Last night I dreamed I was in Sicily again. In my sleep I could smell the oranges ripening on the trees; see the snug little villages in the dips between the mountains; hear the neighbors calling to each other from their windows, the familiar cadence like a song from my youth.
It was just a year ago this month that I ventured across the Atlantic to visit the home of my Sicilian ancestors. It is warm in Sicily in October, warm enough to see beach goers in the waters off Punta Secca down south as well as Cefalù in the north. The street vendors in Palermo are still selling lace parasols to tourists in October, not to keep dry from the rain, but to block the unrelenting sun.
It is said that a man named Frank Barone wrote to folks in his hometown of Valledolmo, Sicily in the 1880s, encouraging them to join him in Buffalo, New York. Over the years, some eight thousand Valledolmesi reportedly followed his lead and many settled on the West Side where they owned grocery stores or worked in factories along the waterfront, and went to church at St. Anthony’s where priests conducted mass in the Sicilian dialect.
Many thousands from other small towns in Sicily—Montemaggiore Belsito, Serradifalco, and Villalunga to name a few—made their way down the mountains to the port cities of Palermo and Catania, and eventually found their way to Western New York as well.
Some Sicilian immigrants traveled south of Buffalo, to Fredonia, Dunkirk and the small towns and farmland along the Lake Erie shore that probably reminded them more of home. Sicilian families that did settle in crowded Buffalo neighborhoods would often travel to these towns and villages in the summer, to pick fruits and vegetables alongside relatives with a plot of land in places like North Collins and Silver Creek.
What a shock it must have been for my great-grandparents, along with thousands of others who fled Sicily, to experience their first October in Buffalo. Only a few tenacious oaks are typically holding their leaves at the end of October, and I remember more than one Halloween when I wore a winter coat and rubber boots beneath my costume.
For those who are descendants of these brave Sicilian immigrants and have never had the good fortune to visit Sicily, I offer you these photos for a taste of what your ancestors left behind—a place with few jobs and opportunities, but also a place of great natural beauty and charm.
For those who have visited, I hope you will join me in dreaming of a future time when we can celebrate our heritage in sunny Sicily once again.
Do you have ancestors in Sicily? Where are they from? I would love to hear your stories, especially if you have visited or want to visit soon.
Moxie Gardiner is a writer and gardener who grew up on the West Side of Buffalo, NY. In a previous life she was a journalist, magazine editor, speech writer, and policy wonk. Back in the day she made three solo parachute jumps, flew in an F-15 fighter jet, and crawled through mud pits at the Jungle Operations Training Course in Panama. She now meditates and practices yoga. She is almost ready to publish her first novel, set in Buffalo.
Moxie,
My sister and I had the help of the incomparable Mendola men on our journey to discover our Sicilian “hometowns” in October 2019. Our maternal grandfather, Vincenzo Gugino, came to the US with his parents from Valledolmo in the early 1900’s. They settled in Silver Creek. We grew up in Tonawanda, but my father grew up on the West Side and had an office/construction garage there in his adult years.
We could not find records of our family in Valledolmo. But we met our second cousins in Gratteri, a town in the Madonie mountains just outside of Cefalu. They are from my maternal grandmother’s lineage. It turned out that my Gratteri cousin, who has a bakery, makes breadcrumbs that are sold in Cefalu and were a favorite of Salvatore Mendola (who lived in Cefalu then).
We also found our paternal grandparents’ records in Montalbano Elicona, up in the mountains outside of Messina, and in Avola, where we visited the mausoleum containing the remains of our cousins and great-grandmother, all of whom died in Avola when it was bombed by the Allies during World War II as they made entry into Sicily.
It was the most meaningful adventure of our lives. We also yearn to return. Thank you for this lovely memoir of your family.
Reading this brought me right back to when we visited our Family in Montemaggiore a few years ago. We were supposed to go back last month but Covid had other plans. We stayed in Cefalu, one of the most beautiful beaches, ever. Thank you for your blogs. I love to see where you’ve been!
Thanks Cathy. I’ll bet my people knew your people in Montemaggiore back in the day!
Love it!
My wife and I were planning to go in 2020 :-/
We need to make new plans and when we do I’d love to get your advice!
Happy to help Jeff! The gentlemen in the photo at the end of the blog were extremely helpful in driving, translating, and helping me find records offices, etc. I can put you in touch with them in the future.
I visited Sicily a few years ago. My mom was born in Castellamarre delgolfo. We did visit and it is now like a resort area. It was a fishing community years ago.. My mom came to USA at 3 years old and my dad was from montemaggiore. We traveled Sicily and loved it.
Thank you for your comment, Annette. I suspect that many people with Sicilian heritage were visiting the island up until recently, and turning many a small village into a tourist destination. How wonderful that you got to go when you did!
Beautiful memorialization of our ancestral homeland. I am so happy you were able to make this wonderful trip happen. I too dream of going back there often to feel the love of the Sicilian roots.
Thank you Liz. Maybe by this time next year we will all be able to return.
Thank you for sharing your memories and photos! Italy is number one on my travel list, as you know!
Thank you for the feedback, Jessica. Next year, girlfriend, get thee to Italy!
I always enjoy your blogs, as it makes me feel like I am part of your travels. Beautiful Sicily with your beautiful photos. Thank you for your time and expertise in posting.
Thank you so much!