Scigliano is located in the province of Cosenza in southern Italia, about 20 minutes from the Mediterranian Sea. There are 9 hamlets within the town of Scigliano and my grandfather was born in the hamlet of Lupia. The map on the right shows all of the comuni's that make up the province of Cosenza... the shaded green is Scigliano.
We were not at all sure where we would be staying while we were there, but that was of no consequence... we were on a journey and decided to "take it as it comes." This was going to be a journey of a lifetime for me and I wanted to live in the moment and savor every second of time. I also needed to bring Scigliano home to America for my own father, Alberto, if only to validate for him that his father surely did have a town to call "home" as does he...
Thank you grandpa Antonio... you are the reason I came...
Tredging up the mountainous long road from the A3 to Scigliano was interesting. It is a narrow, less than 2 lane road with many winds and "twists" along the way. Scigliano is very interesting because it is a town that's spread out... the hamlets are recognizable since they are not necessarily next to each other... they are like little villages in and on the mountain sides. I was really amazed by this after visiting so many other areas of Italy...
Below: Showing different Hamlets
We drove around searching and searching but to no avail... Pamela had but only once choice - "hold it!" As we continued to drive around I didn't know that we had entered the hamlet of Lupia, my grandfather's birth place! Driving around I spotted a pretty piazza and drove down it. The name of the piazza was "Piazza Giuseppe Virno." I saw an elderly man sitting at the end of the piazza on his front stoop and decided to stop and try to ask directions... I got out of the car and introduced myself and the beautiful man got so excited when I told him my name! Surprisingly, there was a home just a few doors up that was once owned by "Donamaria Pallone" and when he told me that I could certainly understand his excitement!
Elderly Donamaria Pallone had lived there her whole life and 10 years previously she moved to the USA to be with family... We walked up to her home and I snapped a photo for my own sake. Wow, what a coincidence this was to drive down into a small piazza and find this sparkling eyed Giuseppe who spoke a little English only to learn that another Donamaria Pallone had once lived just a few doors away... Hmmm. I wonder if in spirit, grandpa Antonio was at work here, today...
We accepted his invitation... shortly after entering his wife Concetta came down from upstairs and joined us. She was a force to be reckoned with for sure! Giuseppe explained to her who we were and why we were in their home. She immediately grabbed me by my face with both of her well weathered hands and began kissing me on my cheeks, as Pamela stood in awe. Guiseppe just smiled. She pulled up a chair and made me sit down with her - as you can see by the photo we were close and face to face. Each and every time I turned my face away to say something to Guiseppe or Pamela she would hold my face in her hands and point it back in her direction. Concetta needed my undivided attention and I was most happy to oblige her. She was a very forceful woman who's face was marred with the lines of old age and hard won wisdom. Unfortunately, as Guiseppe attempted to explain, she was not completely in control of her mental faculties... but one thing was for sure, she was delightful and so happy to see us and share her world with a decendent of a "native Pallone" who was from the USA...
Guiseppe was a kind man who had spent 3 months in Pennsylvania with cousins when he was a young man. This is where he learned a bit of English, and I was amazed to find that as he had an opportunity to use some of it, he obviously became comfortable. It was such a thrill for him! He showed us his pride and joy - a clarinet that he hadn't played in at least 40 years... which was well cared for and loved. He shared stories about his band and band photos from 50 years previously. It felt as if we stepped back in time looking at the framed photos on a few credenzas in their living area, and he was so proud of his clarinet and photos and that he had "new" acquaintances to share his history with.
Concetta brought out her family photo album and wanted us to see a picture of her son, daughter-in-law and her grandson. She was proud of "her accomplishment" and also needed to have it validated by us...
Pamela and I realized almost 2 hours had passed and it was time to move on. We bid Guiseppe and Concetta a fond farewell and thanked them both for the honor they bestowed upon us by having us into their home...
I knew I was being guided by divine hands with this whole surprise and that grandpa Antonio was with me, happy and content to see one of his own venture to Scigliano and find a connection of the heart in his own little hamlet of Lupia - where he was born and raised.
From my internet research about Scigliano I knew there was a small hotel called Albergo Ginnasio and we found our way to it. This hotel was once a school for children... we pulled up along side it and found it was closed! We waled around the small grounds and it surely looked like there was no activity what-so-ever. Next to the hotel was a home where the backyard was much lower than the level of ground we stood on... walking over to the fence we noticed a man who was in his yard doing some work. I called down to him, and he appeared to want to help, he ame up the stairs to greet us. Amazingly, this gentleman also spoke some English! Years previously he had been in Australia which is where he learned. We told him about our plight of needing to find somewhere to sleep that night and he told us the hotel was closed for the season. Unbenounced to us, we were in Scigliano during the "winter season" and the hotel would not be open for business for at least another month... He gave us the name of the owner who was also one of the few attorneys in the town. He was so kind that he also invited us to eat with he and his wife, and he asked her to make us lunch - pasta and meatballs! Frankly, she was not nearly as excited about it as he was - Pamela and I sensed it and we thanked him for his kindness but declined his offer. We again set out to find the attorney who owned the hotel...
The town was very quiet this warm and sunny afternoon and we spotted a young woman on a street. We stopped along side her and of course, she spoke no English... but she clearly understood that we were searching for Albergio Ginnasio... As if having some inside knowlege about the owner, she yelled down the street to someone, who yelled down the street to someone else... this was fascinating! The young woman had known that the owner/attorney had been at the garage having his car fixed, and she was yelling to someone who knew the mechanic to see if he was still there. We waited a bit for a response but none came so we again thanked her for her time and drove off heading back in the direction of the hotel which sat next to an old church and momument...
