious buildings. The surrounding hills are covered with soft fruit plantations.. There is also the Santa OrsalaCooperative which is the European leader in the cultivation and distribution of small fruit produce: strawberries,cherries, blueberries, raspberries employing over 1000 workers. Its produce is distributed throughout Europe. Anoted wine of the Valsugana is La Pavana accompanied by its very own special cheese, Vezzena. There is a special“farina”..flour made with an ancient variety of corn that has been rediscovered at Caldonazzo. This farina is cele-brated by two wonderful celebrations: Festa della polenta a Roncegno Terme e il Festival del Mais a Levico Terme.Perhaps, its greatest and proudest product is Alcide De Gasperi, one of the founders of modern Europe.

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Alta Valsugana

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Family Stories: Nella LitteriniFamily Stories: Nella LitteriniI remember Mamma…Twinkly, deep crystal blue eyes, a brilliant smile,petite (5’2”) immaculate, a great dresser, an amazing homemaker (youcould eat off the floor) and totally dedicated to her children - that wasNella Maffei as she was known to the Trentini of New York. She wasborn Cornelia Litterini in 1913 in the little village of Villa Banale over-looking the sweet, small valley of Val Giudicarie. Mamma, one ofthree sisters, never forgot her father’s reply when the teachers urgedhim to send them to Trento to further their education, “We don’t havethe money and besides, they’re girls. They’ll only end up married”. Shewould often say: “An education is the one thing no one can take awayfrom you.”

Nella started working at 13 washing bed linen by hand at the Terme diComano. She later worked at some of the best hotels in the area. OneItalian colonel during the war suggested that she think of going toCinecittà - Italy’s own Hollywood. Never in her wildest dreams didshe ever imagine herself living in America. Nella was 35 when shecame to America as the wife of her brother-in-law and mother to twoteenage girls. Toni Maffei had left Stenico at 18 to work in the coal

mines of Pennsylvania. In 1929, he married Margherita, the oldest Litterini sister, who died very young, leaving himtwo young daughters to raise. In 1948 Toni returned to Stenico with Nora and Mary and that is where “il destino”took over. Life in America began in a small 4-room apartment by Prospect Park, where Poppy worked as a buildingsuperintendent. Nella first worked in an embroidery sweatshop in NYC. The job was short-lived because the land-lord expected two for the price of one! Shortly thereafter I and my brother, Walter, arrived and Mary and Noramarried wonderful husbands. For the next 40 years Toni and Nella worked side by side. They spent Sundays in thepark with other Trentini in their own version of Filò: The men playing cards and singing; the women chatting, watch-ing the children and sharing news from home. The annual “Tyrolean Ball” in Ridgewood Queens was the highlightof their year.

Mamma’s letters were famous. She corresponded with Padre BonifacioBolognani, who wrote about the Trentino emigrant experience inAmerica. Mamma taught herself English and kept up with currentevents, letting Governor Cuomo and Mayor Giuliani how proud shewas of them. While her English was heavily accented, when she hadsomething to say, the words flowed eloquently. Family always camefirst. She and Poppy took in my cousin, Carla Bazzoli from ValRendena, and later her brother Riccardo lived with us until they got ontheir feet. Mamma was famous for her canederli` and coteghino andcrauti. No visitor ever went away hungry. Mamma and Poppy returnedto the Trentino as often as they could and we fell in love with the val-ley I call Shangri-La. Mamma went on to live another 25 years afterPoppy. She died at the age of 97 in 2011.Both their spirits remain alivein all four of us in the traditions and values they imparted. Written byTulia Maffei Lynch.

Coming to America -- 1949

A 21st Century Woman

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Our Music: ValsuganaOur Music: ValsuganaFilò hopes to bring you our songs by providing a translation, an interpre-tation and hopefully a rendition through our website filo.tiroles.com. Hereis a song that is directly tied with the emigration experience of the peopleof the Valsugana. The poor economic conditions in the Trentino at theturn of the century constrained many “Valsuganotti” to migrate to theVoralberg region in Austria itself. The younger migrants were further con-strained to return to the Trentino to fulfill their military obligations. Thereare the themes of nostalgia, concerns for the family and possibly lostromantic love. The song is Valsugana and it is sung by the Coro S.A.T.

Go to filo.tiroles.com to hear a rendition from the Coro SAT. Click on Music.

Per Farsi I Canederli—The Song Recipe to Make CanederliThis is a song recipe that complements the Canederli recipe on page 12. You can listen to the entire musical versionby going to the website filo.tiroles.com

"Per farse dei canederli Col brodo e col ragù Se ciapa del prezemolo E se lo taia su; farina, ovi e zigola,luganeghe col speck, pan vecio senza migole e ‘n toc de formai sgnèck. Se fa balotole Col pan gratà Tre-quatro frègole De ài pestà; ‘na meza chichera de lat o vin : eco i canederli de noi trentin.

VALSUGANA

Quando andremo fora, fora per la Valsugana e a ritrovar la mamma…a veder come la sta

La mamma la sta bene; il papa l`e ammalato,Il mio bel parti`soldato-chissa quando tonera`

Tuti I me dis che lu` `l se zerca za n`altramorosa; l`è na storia dolorosa –che mi credere non so.

Ma no la credo, ma se `fussa propi propri vera…biondo o moro ancor stassera--`n altromerlo troverò

TRANSLATION

When we go away, away to the ValsuganaTo visit our mother again – to see how she is.

Mother is well; father is sick.

My dear departed soldier –who knows when he will return.

Everyone tells me that he searches for another beloved..

That’s a sad tale – which I don’t know whether to believe.

I don’t believe it, but if it were really, really trueFair or dark already this evening - another I will find.

To make Canederli with broth orwith sauce…One gets some parsley and chopit up. Flower, oil, onions, luganicasausage and speck, old breadwithout crumbs and a piece ofcheese. One makes round balls withbread crumbs three or fourcloves of chopped garlic; half bowl of milk or wine…

Behold canederli of our Trentino

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Le Pale di San MartinoLe Pale di San MartinoLe Pale di San Martino (Pala Group) is one of the five principal mountain ranges of the Dolomites in the Alps. Theterm Pala comes from the name that was used locally to designate the banks and grassy slopes at the base of thechain . By extension then went on to define the entire mountain range. The first climbers, mostly British , after thecompletion of their first tours and open some streets in their pleadings indicated originally the mountain range withthe terms of the Dolomites Primiero or group of Pale (or even with a corruption in Italian is not very pleasant,balls). Only later, with the development of the practice of tourism mountain and the construction of driveways thatfavored the growth of Siror, became known worldwide in the mountaineering world as the Pale di San Martino.

Le Pale di San Martino extends over an area of 240 square kilometers (93 square miles) from southern Trentino(Natural Park of Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino) to the Province of Belluno. The group is situated in the valleys ofPrimiero and Bois, and the territory of Agordo. The Primiero is composed of the following municipalities: Imèr,Mezzano, Transacqua, Fiera di Primiero, Tonadico, Siròr, Canal San Bovo and Sagròn Mis. Le Pale di San Martinois characterized by a large plateau of 19 square miles) with an altitude that ranges between 8200ft and 9100ft metersabove sea level. The highest peak of this group is the Vezzena 10,472ft, followed by Cimon della Pala 10,446ft –also called for its shape the “Matterhorn of the Dolomites”(Cervino delle Dolomiti). Other notable peaks in are theCima dei Bureloni 10,269ft and Cima di Focobon 10,019ft. The smaller peaks, such as Pala di San Martino, rangebetween 9520 and 8850 feet.

These peaks are characterized by vertiginous walls of dolomite rock. Vast forests, cultivated since the Middle Ages,characterize the lower altitudes where rich fauna live; deer are one of the most important animals. The wood fromthese forests is in part managed by the Magnifica Comunità of Fiemme (the local government of the valley), an insti-tution founded in 1111 by decree of the Prince-Bishop of Trento Gebardo. But according to local legend the con-trol of these forests originate from an accord between squirrels and lumberjacks. The spruce fir from these forestswas chosen to build the most wonderful musical instruments, such as the violins, cellos, and other stringed instru-ments crafted by Antonio Stradivari and his family during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, musicians still requestinstruments made of this particular wood from the Trentino.

One of the first settlements to favor travelers was the Hospice of Saints Martin and Julian(located in San Martinodi Castrozza), but only towards the middle of 19th century did the first tourists started visiting. The first were prob-ably the Englishmen Josiah Gilbert and George C. Churchill (1862) that described these mountains in their famousbook “The Dolomite Mountains.” The book was a type of advertisement for the Dolomites and the Pale di SanMartino. Some of these men started climbing the peaks like Edward R. Whitwell. In 1870, Whitwell climbed theCimon della Pala, possibly the most beautiful peak of Pale di San Martino. The entire area rapidly became one ofthe most famous destinations in the Alps. Subsequently, this led to the construction of roads, hotels, and mountainhuts or refuges. Some of the refuges are the rifugio Rosetta "G. Pedrotti", rifugio Velo della Madonna, rifugio Mulaz"Volpi", rifugio Pradidali, rifugio Val Canali "Treviso", and rifugio-capanna "Segantini".

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Family Stories: AntonioniFamily Stories: AntonioniWhen my father, Arturo Olivo Antonioni, one of five children, was born in SanBernardo in the Valle di Rabbi in Trentino on March 23, 1908, the area was part ofwhat was then Austria-Hungary. Although the area was Austro-Hungarian, theyspoke the Tyrolean dialect of Italian. He was born in the large house in this pic-ture. His house is no longer standing but the house on the left in the foregroundis still there. Now the area is a tourist destination with the famous “Bagni diRabbi.” When my father lived there his family suffered through WWI. I recall hewould often speak of “la miseria” when he had only turnips to eat for a year, mygrandmother looked in garbage cans for food and dead soldiers surrounded them

on the ground. My grandfather, Giuseppe Maria Albino Antonioni, had become illand had died earlier. My father’s two other sisters also died in childhood. (Before mygrandfather married my grandmother Romana he was a dancer in Paris. This pictureof him was taken in France). The area was given to Italy after WWI but my father andhis family never considered themselves Italian – they were “Tirolesi” to the core.

My father (age 12), grandmother (age 40) and auntGemma (age 9) arrived at Ellis Island on December20, 1920, after spending three weeks on the ship, theRè d’Italia, having been sponsored by my grand-mother’s brother, Graziano Rossi. Graziano hadearlier immigrated to Vineland, NJ, where there isstill a Tyrolean population. My uncle Carlo (age 13)did not come to America because he was a deaf-mute and the U.S. was not accepting individuals withdisabilities. He died in Trentino a year later.

My father, grandmother and aunt settled in Sheppton, PA, nine miles south ofHazleton in the Anthracite coal mining area. Hazleton had Our Lady of Mt. CarmelChurch, the only church listed in the National Catholic Directory of the U.S. I recallhearing the name of Father Luchi mentioned many times. The church closed in 2009.

My father could not speak any English so he was put into the First Grade at age 12 inSheppton, PA. The teachers hit him because he could not speak English. At age 15he had to quit school and work in the coal mines to help support the family. ManyTyroleans who settled in that area went to work in the mines. Later he was in a minecave in and by the time he was rescued he said the water was up to his neck. He laterlived in Brooklyn with his sister Gemma and helped build the New York subways.During WWII he served in the U.S. Army. In 1944 he married my mother, LeonaRossi, an Abruzzese Italian from Atlas, Pa. I was born in Hazleton in 1945. Wemoved to the Lehigh Valley in Pa. in 1956. He worked at Bethlehem Steel for 10 years.My father died in 1982 at the age of 74 and is buried in Pa. By working in the coalmines, helping to build New York subways and working at Bethlehem Steel, he defi-nitely contributed to the development of the US for which I am very proud. He alsoinstilled all of the solid Tyrolean moral and family values in me, such as a strong willin the face of reality, a love of work, a natural dignity, and above all, a strong faith inGod… for which I am and always will be grateful.

Ramona Antonioni-Krausnick, Dublin, CA, Circolo Trentino di San Francisco

San Bernardo -- Val di Rabbi

Giuseppe Maria Albino Antonioni

Nonna Romana; Zia Gemma; ZioCarlo with my father (center)

Mt. Carmel Church -- Hazleton, PA

My Father, US Army

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Our Food: CanederliOur Food: CanederliIf there is a Blessed Trinity in the domain of Tyrolean foods, we would single out polenta, gnocchi, and…ofcourse…Canederli. In German and in the German parts of Tyrol, they are called knodel . Canederli are a very wellknown and appreciated dish in the Trentino. Like many dishes in our cuisine, it uses the avanzi..the left overs…inthis case, stale bread and other ingredients readily available to create the dish.. They are typically served in broth orsometimes as an entrée with sauce. The origins are a very old recipe of peasant origin. farmers, in fact, preparingthis dish using their avanzi, left overs, leftover bread become stale, along with the products of their farms :eggs,sausage, bacon and cheese in fact, the backbone of food Trentina even today. Nowadays, the dumplings haveevolved and in fact we can find all kinds of fillings with always different to the classic bacon or cheese, with spinachand the herbs.

PREPARATION:

Use ¾ pound of stale bread, Cut the bread into cubes, place in a bowl with three eggs beaten with a bit of pepper,salt, and nutmeg and about 1½ cups of milk. Mix it well and let it stand for 2 hours covering the bowl with a towel.Stir occasionally turning it over and over. Add two tablespoons of chopped Italian parsley and grated cheese.

Ideally, chop a ¼ pound of speck and 2½ oz. of pancetta…hard to find in the USA. Some alternativesare smokedcured pork flank, bacon or genoa salami. Some even combine genoa salami combined with chopped ham flank.

Meanwhile, saute half of a medium onion in butter and extra virgin olive oil. Introduce the chopped meats into thesauteed onions. Cool for a ½ hour and combine with the soaked milk. Add (at least)1 cup of flower and mix.

Wet your hands and create balls of the mix, roll in flower and place in boiling brothfor about 15 minutes.

The canederli can be served in a bowl of broth or with a sauce, e.g., burro fuso withsage. Enjoy the canederli and our families who made them for us.

You can listen to Per Far i Canederli by going to the website filo.tiroles.com

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Family Stories: The Poli’s Family Stories: The Poli’s When my grandfather Rodolfo Poli, a member of the Tiroler KaiserJaegger, was released from a Russian prison at the end of World War I, theprisoners told to get home any way they could. He walked. It took him sixmonths until he reached his tiny village in the Val di Non. Nine monthslater, my father Tullio Poli was born. My father was the first in our familyborn under Italian rule. Until 1918, this area of the Tyrol was part ofAustria. Tullio was one of eight children born to Anna and Rodolfo Poli inthe village of Sfruz, a tiny village best known for agriculture, primarilyapples and potatoes. Dating from pre-Roman times, Sfruz is famous for the

ancient production of “le stufe,” beautiful and decorative ceramic stoves used for heating. With only a few surnamesin the village families with the same surname were identified by their dialect nicknames. Our family was “le Coz,”the stubborn, which continues today. My father left the village at age 15 to begin training as a master watchmaker bymonks at a monastery in Pavia, Italy. It was common at the time for young boys to be sent away early to learn a trade,many to foreign lands, never to return home. My father’s journey to America is an interesting and sometimes humor-ous one, brought on by World War II, and his marriage to my mother Beatrice Rose O’Brien.

During World War II, my father was conscripted into Mussolini’s army. As a corpo-ral, he was captured in North Africa by General Montgomery’s forces at the battle ofTobruk. He was taken to England as a prisoner of war where he remained until theend of the war in Europe. Upon Italy’s surrender, the Italian prisoners were givenmenial or desk jobs. During this time Italian prisoners had opportunities to minglewith the English troops. My mother was in the British Royal Navy and her job waspacking parachutes. In Britain, unlike in America, everyone was expected to serve andthere no exceptions for the rich. During the war, my mother became best friends withan heiress to the Royal Dutch Shell Oil fortune, Lydia Deterding, daughter of SirHenri Deterding. Lydia arrived for active duty in her own private train car. There wasto be a Halloween party. A lot of the Italian prisoners were attending and it was rumored that an heiress would bethere. My father decided that the best chance of spotting the heiress was to wait by the door and see who put downthe most expensive purse. My mother and Lydia arrived together and Lydia put down a plain black silk purse, whilemy mother put down a fancy purse, borrowed from her sister Kate. So we jokingly say my father made a play for mymother, thinking she was the heiress! This is how they met, but not the reason they chose each other.

After the war, my father went back to Sfruz and he and my mother continued to write. My parents were married inthe Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua and honeymooned in Venice. They lived for the next six months in Sfruz, and

then moved back to Halifax, England where I and two brothers were born. BecauseEngland had been so hard hit by the war, they decided to immigrate to America forbetter economic and educational opportunities. My grandmother, Anna Biasi (Poli),had two brothers who left for America years earlier. Giuseppe and Angelo Biasimoved to St. Louis, Missouri. Giuseppe’s widow Rosa rented out rooms in her home,as was common for many widows at the time. We arrived in the US in January 1954and we lived with our father’s cousins for our first few years in St. Louis. My fatherbegan work in his chosen trade and became, who many considered to be, one of thefinest watchmakers in the United States. Two more sons were added to our family

and we are honored to know our heritage in the Trentino / Val di Non region and remain close to our extended fam-ily. Through continued contract and pride in his village and community, with its gentle and traditional ways, myfather has passed on a love of “his mountains” to his five children, for which we are eternally grateful and blessed.We are duty bound to continue the tradition with our children and grandchildren.

Written by Janet Poli Seavitte

Village of Sfruz, Val di Non

Prisoner ID of Tullio Poli

Rose Beatrice O’Brien & Tullio Poli

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Nos Dialet . . . Our Dialect # 3Nos Dialet . . . Our Dialect # 3Ding…ding…Ding…ding…Dialect school is in session…Although I can speak Italian, when I arrive in my villagein the Bleggio twice a year, people regard me as some “professore” and begin to speak to me in high-falutingItalian…to which I quickly respond and retort.. Mi non capiso el ‘talian…parlame in dialet se non parto”Translated…I tell them..I cannot understand Italian…speak to me in dialect otherwise I`m out of here…Hearingand speaking the dialect is a special memory, a special gift…a special link to our roots. Hence, I will struggle againto be relevant to “teach” the dialect in the Filò. I am thinking of possibly creating small video lessons so that thereaders can hear the sounds of our dialect spoken by our paesani in the Province…ding ding…Let’s get to work….

Definite Article: The dialect does not follow too many rules of Italian grammar. It has its own way that couldalmost be called a “rule”. In dialect, one says I gnochi (in Italian…gli gnochi) or El zifolot (Italian would use “Il”).In Italian, it is an error to put a definite article before a proper name, we ignore that and say El Mario, la Luisa, elCicio.

Personal Pronouns: The personal pronouns are different Mi (io), Ti (tu), Elo o Lu (egli) masculine and ELA (lei,ella) feminine, Noi (same as Italian), Voi (same as Italian) LORI (essi-masculine) or LORE (esse feminine)

Verbs: Here is the past tense of the verb to be…red in dialect; blue in Italian; black in English

Mi g`avevo Io avevo I had Mi g`avevonte?Ti te g`avevi Tu avevi You had Ti g`avevet?Lu le g`aveva Egli aveva He had Ela la g`aveva Lu g`avevvelo?Noi g`g`avevem Noi avevamo We had Noeg`avevente?Voi g`aveve Voi avevate You had Voi g`aveve?Lori I g`g`aveva Essi avevano They had Lore le g`aveva Lori g`avevvei?

Vocabulary:

The following words are characteristic of the Valsugana

Grumbial Grembiule ApronPait Tachino TurkeyPesegar Far Presto Hurry upPeza Straccio RagPoiat Pulcino ChickPomo Mela AppleManaroto Accetta AxeMatelota Ragazza GirlMateloto Ragazzo BoyMauro Maturo MatureMinestro Mestolo Wooden spoonMisiot Miscela MixtureStrangosar Desiderare DesireStofec Umido HumidSugar Asciugare Dry Toco Pezzo PieceZent Gente PeopleZugatolo Giocatolo Toy

Ancient Classroom in Rango

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We can inspire you...

www.universiadetrentino.org

info@universiadetrentino.org

2500 university athletes

50 participating Countries

11 days of sports competitions

12 disciplines

Social and cultural events

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TRENTINO 2013

WINTER UNIVERSIADE

11-21 December 2013

SPORTS DISCIPLINESAlpine Skiing

Biathlon

Cross Country Skiing

Curling

Figure Skating

Freestyle Skiing

Ice Hockey

Nordic Combined

Short Track Speed Skating

Ski Jumping

Snowboarding

Skating

VenuesTrento

Monte Bondone

Pergine Valsugana

Baselga di Piné

Val di Fiemme

Val di Fassa

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Italy and Trentino inspire26th Winter Universiade Trentino 201311-21 December

Trentino seized the challenge…Universiade is a great sport and cultural event - second most important after the Olympic Games - organized by FISU. It is held every two years in different cities and it combines exciting sport competitions with cultural and educational initiatives. The 26th Winter Universiade will take place in Trentino from 11 till 21 December 2013: 11 days, during which sports, multicultural values and desire to compete with athletes coming from all over are celebrated.

One of the main actors of the Winter Universiade Trentino 2013 is the University of Trento, a young and medium-sized university, that in its 50 years of history has distinguished itself for the quality of research and education, as well as for its attention towards relations with foreign countries. Its high level of internationalization is in fact one of the University’s strengths and it is one of the reasons why the University gained excellent placements over the years in national and international university rankings.

Sports disciplinesIn order to provide athletes and all guests with the best facilities and locations, specific venues were selected to host the various competitions:

Alpine SkiingBiathlonCross Country SkiingCurlingFigure Skating Freestyle SkiingIce HockeyNordic CombinedShort Track Speed SkatingSki JumpingSnowboardingSpeed Skating

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Valsugana: The LakesValsugana: The LakesLakes in the Alpine areas have their very own fascination so often surrounded andframed if not defined by its mountains. The Valsugana has two spectacular gems:Lago di Caldonazzo e Lago di Levico. The Mediterranean climate of the valley andits size have helped make it a particularly popular with families. The Lago diCaldonazzo is the Trentino’s largest lake totally in the Trentino whereas the Lake ofGarda is partially in the Province. At one time, it was even larger approaching the cityof Pergine. It is considered one of the warmest lakes in all of Europe attracting sovery many tourist.ns: These beautiful lakes are surrounded by unique mountains..theLagorai with their natural parks, the highlands and the typical pastures for cattle graz-ing The Lake offers many beaches, charming villages, restaurants and entertainment.There are a number of health spas and baths in their proximity: Terme di Levico, Roncegno. It is the center for somany sports: swimming, boating, sailing, restaurants, health spas. An extensive network of cycle paths leads througha picturesque rural landscape.

The Lago di Levico is Fjord-shaped. It lies at the foot of the renowned spa resort bearing the same name.Levico Terme,.. On the southern end of the lake is the"Canneto di Levico" biotope, where great-crested grebes andbald-coots come to build their nests.

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Of Home and Heritage…Of Home and Heritage…All humans want to have a place where they feel at home. Home means some-thing different to each person. But at the most obvious level, it means a secureplace to live, where you feel safe and at peace, where you have familiar people,possessions and the tools of your daily life within reach. A home has a foun-dation, walls, and space within. Perhaps it seems superficial to think of homeat the material level. But in the same way that you begin to reconstruct yourgenealogical history -- with the near, with what you know -- so you must beginthe search for the deeper meaning of home with the obvious. Then you canmove from that understanding to a deeper sense of the word.

You also have a spiritual home, an internal world which allows you to feel "athome" no matter where you are. It, too, has a foundation, a defined area, andcontents both personal and shared. It contains people in the form of our fam-ily and our ancestors, possessions in the form of our culture and traditions, andtools in the form of learned experiences and natural talents. Our link to it isoften unconscious, but when present, it informs our daily life. After periods of

great social upheaval, migration and war, the connection to the spiritual home can be broken. We naturally begin tobuild a new home to try replace that which has been lost. But connection to our original heritage creates a sense ofpsychological stability, surety, connection, and possibility. It can take centuries to rebuild such a heritage from scratch.It is far better to reclaim and reinvigorate that which is naturally ours. It is a very important part of genealogicalresearch, giving life and reality to that work.

Working to reconnect with that internal, spiritual home is necessarily a positive thing. Much of the content is alreadythere, but unconscious and unconnected. We need only seek it out and reinforce it. You may already be doing so byworking on your genealogy, by reading the Filò, or by studying the language of your ancestors. Our rich cultural her-itage includes many examples of great thinkers, leaders and explorersin many fields. But as important as those individuals may be, it is theculture and traditions that gave rise to them and their achievementsthat is the well from which we all can draw no matter how humble ourorigin. Surmounting enormous challenges and hardship through thecenturies required creativity, intelligence, strength of body, mind, spir-it and character, loyalty to spiritual values and family. These are part ofyour heritage as Tirolean-Americans. You should study the history, thelanguage, the religion of your ancestors even if you don't practice orunderstand them in the same way. It is all a part of the contents ofyour spiritual home, the essential foundation of a stronger, more bal-anced self, family, community, nation and world!

Jim Caola will serve as our guide and mentor in learning how to researchand discover family roots. His paternal grandparents immigrated toPennsylvania from Pinzolo in 1905. In 1998 Jim began to investigate hisfamily heritage, and within the course of the intervening years he hascreated a database of about 56,000 individuals, a project to index allbirths, marriages and deaths in Val Rendena from the early 1600'sthrough 1923, and the creation of a photographic index of all 13 ceme-teries of Val Rendena, soon to be available in a set of DVDs. He hopesthat his projects will one day be duplicated throughout Trentino

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The Wisdom Stories: I ProverbiThe Wisdom Stories: I ProverbiBisogn far el pas secondo la gamba per no roter le braghe.Bisogna fare il passo secondo la lunghezza della gamba per non strappare i pantaloni.If your step matches your legs, you won’t split your trousers

El Sioredio el lasa far, ma non strafar.Dio lascia fare, ma non strafare.God lets us do things but not overdo them.

Chi che semina spini no `l a` da ndar en giro scolz.Chi semina spine non vada in giro scalzo.Those who sow thorns should not walk unshod.

A chi no vol far fadighe, el terren produs ortighe.Per chi non vuol far fatiche, il terreno produce ortiche.For those who wont`t work the earth grows nettles.

Dal cantar se conos l`osel e l`om dal zervel.Dal canto si conosce l`uccello e l`uomo dal cervello.The bird you know by its song, the man by his brain.

Andreatta -- derives from the name Andrea, Andrew, reflecting the prestige of St Andrew, apostle, suggesting “ aman of excellence”. (See following name Anderle with its similar origins). 1793, Domenico Andreatta atBollantino; 1803, Giovanni Battista Andreatta at Bosentino.

Anderle -- originates from German who settled centuries ago in the Valsugana. In German, it is a diminutive forthe name Andrew-Andrea (a valorous man, virile, robust) and equivalent in Italian to Andreotto. Originates fromPergine, Civezzano and Pine` of the Alta Valsugana. 1803, Giovanni Battista Anderlotti ad Aldeno. Variations:Anderlini, Andreotti…the “otti” is typical of the Valsugana; Enderle, the German name in use in Adige Valley andsimilar to Anderle, the German equivalent.

Bertoldi -- derived from the name of German origin: Bertoldi o Bertaldi originating from bertha, in the sense of“splendid, illustrious and famous” and from waldaz, powerful leader. The name is diffused throughout theTrentino; 1580, Giacomo Bertoldi in Pergine; 1785, Tomaso Bertoldi-Santa Orsola

Fortanari -- a surname referring to a place that had a spring or a fountain. Fontanari were the custodians andguardians of the spring or fountain. 1289. Vianello q. Fontana at Borgo Valsugana; 1330, Peramusio a Fontana atPovo; Derivations: Dalla Fontana, Fontan, Fontanazzi.

Zanei -- Derives from the name of Giovanni, that stems from the Hebrew Johanan with the meaning of the “giftof God”, widespread with hundreds of derivations. Valsugana: 1259: Bonora fs. Zuanini de Casteiono; Zagninusq. Zanini q. Zolli from Mori, 1285; 1381 Giovanni known as Zanus and Giovanni known Zanetus. The list isquite long. Variations: Zanetti, Zanella, Zanin. Zanotti. Special persons: Giorgio Zanei (1891-1919) born atVigalzano of Pergine, a Trentino legionaire; Giovanni Zanei, born in Pergine in 1843, philologist and archeologist;Carlo Zanetti ( 17th Century) a Trentino printer until 1679; Giovanni Battista Zanetti, (19th Century) a member ofthe Diet of Innsbruck.

The Origins of Trentino NamesThe Origins of Trentino NamesMaria Gaetana (Maria Brunelli Tosi-1909-2011, at 100, theclassic Trentina, the Matriarch of Rango of the Bleggio, Val diGiudicarie, recounting one wisdom story after another.

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Our Partners are . . . Our Partners are . . . Alberto Folgheraiter - Author, journalist and specialist in Trentino cultureAzienda per il Turismo Valsugana - Patrizio AndreattaChristian Brunelli - Teacher & Technical ConsultantFederazione Trentina delle Pro Loco e loro Consorzi - Director Ivo PovinelliJim Caola - Genealogist, nutritional counselor, macrobiotic chef, Maurizio Gentilini - Record manager - National Research Council (CNR) in Rome, De Gasperi biographerMuseo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina - Daniela Finardi, Communications DepartmentManuele Margini - Phoenix BancariaBiblioteca della Montagna-SAT - Ricardo di CarliMuseo Storico - Dr. Patrizia Marchesoni, Deputy Director & Head of Research, Archives & CollectionsRenzo Grosselli - L`Adige, authorTrentino Marketing S.p.A - http://www.visittrentino.it/University of Trento - Paola Fusi Head of Communications – University of Trento

Verena Di Paoli.Writer, Researcher, ScholarDon Marcello Farina - Balbido, Bleggio Superiore, ItalyJanet Polli Seavittes - St. Louis, MORamona Antonioni Krausnick - Dublin, CA Tulia Lynch Maffei - Charlottesville, VA

Front Cover - Emil BoscoPg. 22. Trentino MarketingPg. 19. APT Valsugana – Angela Ventin, Ronny KiaulehnPg. 25. Pale di San Martino Thilo Brunner;Daniele Lira; Pio Gemiani; Flavio FaganelloSilvano Angelani; Ugo ViscianiPg. 12. Images of haymaking and gardening: . Croviana. Giuseppe Šebesta - Archivio Fotografico GiuseppeŠebesta; San Francesco, val dei Mòcheni. Giuseppe Šebesta - Archivio Fotografico Giuseppe Šebesta (Museo degliUsi e Costumi della Gente Trentina)Pg. 22-23. Trentino MarketingPg. 32. APT Valsugana – Angela Ventin, Ronny Kiaulehn

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