The next general meeting of the Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society of the Washington, D.C. Area will take place inside Casa Italiana on Sunday, November 19, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. The primary order of business, before we get to our wine tasting and social time, will be the nomination and election of a new slate of the top five officers of the Society, as well as three new members of the nine-person board of directors.

The five officers serve for two-year terms and are eligible to run for re-election. The members of the Board of Directors serve for three years and cannot run for consecutive terms.

Additional nominations may be made from the floor during the November 19 meeting, after which the nominations will be closed, and the election will be held. The elected officers and board members shall assume office on January 1, 2024, and will be installed at the January 2024 general membership meeting.

The Nominating Committee has put forth the following candidates for election.

President, Christopher Renneker

Christopher John Renneker has been a member of the Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society since 2017 and has served one term on the Society’s board and is currently serving on the social committee. He has been a member of the National Italian-American Foundation since 2016, the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America since 2021, and Filitalia International since 2023. He has family members from the region of Abruzzo and the city of Foggia in the region of Puglia. 

Chris graduated in 2017 from the George Washington University Law School. He also earned an MBA from the Sungkyunkwan University Global School of Business in 2017, and a B.S. from Florida State University in 2011 with majors in Political Science and History, focused on European Union integration and Renaissance Italy, respectively, and minors in Classical Civilization, focused on Etruscan studies, and Philosophy.

Between undergrad and law school, Chris taught overseas, including one year of English in Shanghai, China, and taught one year of English, Social Studies, and Math in Mexico City, Mexico. Chris studied abroad for a semester in Italy while at Florida State. He has since visited Italy twice, including a six-week road trip in 2019. 

Chris was admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia in 2017 and currently works at the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a Trademark Examining Attorney. He previously worked as an Attorney Advisor in the Small Business Administration, Office of Disaster Assistance.

Second Vice President-Membership, Americo “Rico” Allegrino

Americo “Rico” Allegrino grew up in upstate New York. His father emigrated from Chieti in Abruzzo and his maternal great grandparents came from Sicily and Naples. He earned a Master’s degree in Meteorology from the University of Maryland. He currently works as a government contractor for NOAA’s satellite division where he provides programming support to the next generation of weather satellites. Rico has worked for NOAA for 21 years. Previously, he worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center studying sea ice and snow cover using various remote sensors.

Rico has volunteered as a special events coordinator for an organization of single Catholics called the Catholic Alumni Club. There, he organized picnics, happy hours, and dinners. He was also the membership chairman for several years for this club. Currently, he leads a group of volunteers from his local parish to provide a monthly dinner for homeless men in Prince Georges County. He also volunteers his gardening services to his local parish. He is an avid gardener. Rico is currently in his second term on the AMHS Board, having previously served from 2018 to 2020.

Secretary, Joseph “Sonny” Scafetta, Jr.

Joseph “Sonny” Scafetta Jr. is the son of Giuseppe Scafetta (1896-1975) who emigrated from the city of Vasto in Abruzzo to Washington, D.C., in early April 1915. Sonny earned a B.S. from Penn State University in aerospace engineering in 1969, a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1972, a masters in patent law from Georgetown U. in 1973, and an M.B.A. in the administration of science and technology from George Washington U. in 1983. Before entering the private practice of law in 1975, he served as a law clerk for two years for a federal trial judge in Columbia, South Carolina. He was admitted to practice before the state courts in Pennsylvania in 1972, the District of Columbia in 1978, and Virginia in 1979. He was also admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in 1973, the U.S. District Court in D.C. in 1978, and the Eastern District of Virginia in 1982, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1982, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1980. He has worked for several law firms in the District and northern Virginia. Over the years, he has published ten articles in various legal journals and won the prestigious Robert C Watson Award from the American Intellectual Property Law Association in 1976. He is now semi-retired, but works part time as Senior Counsel for Ditthavong, Steiner, & Mlotkowski in Alexandria. 

He has been a member of the Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society since 2008 and served on the board of directors from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2022. He is also on the board of directors of the National Columbus Celebration Association. Sonny is also a member and officer of the Italian Heritage Lodge which is a branch of the Order Sons & Daughters of Italy in America which he joined in 1979. He served as the state president of the Grand Lodge of Virginia from June 1993 to June 1995 and on the state council of the Grand Lodge for a record 24 continuous years from 1983 to 2007. 

Currently, Sonny resides in Falls Church with his wife of 37 years, Teresa Talierco, who is currently on the AMHS board of directors. They have a son, Joseph Scafetta III, who is currently a grad student studying data science at Marymount University in Arlington.

The following officers have graciously agreed to continue serving in their current positions for another year.

First Vice President-Programs, Nancy DeSanti

Nancy DeSanti was born in Massachusetts and while growing up, lived in Athens, Greece, for four years, and in Manila, the Philippines, for three years. She was a legal specialist with Reed Smith LLP, a top-15 global law firm and prior to that, she was an editor at The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., a legal publishing company.

As the daughter of immigrants, Nancy appreciates and loves her heritage and is interested in Italian genealogy, history, culture, and language. She is a member of the National Italian-American Foundation and enjoys traveling to Italy each year. She resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

Nancy has served three terms as First Vice President and has graciously agreed to remain in office for one more year.

Treasurer, Peter Bell

Peter Bell is a lifelong resident of the Washington, D.C. area, growing up in Silver Spring, Maryland. He has lived on Capitol Hill since 1974. He is retired from the Federal government with over 35 years of experience as an auditor and financial manager with three different Federal agencies. Currently, he heads his own consulting and training practice, providing support for the needs of the affordable housing industry. Peter is also a member of the AMHS Scholarship Committee.

Board of Directors

Article VII, Section 6 of the AMHS bylaws states:

“The Board of Directors shall consist of nine (9) members who have been in good standing for at least two years. The Board shall be divided into three groups of three members. Each group shall be elected for three years and thereafter have three, two and one remaining years of office. The group serving its last year in office shall retire at the end of the year. Each year a new group of three Directors shall be elected for a three-year term to replace the retiring Directors. No elected Board member may serve consecutive terms or serve simultaneously in any other officer position of the Society.”

Accordingly, the Nominating Committee has put forth the following candidates for the term that begins on January 1, 2024.

Anthony Andreoli

Anthony “Tony” Andreoli is a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and is extraordinarily proud of his Italian heritage. He is a cum laude graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Villanova Law School, and is currently corporate counsel with a technology company that focuses on artificial intelligence.

Tony is also a member of the Italian Heritage Lodge in Fairfax. He fondly recalls pasta Sunday at his grandparents and is a steadfast advocate for the preservation of Italian culture and our ancestors’ legacies. He enjoys playing the drums, skiing, martial arts, and most importantly, spending time with his son, Michael. They reside in the Crystal City section of Arlington.

Maria D’Andrea-Yothers

Maria D’Andrea-Yothers is a second-generation Italian American. Her mother and father were both born in Italy, her mother Edvige in the region of Abruzzo, her father Lucio in the region of Molise. They immigrated to the United States in 1949, after World War II, and met in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, where they were married before moving to the Washington, D.C. area. Maria was raised with her four sisters and one brother in northern Virginia. Maria has spent over 20 years promoting and working with the Italian-American community in the Washington, D.C. area, mainly as an officer and past president of the Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society, which was co-founded by her father in 2000.

Maria is Director of the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce. She is responsible for managing a staff of 12 International trade specialists, international economists, and business and industry specialists. She is responsible for administering the U.S. textile trade program, and she has been involved in the negotiation of several top trade priorities including special safeguards against China and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. She is considered an expert in the field of domestic and international policy issues related to textiles and apparel. Her advice is sought by industry stakeholders, as well as by U.S and foreign government representatives. Prior to joining OTEXA in 1992, Maria worked on textile and clothing trade issues as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland.

Maria married Sam Yothers, an “Italian by Marriage,” on February 11, 2016, on the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. She has two stepdaughters, Lauren and Mara. She and her husband enjoy all types of outdoor activities, especially hiking, camping, and cycling.

Mark Lino

Mark’s paternal family hails from Avellino in the Campania region. He has been a member of the AMHS for nearly 20 years. Mark is currently serving on the board, and his term expires at the end of 2023. However, he has generously agreed to serve another year in his position.

Mark was born in East Boston, Massachusetts. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. For the past 33 years, he has been employed as an economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture where he works on food policy and programs. Outside of work, he enjoys reading mysteries and wine tasting.

Our final AMHS speaker program for 2023 started out with a real treat for the attendees — a surprise performance by AMHS music scholarship winner Giorgio Consolati. Afterwards, Professor Carmine Vittoria told us about his two most recent, very different books.

The program, held at Casa Italiana on September 10, 2023, began with Giorgio’s introduction by Liz DiGregorio, on behalf of the AMHS Angela Raisch scholarship committee. Liz noted that Giorgio, who is from Milan, is a graduate of the Julliard School and is currently a doctoral candidate at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. Giorgio has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, and Liz told us that his lustrous tone and virtuosity would be on full display — and they were!

Giorgio played the flute while Hui-Chuan Chen, his colleague in Baltimore, accompanied him on the piano. He selected the piece “Il Pastore Svizzera for Flute and Piano” by Pietro Morlacchi. It was enthusiastically received by an appreciative audience. 

After lunch, Carmine began his talk by telling us a little about his life. He was born before the start of World War II in Avella, a small town 20 kilometers northeast of Naples. As a boy, he helped tend sheep in the mountains near Avella. His father died in Libya in 1941. After the war, the family immigrated to the United States.

Before Carmine’s talk, a delicious lunch was catered by A. Litteri. Our thanks to all those who helped in arranging and serving the lunch and to all those who donated raffle prizes and bought tickets. A special thanks is owed to AMHS member, Maria Marigliano, for her technical assistance.

He received a Ph.D. in applied quantum physics from Yale University in 1970. He taught physics for 32 years at Northeastern University in Boston after working at the Naval Research Lab here on projects involving microwave magnetic materials and the Stealth bomber technology. 

AMHS members may recall then when Carmine was here in June 2019, he told us his story of hardship and survival through the eyes of a boy growing up in the small town of Avella before, during, and shortly after World War II. This true story of his life became the basis for his book “Bitter Chicory to Sweet Espresso,” which he has since translated into Italian.

Since then, Carmine has written two more, very different books which were the subject of his talk. 

The first book, “Once Upon a Hill,” is his “second memoir.” He writes about the experiences of two shepherd boys on Mount Avella. They immigrated separately to the United States and took very different paths in life — one entered academia and the other entered the Mafia — and how they reconnected in Boston’s heavily Italian North End many years later. The lives of both unfolded during a turbulent era of Irish political power and the Irish gangs led by Whitey Bulger who controlled much of Boston’s criminal activity and who at the same time was informing on the Mafia. 

The other book, “Hidden in Plain Sight,” describes World War II interactions between internees and townspeople in Mussolini’s internment camps for Jews and anti-fascists in remote areas of Southern Italy, particularly in Basilicata and Calabria. Carmine pointed out that these internment camps were basically remote places of exile rather than the brutal concentration camps set up by the Nazis elsewhere. He explained how a bond formed among the internees and the townspeople and the various ways they all pulled together to survive the hardships of the war.

Our speaker came all the way from Florida, where he is now retired and plants fig trees and runs a bridge club. Carmine has just written another scientific book, “Magnetics, Dielectrics, and Wave Propagation,” which will be published in November 2023.

This event was co-sponsored by the Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center. Our special guests included our new Holy Rosary Pastor, Father Walter Tonelotto; Maria Fusco, the Embassy of Italy’s Education Director; and Dr. John Mather, our Nobel-Prize-winning speaker in January 2023. Dr. Mather spoke to us about the James Webb Space Telescope for which he was chief scientist. Dr. Mather’s fiancée, Cheryl Hoffman, was also a guest.

From humble beginnings in Philadelphia, a son of Molisano immigrants changed his name and helped revolutionize jazz and blues music, while performing with some of the biggest stars of the 20th century.

Salvatore Massaro was born at home in the 700 block of Saint Albans Street in the Little Italy section in the south end of Philadelphia, Pa., on October 25, 1902. His parents had emigrated from the community of Monteroduni (population 2,140 in the 2017 Census) in the province of Isernia in Molise. His father was a musical instrument maker. Salvatore attended a nearby elementary school where an older pupil named Joe Venuti introduced him to the violin at age 7. When Salvatore turned 15, he dropped out of school and became a member of a local trio, although he could not read music.

In 1920 at age 18, he legally changed his name to Eddie Lang, exchanged his violin for a banjo, and began working with band leaders Charlie Kerr, Bert Estlow, Vic D’Ippolito, and then Billy Lustig. In 1924, he exchanged his banjo for a one-stringed guitar when he became a member of the Mound City Blue Blowers led by Red McKenzie. He recorded one of the first guitar solos in “Deep Second Street Blues” in 1926. Before his performance, the guitar had not been a prominent instrument in jazz bands and dance orchestras. Lang and Venuti then performed with the Adrian Rollini Orchestra. Lang also recorded with black blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson who used the stage name Blind Willie Dunn. Altogether, Lang recorded 22 songs during his career.

In 1929, Lang and Venuti became members of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. Vocalist Bing Crosby soon joined the orchestra on a trip west to Hollywood to make the movie King of Jazz in which Lang and Venuti appeared. Through Crosby’s wife, Lang met Kitty, a Ziegfeld girl, whom he soon married. They had no children. In 1930 when Crosby was looking for a job in radio, he had Lang as his accompanist. Two years later, Crosby made another movie The Big Broadcast in which Lang also appeared. When Crosby returned to New York City and started his orchestra in late 1932, he hired Lang as a regular.

Lang suffered from occasional laryngitis and had a chronic sore throat. After a doctor recommended a tonsillectomy, Crosby urged Lang to have the operation. Assured that the surgical procedure was routine, Lang entered Park West Hospital in Manhattan on March 26, 1933. He never woke up from the surgery and died at age 30. 

Lang was one of the first single-string guitar soloists. He played a melody on a one-stringed Gibson L guitar but occasionally added more chords. He showed that the guitar could be a band instrument. He was skilled enough to make his acoustic guitar heard among the other band instruments. Lang was so influential that banjo players soon switched en masse to the guitar and the banjo was dropped from most bands. As a result, Lang is known as the father of the jazz guitar. He was inducted into the American Society of Composers, Authors, & Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Wall of Fame in 1986 and the Big Band & Jazz Hall of Fame in 2010.

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Lang
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monteroduni

The town is situated just below Monte della Selva on the southern side of the Gran Sasso. The surrounding countryside is rich in herbs such as thyme, helicrysus, and pharmaceutical issopus.

On this site was a Roman settlement, as indicated by the remains of Via Claudia Nova and the nearby Forfona archaeological area. Founded between the 5th and 7th centuries A.D., the town expanded, absorbing the surrounding areas of Villa San Basilio, Bariscianello, and Santa Maria di Forfona. Eventuallly, Barisciano took part in the foundation of L’Aquila.

In 1380, the town was invaded by Amatrice troops and in 1424, it was besieged by condottiere (leader of a troop of mercenaries) Braccio da Montone and subsequently surrendered. The women of the town were taken to L’Aquila with their breasts bare to humiliate them. But the length of time the feared condottiere spent fighting at Barisciano gave the city of L’Aquila the chance to reorganize and finally defeat him.

The town is most noted for the Castle of Barisciano which is a medieval fortress that was built on top of the Selva mountain. The fortress was constructed sometime during the 8th century in a key location on the Navelli plateau, with access to the Gran Sasso d’Italia. It was expanded into an enclosed fortress in the 13th century to house the populace in case of danger. 

The condottiere Braccio da Montone stormed the fortress and destroyed it in 1424, while that city was under siege. The stronghold had contributed to the establishment of L’Aquila, and it remained a part of L’Aquila until 1529, at which point it became an aristocratic family fief. It was abandoned after it lost its defensive use in the 16th century.

The Chapel of San Rocco, which is home to the saint’s wooden statue and some paintings, was constructed next to one of the castle towers as a memorial to the plague that occurred in 1526. The rectangular-shaped castle enclosure has a one-kilometer circumference. There were eight towers total, with the primary pentagonal tower situated at the highest apex and the remaining towers distributed along the walls. Even though not occupied on a long-term basis like the castle, remnants of additional buildings are inside the walls.

Barisciano is noted for its floricultural research center located in the Monastery of San Colombo. The town is also known for its potato festival and donkey race (sagra delle patate con il palo degli asini) held every August.

What to See

• Monastery of San Colombo, which is now a floriculture research center
• Remains of the medieval castle guarding the Piana di Navelli on the one side and the road to Gran Sasso on the other 
• Church of Santissima Trinità 
• Church of Santa Maria di Capo di Serra from the 14th century 
• Church of Santa Maria di Valleverde. 
• Chapel of San Rocco

Important Dates

• August — Potato festival with a traditional donkey race (palio degli asini) 
• November 25 — Feast of Santa Caterina 

Tradotto da Ennio Di Tullio

Provincia dell’Aquila, Regione Abruzzo

La bellissima cittadina di Barisciano si trova nel Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga. Ha circa 1.828 abitanti, detti Bariscianesi.

Il paese è situato appena sotto il Monte della Selva, sul versante meridionale del Gran Sasso. La campagna circostante è ricca di erbe aromatiche come il timo, l’elicriso, e l’isopo farmaceutico.

In questo sito era presente un insediamento romano, come indicano i resti della Via Claudia Nova e della vicina area archeologica di Forfona. Fondato tra il V e il VII secolo d.C., il paese si espanse inglobando le aree circostanti di Villa San Basilio, Bariscianello, e Santa Maria di Forfona. Barisciano partecipò infine alla fondazione dell’Aquila.

Nel 1380 il paese fu invaso dalle truppe di Amatrice e nel 1424 fu assediato dal condottiero Braccio da Montone e successivamente si arrese. Le donne del paese venivano portate a L’Aquila a seno scoperto per umiliarle. Ma il periodo di tempo trascorso dal temuto condottiero combattendo a Barisciano diede alla città dell’Aquila la possibilità di riorganizzarsi e infine sconfiggerlo.

La città è nota soprattutto per il Castello di Barisciano, una fortezza medievale costruita sulla cima del monte Selva. La fortezza fu costruita durante l’VIII secolo in una posizione chiave sull’altopiano di Navelli, con accesso al Gran Sasso d’Italia. Nel XIII secolo fu ampliato fino a diventare una fortezza recintata per ospitare la popolazione in caso di pericolo.

Il condottiero Braccio da Montone esplose la fortezza e la distrusse nel 1424, mentre la città era sotto assedio. La roccaforte aveva contribuito alla fondazione dell’Aquila, della quale rimase fino al 1529 quando fu feudo di una famiglia aristocratica. Fu abbandonato dopo perse la sua funzione difensiva nel XVI secolo.

La Cappella di San Rocco, che conserva la statua lignea del santo e alcuni dipinti, fu costruita accanto a una delle torri del castello in memoria della peste avvenuta nel 1526. Il recinto del castello, di forma rettangolare, ha una circonferenza di un chilometro. C’erano otto torri in totale, con la torre pentagonale primaria situata all’apice più alto e le restanti torri distribuite lungo le mura. Anche se non furono occupati a lungo termine come il castello, ci sono resti di edifici aggiuntivi all’interno delle mura.

Barisciano è noto per il suo Centro ricerche floricole, situato nel Monastero di San Colombo. Il paese è noto anche per la sagra delle patate e la corsa degli asini (festival of the potatoes and the race of the donkeys) che si tiene ogni agosto.

Le attrazioni del luogo:

• Monastero di San Colombo, oggi centro di ricerca sulla floricoltura
• Resti del castello medievale, a guardia della Piana di Navelli da un lato e della strada per il Gran Sasso dall’altro
• Chiesa della Santissima Trinità
• Chiesa di Santa Maria di Capo di Serra del XIV secolo
• Chiesa di Santa Maria di Valleverde.
• Cappella di San Rocco

Date da ricordare:

• Agosto — Sagra delle patate con tradizionale corsa degli asini (palio degli asini)
• 25 novembre — Festa di Santa Caterina

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barisciano https://www.italyheritage.com/regions/abruzzo/laquila/barisciano.htm https://weirditaly.com/2022/10/25/castle-of-barisciano-laquila/

Province of Campobasso, Region of Molise

The small town of Montemitro is located in the province of Campobasso near the Trigno river. It has approximately 468 inhabitants, known as Montemitrani. 

This town is one of the Molise centers founded by refugees from the Balkans. Montemitro was founded in 1461 by a Croatian community under the leadership of Giorgio Castriota Skanderberg. The population still speaks a Slavic dialect. Like Acquaviva Collecroce and San Felice del Molise, Montemitro is home to a community of Molisian Croatians, most of whom speak a particular Croatian dialect as well as Italian. 

The patron saint of Montemitro is Santa Lucia, and the church dedicated to her is the Church of Santa Lucia Vergine e Martire. However, the town does not celebrate the feast of Santa Lucia on its customary date of December 13, but rather on the first and last Fridays of May. This honors the crossing of the Adriatic Sea to Italy in the 15th century by the ancestors of the town’s residents who are believed to have carried a statue of Santa Lucia with them, arriving in Italy on a Friday in May. 

The language of the three cities is considered an endangered diaspora language. Along with Acquaviva Collecroce and San Felice del Molise, the town of Montemitro is being studied by anthropologists and language specialists. The residents keep ancient traditions, like the hand-weaving of blankets and tablecloths, and have a deep devotion to Santa Lucia, their patron saint.

Roughly 1,000 people in the towns of Montemitro, San Felice, and Acquaviva Collecroce speak Slavomolisano — or na-našo (pronounced “na-nasho”) — a blend of ancient Croatian and the local Italian dialect of the Molise region.

Created from the blend of Italian culture and the language spoken by 15th-century Croatian refugees, na-našo, meaning “our way,” its associated traditions have been passed down for generations. But as the town’s population has dwindled over the years and Italian has overtaken na-našo as their primary language. That heritage is fading.

Older members of the community have mostly accepted the possibility that their language will die out within the next few decades. But others, particularly younger people, are determined to see their culture preserved. Even though they may not speak na-našo as fluently as their forebears, they are a driving force behind efforts to celebrate and conserve their blended heritage.

Interestingly, na-našo would never have existed if the Ottomans had not invaded the Balkan peninsula in the 1400s, driving thousands of refugees toward the coast of Croatia and eventually across the sea to Italy. By the end of the 15th century, hundreds had landed along Molise’s coast, according to Giovanni Piccoli, a native of Acquaviva and former professor of Latin, Italian, and history at local universities.

At that time, Montemitro, Acquaviva, and San Felice had been abandoned due to an earthquake in 1456. So “the feudal lords, desperate to repopulate their lands, invited the refugees to inhabit these abandoned towns,” said Piccoli. After arriving in Molise, these refugees mixed their language with the local one, creating na-našo, and married the cultural and religious practices they had brought with them with local traditions.

But that was centuries ago. Today, Montemitro, the town that is arguably the most active of the three when it comes to speaking na-našo is also the smallest. That may be because Montemitro was poorly connected and isolated, which allowed its people to preserve the language for a longer time, said Padre Angelo Giorgetta, a local parish priest.

Even today, Montemitro retains some of that rugged remoteness. The streets encircling the town are unpaved, and tall grass and wildflowers grow in abundance along the streets. The people of the towns coexist with the wild landscape, often making their living off the land as farmers.

This ancient town has a panoramic view of the surrounding valley from around almost every corner; street names are written in both Italian and na-našo; and a smattering of benches in main squares are painted in vibrant colors, with local sayings and poetry verses in Italian and na-našo handwritten across the slats.

The cultural associations of the three towns recently banded together to create an artistic residency for Croatian artists with the aim of valorizing their cultural heritage through art. And there are tentative plans to host an artistic residency several times a year to coincide with the towns’ cultural and religious events.

These cultural efforts have also stretched across the sea to involve Croatia. Three Croatian presidents have visited the towns, most recently in 2018, to acknowledge the link Molise and Croatia continue to share despite five centuries of change. In fact, Montemitro has been granted an Honorary Consulate by Croatia. 

AMHS member Joann Novello noted that Montemitro is her late mother’s hometown, and the priest mentioned in the article, Padre Angelo Giorgetta, is her mother’s cousin’s son. He visited the Novellos here about 15 years ago. 

What to See

• Church of Santa Lucia, with a 14th century portal

Important Dates

• First and Last Fridays of May — Feast of Santa Lucia, the patron saint

Tradotto da Ennio Di Tullio

Provincia di Campobasso, Regione Molise

Il piccolo comune di Montemitro si trova in provincia di Campobasso nei pressi del fiume Trigno. Ha circa 468 abitanti, conosciuti come Montemitrani.

Questo è uno dei centri molisani fondati dai profughi provenienti dai Balcani. Fu fondata nel 1461 da una comunità croata sotto la guida di Giorgio Castriota Skanderberg. La popolazione parla ancora un dialetto slavo. Come Acquaviva Collecroce e San Felice del Molise, Montemitro ospita una comunità di croati molisani, la maggior parte dei quali oltre all’italiano parla un particolare dialetto croato.

La patrona di Montemitro è Santa Lucia, e la chiesa a lei dedicata è la Chiesa di Santa Lucia Vergine e Martire. Il paese però non celebra la festa di Santa Lucia nella data consueta 13 dicembre, bensì nel primo e nell’ultimo venerdì di maggio. Questo onora la traversata del Mar Adriatico verso l’Italia nel XV secolo da parte degli antenati degli abitanti della città che si ritiene abbiano portato con sé una statua di Santa Lucia, arrivando in Italia un venerdì di maggio.

La lingua delle tre città è considerata una lingua della diaspora in via di estinzione. Insieme ad Acquaviva Collecroce, e San Felice del Molise, il comune di Montemitro è oggetto di studio da parte di antropologi e specialisti del linguaggio. Gli abitanti conservano ancora antiche tradizioni, come la tessitura a mano di coperte e tovaglie, e hanno una profonda devozione per Santa Lucia, la loro santa patrona.

Circa 1.000 persone nelle città di Montemitro, San Felice, e Acquaviva Collecroce parlano lo slavomolisano — o na-našo (pronunciato “na-nasho”) — una miscela dell’antico croato e del dialetto italiano locale della regione Molise.

Creato dalla fusione della cultura italiana e della lingua parlata dai rifugiati croati del XV secolo, na-našo, che significa “la nostra via”, le sue tradizioni associate sono state tramandate da generazioni. Ma poiché la popolazione della città è diminuita nel corso degli anni e l’italiano ha superato il na-našo come lingua principale, quell’eredità sembrava vicina alla fine.

I membri più anziani della comunità hanno per lo più accettato la possibilità che la loro lingua si estinguerà entro i prossimi decenni. Ma altri, soprattutto i più giovani, sono determinati a vedere preservata la propria cultura. Anche se potrebbero non parlare na-našo così fluentemente come i loro antenati, sono una forza trainante negli sforzi per celebrare e conservare la loro eredità mista.

È interessante notare che na-našo non sarebbe mai esistito se gli Ottomani non avessero invaso la penisola balcanica nel 1400, spingendo migliaia di rifugiati verso la costa della Croazia e infine attraverso il mare verso l’Italia. Alla fine del XV secolo, centinaia erano sbarcati lungo le coste molisane, secondo Giovanni Piccoli, originario di Acquaviva ed ex-professore di latino, italiano, e storia nelle università locali.

A quel tempo Montemitro, Acquaviva, e San Felice erano stati abbandonati a causa del terremoto del 1456. Così “i feudatari, nel disperato tentativo di ripopolare le loro terre, invitarono i profughi ad abitare questi paesi abbandonati,” racconta Piccoli. Giunti in Molise, questi profughi mescolarono la loro lingua con quella locale, creando na-našo, e sposarono le pratiche culturali e religiose che avevano portato con sé con le tradizioni locali.

Ma questo accadeva secoli fa. Oggi Montemitro, il paese che è probabilmente il più attivo dei tre quando si tratta di parlare na-našo, è anche il più piccolo. Ciò potrebbe essere dovuto al fatto che Montemitro era poco collegato e isolato, il che ha permesso alla sua gente di preservare la lingua per un tempo più lungo, ha detto Padre Angelo Giorgetta, parroco locale.

Ancora oggi Montemitro conserva parte di quella aspra lontananza. Le strade che circondano la città non sono asfaltate e lungo le strade crescono erba alta e fiori di campo. La gente delle città convive con il paesaggio selvaggio, spesso guadagnandosi da vivere lavorando come agricoltori.

Questa antica città ha una vista panoramica sulla valle circostante da quasi ogni angolo; i nomi delle strade sono scritti sia in italiano che in na-našo; e un’infarinatura di panchine nelle piazze principali sono dipinte con colori vivaci, con detti locali e versi di poesie in italiano e na-našo scritti a mano sulle stecche.

Le associazioni culturali delle tre città si sono recentemente unite per creare una residenza artistica per artisti croati con l’obiettivo di valorizzare il loro patrimonio culturale attraverso l’arte. E ci sono piani provvisori per ospitare una residenza artistica più volte all’anno in concomitanza con gli eventi culturali e religiosi delle città.

Questi sforzi culturali si sono estesi anche oltre mare per coinvolgere la Croazia. Tre presidenti croati hanno visitato le città, l’ultima volta nel 2018, per riconoscere il legame che Molise e Croazia continuano a condividere nonostante cinque secoli di cambiamenti. Montemitro, infatti, ha ottenuto il Consolato Onorario dalla Croazia.

Il membro dell’AMHS Joann Novello ha notato che Montemitro è la città natale della sua defunta madre, e il sacerdote menzionato nell’articolo, Padre Angelo Giorgetta, è il figlio del cugino di sua madre. Ha visitato i Novello qui circa 15 anni fa.

Le attrazioni del luogo:

• Chiesa di Santa Lucia, con portale del XIV secolo

Date da ricordare:

• Primo e Ultimo Venerdì di Maggio — Festa di Santa Lucia, patrona

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montemitrohere https://www.italyheritage.com/regions/molise/province-campobasso/montemitro.htm https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2023/0830/Saving-our-way-How-young-Italians-are-preserving-their-rare-dialect