My mother (Concetta) and father (Enrico) on their wedding day, in Barisciano,
province of
L'Aquila , in the
Abruzzo
region of Italy.
(I was named after the gentleman on the right in the back row --
Giovanni D'Alessandro -- my maternal grandfather)
The region
is best described in the great novel
Fontamara despite some dubious
life choices by the author, Ignazio Silone. (The summary in the previous
link, by the way, does not represent my views of
the book well, but it is one of the few English/American
links I could find. This much shorter blurb by contrast to
the previous one has plugs by Trostky and Graham Greene!.)
Some more famous Abruzzese include
Rocky Marciano,
Dean Martin,
Mario Lanza,
and
Frank Sinatra.
Apparently three Abruzzese died
in the 9-11 bombings in New York City, including one
namesake
Marisa DiNardo.
To Detroit
Me, Jean ("she married him!") Wohlever, and my sister Ellen.
