A piece of information that I found particularly interesting was that my ancestors lived in the same province of Italy, specifically, Avellino, Campania, Italy, from at least 1745 up until 1903 when my second great grandmother, and her son, my great grandfather, moved to America  (my second great grandfather arrived to America before them, most likely in 1901). This was super interesting to find out for two reasons: I always thought that my Italian line was from Naples, Italy and it is fascinating to see that they did not move around for at least 158 years. 

My dad has always told me that his family comes from Naples, Italy. Both Naples and Avellino are in the same region of Italy, Campania, but they are actually pretty far from one another, averaging to be about a 50 minute drive. So, if you are thinking about back in that era, it would have taken much longer to travel from Naples, Italy to Avellino, Italy. Although it is unclear from records, one could propose that my family set sail out of Naples, and through storytelling it got lost in translation where relatives were actually from, since my great grandfather was only two when he left Italy with his mother. Additionally, Naples is more well known then Avellino, and one could hypothesize that maybe that also got lost along the way because of the commonality.

Additionally, my ancestors, although always living in the Province of Avellino, lived in two different towns within that province: Mirabella Eclano, Avellino, Campania, Italy and then Grottaminarda, Avellino, Campania, Italy. These two towns are not far from each other, about a 10 minute drive. This transition from Mirabella Eclano to Grottaminarda, most likely occurred around 1825-1878. This is a big gap in time, mostly because the father of Rocco F DeFronzo (1878-1930), Filipe/Felice Di Fronzo (1861-unknown) and the information about him is vague. Therefore, the only information we can take from that is that somewhere from Filipe/Felice Di Fronzo’s father, Arcangelo Di Fronzo (1825-1891) being born in Mirabella Eclano, to Rocco F DeFronzo’s (1878-1930) birth in Grottaminarda, did they move. This move was also inward, which surprised me and judging by their deep roots in Mirabella Eclano, I am still wondering the reason. For historical context, in 1859, there was the Second Italian War of Independence or the Seven Week’s War (1865). These are all hypotheses, because it is hard to draw actual conclusions with such a large time frame. 

Overall, it was super interesting to see that a family could live in a Province for at least 158 years. This is honestly crazy to me, especially because one’s ability to move around has become more readily available with advancements in technology today. Additionally, I think this also speaks to our current Western society. Unlike in other societies, or old world societies, it is not as customary or expected of one to stay in the same place they were born or even to live in regions or areas that are the same as one’s relatives.