AMHS member Willy Meaux recently took the plunge and bought a farmhouse and surrounding land in Abruzzo, in his ancestral hometown, Bugnara. It seems Willy and his wife Mary Bernard chose well, since a few years ago, the town was named one of the most beautiful in Italy (i borghi più belli d’Italia).

In December 2019, just before the COVID pandemic hit, Willy made his offer on the farmhouse and land. He said what motivated him to act was a presentation at the Italian Embassy encouraging investment in Italy, especially in cities with a population under 20,000.

And now Willy and Mary are the proud owners of a casale (farmhouse) and farm in Bugnara, in the province of L’Aquila, located just a few kilometers up the mountains from Sulmona. They enjoy harvesting hazelnuts, olives for oil, and working with family members who have wine grapes. Eventually, Willy plans to establish his own vineyard on his land. He also enjoys hunting for truffles that are found in abundance among the oak trees on his farm. Willy credits his grandfather with inspiring him to “come home” to Bugnara, a place he has been visiting since he was 8 years old.

He found that it was quite hard to navigate the bureaucracy in Italy, but with the help of an excellent attorney, he got it done without even being in the country for most of the preparations and the final transaction. He said the main impact COVID had was in slowing everything down, so it took 15 months from the time of his original offer to complete the transaction.

Willy, who was president of the Vespa Club in Washington, D.C., said he will definitely buy a Vespa as his very first vehicle purchase. He said he loves riding a Vespa in this beautiful area, which has the National Park of the Maiella very close to his house, and the National Park of the Gran Sasso just beyond. He said Mary has plans to buy a good 4-wheel-drive car that can manage the very mountainous area. He also wants to buy a tractor for his farm.

Willy said he and his wife really enjoy the excellent cultural and agricultural events sponsored by Bugnara. The natural beauty of the area is its greatest wealth, he said, but the town is also rich in cultural assets. For example, it hosts a major flower festival known throughout the region. For olive producers and grape growers, there are excellent presentations with some of the best agricultural experts assigned to the region of Abruzzo. All the farmers gather for these special presentations, he noted.

And he said the city has a wonderful museum where, for example, a donkey-driven olive press built in 1898 was rebuilt to its original condition as an exhibit. He said his grandfather Donato Iandimarino would have been one year old when this olive press was built, and no doubt as a young man helped his father deliver his olives to be pressed by that very machine.

His grandfather immigrated to the United States in 1914, following in the footsteps of his brother Antonio. Willy’s grandfather married Algera Martinelli Iandimarino whose family is originally from Lettopalena, a village in the province of Chieti not far from Bugnara, located on the other side of the Maiella mountain in Abruzzo.

Willy said he realized during his first trip to Bugnara at the age of 8 that his grandfather’s spirit was ever present in Bugnara, and that his grandfather had never really left, even though he spent most of his life in America. To Willy, his grandfather, a boilermaker for the Pennsylvania Railroad, was an inspirational man and a true farmer in his heart.

Asked how hard it was to deal with the building and restoration project on his property, Willy commented: “Rebuilding a house and restoring farmland is nothing compared to the incredible challenge my Italian ancestors experienced to come to America. The Italian immigrants to America were the boldest, strongest, the youngest, the most courageous, and they built America in the last century. I only hope I can make as much of a contribution to Bugnara as my grandfather made to America.”

It’s not just a farmhouse he is restoring; Willy said — he is building a bridge for his entire family to come home to Bugnara, to Italy. The beautiful Adriatic Sea and Pescara are less than an hour away, he noted. He said Mary loves going to the open market in Sulmona in Piazza Garibaldi, just a few kilometers down the mountain. And Willy said he and his wife get to go to the Chiesa della Madonna della Neve in Bugnara — the church where they were married in 1987. 

For a related article on Bugnara in this Notiziario, see “Bugnara: Province of L’Aquila, Region of Abruzzo.”

March/April 2022

If you like the fast paced action of basketball, give thanks to an immigrant to America from Abruzzo.

Dante Biasone was born in the town of Miglianico (population 4,529 in the 2004 Census) in the province of Chieti in the region of Abruzzo, on February 22, 1909. When he was 10, he immigrated with his parents and his brother to Syracuse, New York. When they became U.S. citizens, he changed his name to Daniel, so his friends called him “Danny”.

Although Danny was a star quarterback at the Catholic Vocational High School, he was not offered a college scholarship, and his parents could not afford to send him without help. Danny married his high school sweetheart Rachel. They had no children. He then began working a succession of odd jobs until, at 27, he had saved enough money to open an Italian restaurant with a partner in 1936. He sold his share of the restaurant in 1941 and bought a bowling alley which made him wealthy.

Five years later, he sent a $5,000 check to the National Basketball League (NBL) headquarters in Chicago to buy a franchise. In the Fall of 1946, his Syracuse Nationals began play with Leo F. Ferris (1917-1993) as the general manager and Alfred (Al) Nicholas Cervi (1917-2009) as the coach. In 1949, the NBL was absorbed by the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The faster paced, more exciting game brought about by the shot clock drew more fans to professional basketball.

By the early 1950s, basketball was degenerating into a lackluster game of keep-away. Teams ahead in the 4th quarter would simply stall for time, passing the ball back and forth, dribbling away from opponents, while crowds moaned, booed, and headed for the exits. To prevent the game from heading into oblivion, Danny devised the 24-second shot clock by dividing the estimated number of 120 shots per game over the previous three seasons into the 2,880 seconds of a 48-minute game. The NBA adopted it as a rule starting in the Fall of 1954. Results were immediate and striking. The faster paced, more exciting, high-scoring game appealed to more fans who flocked to court sides. Danny was dubbed a savior and “The Patron Saint of the NBA” by League Commissioner, Maurice Podoloff (1890-1985). His Nationals won the NBA championship for the 1954-55 season. After the 1962-63 season, Danny sold the Nationals for a handsome profit to investors who moved the team to Philadelphia and renamed them the 76ers. Danny remained in Syracuse to run his noisy but prosperous bowling alley.

In 1982, Danny received the annual John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBA. He was its tenth recipient. The award was named after Bunn who served from 1949 to 1969 as the first Chairman of the Basketball Hall of Fame Committee and was given to a person who contributed significantly to the sport. Danny died from a blood infection at the University Hospital in Syracuse on May 25, 1992, at the age of 83. He was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor to the game in 2000. 

Sources, all accessed May 23, 2021:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Biasone en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miglianico en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Ferris en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Cervi en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Podoloff en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_76ers#Franchise_history en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bunn_Award www.nytimes.com/1992/05/27/sports/danny-biasone (link expired)

March/April 2022

On December 9, 2021, the Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C., hosted a meeting as part of an exciting twinning project between two high schools — one in Maryland and one in Italy. The project is part of the Embassy’s goal of promoting the study of the Italian language among U.S. students and deepening the cultural ties between young people in the U.S. and Italy.

The meeting, which took place in the Embassy auditorium, brought together students from the two participating high schools: Annapolis High School in Annapolis, Maryland and the Parentucelli/Arzelà high school in the city of Sarzana, which is located in the province of La Spezia in Italy’s Liguria region. The Italian students participated in the meeting virtually while the students from Annapolis High School were present in person.

The twinning project aims to build a bridge connecting the cities of Washington, D.C., Annapolis, Maryland, and Sarzana, Liguria. In particular, it aims to promote the study of Italian in the Washington metropolitan area and the study of English in Sarzana. Students will increase the knowledge of their target language by studying each country’s history, culture, art and music. They will also have the opportunity to take part in language and cultural exchanges, during which they will be able to stay with a host family. In this way, they will both enhance their Italian/English language skills and act as ambassadors by spreading knowledge of their native language and culture. Key partners in the project include the promotional body of the Casa Italiana Language School, the city of Sarzana, and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (through its generous funding).

Dr. Paola Corneo, Director of the Casa Italiana Language School, opened the meeting by thanking the principals and teachers of the two schools for their hard work in setting up the project. In the case of Annapolis High School, the Italian teacher is AMHS member Maria LaVerghetta, who accompanied the Annapolis High students to the meeting. Representing the Embassy were the First Counselor Domenico Bellantone and the head of the Education Office Maria Fusco. Counselor Bellantone addressed the group in attendance, pointing out to the students that this project would likely be their introduction to the world of international relations and that they would be able to increase their mutual understanding of each other’s culture while improving their speaking and listening skills. The Mayor of Sarzana, Cristina Ponzanelli, also addressed the group. She underscored her city’s full support for the project and conveyed the greetings of the Governor of the region of Liguria, Giovanni Toti.

Students at both Annapolis High School and Parentucelli/Arzelà high school are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. These opportunities are a good example of what can be accomplished in the teaching of foreign languages and cultures when teachers, schools, municipal and regional authorities all work together. 

March/April 2022

From the cool, mischievous opening bars of the “Pink Panther” to the wistful strains of “Moon River,” to the driving beat of the theme from Peter Gunn, Henry Mancini gave the world some of the most memorable music ever written for films and television. This musical genius had roots in both Abruzzo and Molise.

Enrico Nicola Mancini was born in the Little Italy section of Cleveland, Ohio, on April 16, 1924. His father Quintiliano, an amateur musician, had emigrated from the community of Scanno (population 1,883 in the 2015 Census) in the province of L’Aquila in the region of Abruzzo in 1910 at age 17. His mother, Anna Pece, had emigrated as an infant with her family from the community of Forlì del Sannio in the province of Isernia in the region of Molise.

When Enrico was a toddler, the family moved to West Aliquippa so that his father could work in the nearby Jones & Laughlin Steel Mill in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Enrico started studying the piccolo and flute at age eight. While still in high school, he began studying music under Max Adkins, the orchestra conductor for the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh. After graduating from Aliquippa High School in June 1942, he changed his first name to Henry and attended the School of Music at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh. In January 1943, he transferred to the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. After classes ended in June 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces. While in basic training in Atlantic City, New Jersey, he met several musicians being recruited by band leader, Glenn Miller, who recommended to Henry’s superiors that he be assigned to the 28^th Air Force Band. After Miller’s death in an airplane crash in December 1944, Henry was re-assigned to the 1306^th Engineers Brigade fighting in France. Before World War II ended in Europe in May 1945, he helped to liberate the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Austria. After three years of service, he was honorably discharged in June 1946.

Henry then went to work as a pianist and arranger for the new Glenn Miller Orchestra led by Tex Beneke. After a year, he left the orchestra and moved to Hollywood. In September 1947 at age 23, he married Virginia “Ginny” O’Connor, a singer with the new Glenn Miller Orchestra. They had three children. With his bride’s encouragement, he began private music studies with composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He also began writing music for radio programs and composing arrangements for night club acts. To ensure a steadier income for his growing family, Henry joined the music department of Universal-International Studios in 1952. There he began composing music and songs for films. His score for The Glenn Miller Story won him his first Academy Award nomination in 1954. The last score which he wrote for the studio was for the film Touch of Evil that was released in early 1958. Overall, he composed music and songs for about 100 films until the studio disbanded its music department in mid-1958.

Blake Edwards, a producer, asked the freelancing Mancini to wrote a score for a new TV detective series to be called Peter Gunn. RCA-Victor then released an album, Music from Peter Gunn. Before the end of 1958, it won Mancini two Grammy Awards for best album and best arrangement. In 1959, Edwards produced another TV detective series called Mr. Lucky. The album, Music from Mr. Lucky, earned Mancini two more Grammys for best arrangement and best orchestra performance in 1960. Mancini also won a third Grammy that year for another album entitled The Blues and the Beat. Edwards’s next film was Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Mancini’s music garnered five more Grammys and his first two Oscars, one for best original score and the other for the best song which was “Moon River.” In 1962, Mancini provided music for the films Experiment in Terror and Hatari! which had the theme song “Baby Elephant Walk” that won him another Grammy. That year he also published a book entitled Sounds and Scores: A Practical Guide to Professional Orchestration. Before the year was up, his collaboration with Edwards led to the theme song for Days of Wine and Roses winning Mancini another Oscar for best song. In 1963, Mancini’s theme song for the romantic mystery movie Charade, directed by Stanley Donen, won him another Oscar nomination for best song. When Edwards started The Pink Panther comedy movie series in 1964, Mancini composed the music. Other popular films for which Mancini wrote the music were Dear Heart directed by Delbert Mann in 1964, The Great Race directed by Donen in 1965 and Two for the Road directed by Donen in 1967. Mancini’s arrangement and recording of the “Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet” was a number one hit single on the Hot 100 for two weeks in June 1969.

Mancini’s fourth and last Oscar was won for best score with the music for Victor/Victoria directed by Edwards in 1982. Mancini also scored many TV movies, such as The Thorn Birds in 1983. In 1989, he published his autobiography Did They Mention the Music? Also in 1989, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. Mancini died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles on June 14, 1994, two months after his 70^th birthday.

Overall, Mancini was nominated for 72 Grammys and won 20. He was also nominated for 18 Academy Awards and won four. In addition, he was nominated for two Emmys and he won one Golden Globe. Mancini recorded 90 albums, eight of which were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. He was also a concert performer, sometimes conducting about 50 engagements per year, resulting in about 600 symphony performances during his lifetime.

In 2001, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation established the Henry Mancini Music Scholarship which has been awarded annually. On April 13, 2004, the U.S. Postal Service honored him with a 37-cent commemorative stamp which shows him conducting in front of a list of some of his most popular movie and TV themes while the Pink Panther in the lower left corner points to Mancini. 

Sources, all accessed June 13, 2021:

American National Biography Series, vol. 14 at pgs. 396-397 (Oxford University Press 1999) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Mancini postalmuseum.si.edu/object/npm_2004.2018.37 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scanno,_Abruzzo en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forlì_del_Sannio

 

March/April 2022

Province of Campobasso, Region of Molise

The beautiful town of Campomarino is located in the province of Campobasso. It has approximately 8,057 inhabitants known as Campomarinesi. The Campomarino comune includes the seaside tourist resort of Campomarino Lido, just above sea level, and the village of Campomarino itself, located on a hill behind it.

Among groves of olive trees and near a wide, beautiful beach, the town, which is on the borderline with the province of Foggia in Puglia, enjoys a spectacular view of the Biferno valley, as far as the Tremiti Islands.

The very ancient origin of the town is indicated by the bronze items from the 12th century B.C. found in the area of Defensola, which was probably the site of a Roman colony called Cliternia. It was under many feudal lords, with the last being the Di Sangro family in the 16th century

Campomarino’s enchanting landscape can be admired from the terrace near the ancient village and the church of Santa Maria a Mare. Until a few decades ago, the town was populated by people of Albanian origin, who were known as very good farmers. Their language is still spoken there.

Located near the town, Campomarino Lido is now a favorite place for summer seaside tourism. With its tourist port and its beaches surrounded by pine forests that reach to the mouth of the Biferno River, it is now considered a beautiful recreational destination.

Today, Campomarino is also a town which produces good wine, especially the variety known as Tintilia.

Campomarino is famous for its tratturo, the pastoral route for the migration of sheep between summer and winter pastures. The tratturo from L’Aquila to Foggia, 244 kilometers long, is the most important of the five Regi (Royal) Tratturi, which is why it is also called Tratturo Magno. The section crossing Campomarino is the last one in Molise. The tratturi are considered an important monument of the social and economic history between the Abruzzese-Molisano Apennines and Tavoliere delle Puglie, preserved for seven centuries.

The Tratturo Magno brought enormous herds from the mountains of Gran Sasso, Sirente and Majella to the wide pastures of the Tavoliere, often touching the Adriatic coast. This is the only tratturo where sheep and shepherds reached the sea. The route of the Tratturo Magno starts at the Church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L’Aquila, enters Molise, goes to the Fortore River and reaches the Tavoliere, where it ends in Foggia, meeting the tratturo from Celano.

Still today, along the route, you can see several countryside churches or chiese tratturali meant for the rest and comfort of shepherds, like the church of San Paolo di Peltuinum and Santa Maria dei Cintorelli, where the Tratturo Centurelle-Montesecco starts. The Tratturo L’Aquila-​Foggia has been recently studied by the Abruzzese Associazione Tracturo 3000, which since 1997 has been organizing trekking routes divided into nine stages along the pathway. 

What to See

• The 12th century church of Santa Maria a Mare with beautiful columns, an ancient crypt, and frescoes of St. Demetrius fighting the Saracens and of St. Nicholas.

Important Dates

• July 24 — Feast of St. Catherine, the patron saint

       

Italiano

   

Tradotto da Ennio Di Tullio

Provincia di Campobasso, Regione Molise

Il bellissimo paese di Campomarino si trova in provincia di Campobasso. Conta circa 8.057 abitanti conosciuti come Campomarinesi. Il comune di Campomarino comprende la località turistica balneare di Campomarino Lido, poco sopra il livello del mare, e lo stesso paese di Campomarino, posto su una collina alle sue spalle.

Tra uliveti e in prossimità di un’ampia e bella spiaggia, il paese, che si trova al confine con la provincia di Foggia in Puglia, gode di una vista spettacolare sulla valle del Biferno, fino alle Isole Tremiti.

L’antichissima origine del paese è indicata da oggetti in bronzo del XII secolo a.C. rinvenuto nella zona di Defensola, che probabilmente era sede di una colonia romana denominata Cliternia. Fu sotto molti feudatari, ultimo dei quali la famiglia Di Sangro nel 16° secolo.

L’incantevole paesaggio di Campomarino si può ammirare dalla terrazza vicino al borgo antico e alla chiesa di Santa Maria a mare. Fino a pochi decenni fa il paese era popolato da persone di origine albanese, conosciute come ottimi contadini. La loro lingua è ancora parlata lì.

Situato nei pressi del centro abitato, Campomarino Lido è oggi una delle mete preferite del turismo balneare estivo. Con il suo porto turistico e le sue spiagge circondate da pinete che arrivano fino alla foce del fiume Biferno, è oggi considerata una bella meta di svago.

Oggi Campomarino è anche un paese che produce del buon vino, in particolare dal vitigno noto come Tintilia.

Campomarino è famosa per il suo tratturo, la via pastorale per la migrazione dei greggi tra i pascoli estivi e invernali. Il tratturo da L’Aquila a Foggia, lungo 244 chilometri, è il più importante dei cinque Tratturi Regi, per questo è anche chiamato Tratturo Magno. Il tratto che attraversa Campomarino è l’ultimo in Molise. I tratturi sono considerati un importante monumento della storia sociale ed economica tra l’Appennino Abruzzese-Molisano e il Tavoliere delle Puglie, conservato per sette secoli.

Il Tratturo Magno portava enormi mandrie dai monti del Gran Sasso, Sirente e Majella agli ampi pascoli del Tavoliere, toccando spesso la costa adriatica. Questo è l’unico tratturo dove pecore e pastori arrivavano al mare. Il percorso del Tratturo Magno inizia presso la Chiesa di Santa Maria di Collemaggio a L’Aquila, entra in Molise, va al fiume Fortore e raggiunge il Tavoliere, dove termina a Foggia, incontrando il tratturo di Celano.

Ancora oggi, lungo il percorso, si possono vedere diverse chiese campestri o chiese tratturali destinate al riposo e al conforto dei pastori, come la chiesa di San Paolo di Peltuinum e di Santa Maria dei Cintorelli, dove ha inizio il Tratturo Centurelle-Montesecco. Il Tratturo L’Aquila-Foggia è stato recentemente studiato dall’Associazione Abruzzese Tracturo 3000, che dal 1997 organizza percorsi di trekking suddivisi in nove tappe lungo il percorso. 

Le attrazioni del luogo:

• La chiesa di Santa Maria a Mare del XII secolo con belle colonne, un’antica cripta e affreschi raffiguranti San Demetrio in lotta contro i Saraceni e San Nicola.

Date da ricordare:

• 24 luglio — Festa di Santa Caterina, patrona

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campomarino www.italyheritage.com/regions/molise/province-campobasso/campomarino.htm molisecoast.com/en/campomarino molisecoast.com/en/poi/tratturo-from-laquila-to-foggia-stretch-of-campomarino

March/April 2022