Italians of the Diaspora

Angela

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There's been a request for a thread for Diaspora Italians to share their ancestry, cultural experience etc.

I'll start by transferring a post from another thread.

"I was born in a town north of La Spezia (where most of the male members of my family have worked) in northwestern Toscana. Traditionally the area is called the Lunigiana. Control by Toscana dates to the Medici. Before that it was variously under the control of the Genovese, and for a while, of Lombardia and of Modena. My mother's mother's family has lived in the same area of the northern Lunigiana for hundreds of years. My mother's father's family has some ancestry from La Spezia itself. The surname seems to have come down from Lombardia, then to Piemonte, and then to Liguria.

My father's entire family has lived in the northern Apennines south of Parma and Reggio Emilia in Emilia from perhaps the 1400s. Fwiw, on most genetics tests I score approximately midway between the people of Bergamo and the people of Firenze. When more Italian samples are included, as in MDLP, my closest population is variously either Italy-Piedmont or the sample from Valle Borbera, labelled there as Italy_North. The fits are still not great, however, which is a testament to the extreme substructure in northern Italy, far more than exists in the south.

Lunigiana:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunigiana
map-rt.gif


http://www.turismoitalianews.it/images/stories/toscana/LunigianaMappa.jpg
LunigianaMappa.jpg


I was born at the foot of this village, next to what is still labelled the Via Francigena, and overlooking the Magra River, but my mother's family all comes from further north in the Lunigiana. My parents had rented an apartment there.

97942274.jpg


I've posted quite a bit about it and the coastal areas in particular in the travel section. I've also posted extensively about Toscana.


In case you're not familiar with it, the Valle Borbera is a region between Piacenza, Alessandria, the hinterlands of Genova, and bordering on far western Emilia. It's hard to put a name on it...very Ligurian but also some Piemonte and Lombardia and Emilia. No wonder it scores so close to the Piemonte samples. Maybe just call it the Quattro Province? :)
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val_Borbera
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quattro_Province
 
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Nice thread!
All my Italian ancestors are from the Piemonte region. Half of them are from the western part of the Cuneo Province, near Saluzzo and the other half is from the eastern part of Piemonte, near Tortona.

Saluzzo was controlled by the Marquess of Saluzzo until it was incorporated by the House of Savoy into the Kingdom of Sardinia and Piemonte. Tortona was under control of the Duchy of Milan until it was incorporated by the House of Savoy too.

I know they lived there since at least the 17th century, but only have registers of them living in both places since the early 19th century, which is a shame since I could trace my Swiss family (which was registered in the church) from Canton Valais back to the year 1300 in some lineages.
My great-great grandfather from Tortona took care of the horses of the House of Savoy. I know people there with the same surname that still do the same (they breed horses), which I think it's a tradition in the area.
On the other side, my ancestors from the town near Saluzzo were all farmers. I know they were very poor and some were illiterate.

Phenotipically, my family from Saluzzo was red-haired and brown-haired and my great grandfather had blue eyes. My tortonese great-grandmother had deep blue eyes and blond hair. I don't know what did her parents look like.

Saluzzo:
56baeed96798b_salu2.jpg
Mappa_con_centro_Saluzzo_3_1.gif

Tortona:
image.jpg
descarga.jpg
 

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my family line on map below

red circled area = my paternal line 1680 to present

blue circled area = my maternal line 1710 to present

others are my wifes paternal and maternal


 
My family comes from Graham Island.

Unfortunately, the island became submerged in 1832 and my family has not been able to return since.

We have been wondering the world ever since.
 
Nice thread!
All my Italian ancestors are from the Piemonte region. Half of them are from the western part of the Cuneo Province, near Saluzzo and the other half is from the eastern part of Piemonte, near Tortona.

Saluzzo was controlled by the Marquess of Saluzzo until it was incorporated by the House of Savoy into the Kingdom of Sardinia and Piemonte. Tortona was under control of the Duchy of Milan until it was incorporated by the House of Savoy too.

I know they lived there since at least the 17th century, but only have registers of them living in both places since the early 19th century, which is a shame since I could trace my Swiss family (which was registered in the church) from Canton Valais back to the year 1300 in some lineages.
My great-great grandfather from Tortona took care of the horses of the House of Savoy. I know people there with the same surname that still do the same (they breed horses), which I think it's a tradition in the area.
On the other side, my ancestors from the town near Saluzzo were all farmers. I know they were very poor and some were illiterate.

Phenotipically, my family from Saluzzo was red-haired and brown-haired and my great grandfather had blue eyes. My tortonese great-grandmother had deep blue eyes and blond hair. I don't know what did her parents look like.

Saluzzo:



Tortona:

It's spectacular looking. Do any of your Italian relatives still speak at least their local dialect? Here in the U.S. the language is usually totally gone by the third generation. In my husband's family his parents, who were second generation, could understand Neapolitan dialect on the one hand and Calabrian on the other, but couldn't really speak it. From what I can gather it was a way of being “American”. My husband doesn't know a word of any kind of Italian even after visiting at least once a year.

The second generation still "cooked" Italian, or Italian-American, which is slightly different, but his sister and cousins, for example, aren't all that handy in the kitchen, although they try to recreate a few of their grandmother's recipes once in a while. Part of all this is that there's been so much marriage out, usually with Irish or Irish/German or American "colonial" people. One memorable wedding, his cousin’s, was with a groom from West Virginia. At first it was like the Berlin Wall cut through the room, but my husband's family is very gregarious and warm, so pretty soon the groom's family were doing the tarantella, and my husband's family was singing, or trying to sing, John Denver's Country Roads. :) It was sort of the Italian version of the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

Anyway, in your honor...

Piemontesina Bella...the translation into English will follow. I like this version because it reminds me of all my uncles and my father getting up to sing at family get togethers. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoqOqpFOgzA


"Goodbye, beautiful far-off days,
My little friend, I have to leave you:
My studies here are finished,
We have to stop dreaming.

I'll go far away, where I don't know
I leave with tears in my heart,
Give me one last loving kiss!

Chorus:
I can't forget you
Beautiful Piemontesina
You'll be the only star
That will shine for me.

Remember those nights
That you spent in Valentino
With the blond student
Who was hugging you to his heart.

Your cheerful student,
Since that distant day, has become a doctor;
I heal the poor
But I cannot heal my own heart.

Youth won't return again:
How many memories of love!
I have left my heart in Torino.

Chorus

Players all, alas! :)

This is a less well-known song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPF9eraGoaw
 
It's spectacular looking. Do any of your Italian relatives still speak at least their local dialect? Here in the U.S. the language is usually totally gone by the third generation. In my husband's family his parents, who were second generation, could understand Neapolitan dialect on the one hand and Calabrian on the other, but couldn't really speak it. From what I can gather it was a way of being “American”. My husband doesn't know a word of any kind of Italian even after visiting at least once a year.

The second generation still "cooked" Italian, or Italian-American, which is slightly different, but his sister and cousins, for example, aren't all that handy in the kitchen, although they try to recreate a few of their grandmother's recipes once in a while. Part of all this is that there's been so much marriage out, usually with Irish or Irish/German or American "colonial" people. One memorable wedding, his cousin’s, was with a groom from West Virginia. At first it was like the Berlin Wall cut through the room, but my husband's family is very gregarious and warm, so pretty soon the groom's family were doing the tarantella, and my husband's family was singing, or trying to sing, John Denver's Country Roads. :) It was sort of the Italian version of the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

Anyway, in your honor...

Piemontesina Bella...the translation into English will follow. I like this version because it reminds me of all my uncles and my father getting up to sing at family get togethers. :)

"Goodbye, beautiful far-off days,
My little friend, I have to leave you:
My studies here are finished,
We have to stop dreaming.

I'll go far away, where I don't know
I leave with tears in my heart,
Give me one last loving kiss!

Chorus:
I can't forget you
Beautiful Piemontesina
You'll be the only star
That will shine for me.

Remember those nights
That you spent in Valentino
With the blond student
Who was hugging you to his heart.

Your cheerful student,
Since that distant day, has become a doctor;
I heal the poor
But I cannot heal my own heart.

Youth won't return again:
How many memories of love!
I have left my heart in Torino.

Chorus

Players all, alas! :)

This is a less well-known song:

Hahah that wedding must have been incredible! Thanks for showing me that video, I love everything related to Piedmontese culture and makes me proud of my ancestors.
Here in Argentina, same happened. By the 2nd generation language was dead, except for few words that remained in our language due to the similarity between Spanish and Italian (incluiding Piedmontese, Neapolitan and other languages spoken by the immigrants). Unlike southern Italians who, like in America, settled in big cities (mainly Buenos Aires), the Piedmontese settled in Argentine's interior, in the middle of the countryside (my family is from 3 towns of 2000 inhabitants), as they were mostly farmers and the Pampa region (one of the richest and most fertile in the world) needed european farmers. This isolation made it easier to preserve some customs, but some didn't survive because there was a lot of intermarriage like in America, but instead of marrying Germans or Irish, here they got married to locals and other immigrants. For example, in my family (all from different sides):

-Piedmontese great-grandfather: married a Swiss
-Piedmontese great-grandmother: married a local who was half Italian and half mestizo (some spanish and amerindian)
-Piedmontese great-greatgrandmother: married a Danish

However, language didn't survive because of the Argentine government enforced Spanish, which was mandatory for all immigrants to integrate into our society. Children who were caught speaking Piedmontese or Walser Deutsch (the language of Swiss immigrants from canton Valais) at school were victims of bullying and were sactioned by school authorities. Some words remained in our everyday colloquial language, like the use of prepositions, which I don't know how to explain to a foreigner.

I thank god we kept -at least- Bagna Cauda and Vitel Toné, my favorite dishes. And fernet, I almost forgot it, my favorite alcoholic drink! (although it's from the Veneto region).

EDIT:
This is a second generation Piedmontese speaking the language in the countryside, near my family's hometown:
 
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Hahah that wedding must have been incredible! Thanks for showing me that video, I love everything related to Piedmontese culture and makes me proud of my ancestors.
Here in Argentina, same happened. By the 2nd generation language was dead, except for few words that remained in our language due to the similarity between Spanish and Italian (incluiding Piedmontese, Neapolitan and other languages spoken by the immigrants). Unlike southern Italians who, like in America, settled in big cities (mainly Buenos Aires), the Piedmontese settled in Argentine's interior, in the middle of the countryside (my family is from 3 towns of 2000 inhabitants), as they were mostly farmers and the Pampa region (one of the richest and most fertile in the world) needed european farmers. This isolation made it easier to preserve some customs, but some didn't survive because there was a lot of intermarriage like in America, but instead of marrying Germans or Irish, here they got married to locals and other immigrants. For example, in my family (all from different sides):

-Piedmontese great-grandfather: married a Swiss
-Piedmontese great-grandmother: married a local who was half Italian and half mestizo (some spanish and amerindian)
-Piedmontese great-greatgrandmother: married a Danish

However, language didn't survive because of the Argentine government enforced Spanish, which was mandatory for all immigrants to integrate into our society. Children who were caught speaking Piedmontese or Walser Deutsch (the language of Swiss immigrants from canton Valais) at school were victims of bullying and were sactioned by school authorities. Some words remained in our everyday colloquial language, like the use of prepositions, which I don't know how to explain to a foreigner.

I thank god we kept -at least- Bagna Cauda and Vitel Toné, my favorite dishes. And fernet, I almost forgot it, my favorite alcoholic drink! (although it's from the Veneto region).

EDIT:
This is a second generation Piedmontese speaking the language in the countryside, near my family's hometown:

I can understand a lot of it, but then Emilian and Ligurian, like Piemontese, are all Gallo-Romance languages. The looks are familiar, too. My Emilian side also has some people with that burly, muscular look, with the big heads. Not all, of course. There's variation everywhere in Italy. However, the Ligurians, at least the coastal ones, tend to be slimmer and lighter boned, imo, yet still very strong, indestructible, really.

In terms of food, we share certain dishes with Piemonte, like egg pasta, of course, dressing it not only with meat ragu but with butter and sage, and eating meat filled pasta the same way, or in soup. One of my favorite things is either anolini or tortellini in brodo. Another dish we share, which my parents loved but which I don't really like is bollito misto. I don't like boiled meats of any kind. I think it's the texture that bothers me, and the fact that the meat becomes so dry and flavorless.

Anyway, there are two things that are definitely better in Piemonte. One is the truffles. I like them over pasta and I even like them over eggs, and I'm not normally an egg eater, except in frittata. Do you get truffles in Argentina? Also the wine, of course. Barolo is my favorite wine in the world.

My other favorite in Piemonte is the combination of chocolate and coffee. Look at it and weep, people. :) A bicerin:
layered-mocha-x.jpg


I hope for your sake that it also survived. :)

I had meant to ask, did any people of Genovese or Ligurian descent in general settle near your family? A lot of people from La Spezia and the mountainous areas around it, and even from the Lunigiana, immigrated to Argentina, and some to Brazil.
 
I can understand a lot of it, but then Emilian and Ligurian, like Piemontese, are all Gallo-Romance languages. The looks are familiar, too. My Emilian side also has some people with that burly, muscular look, with the big heads. Not all, of course. There's variation everywhere in Italy. However, the Ligurians, at least the coastal ones, tend to be slimmer and lighter boned, imo, yet still very strong, indestructible, really.

In terms of food, we share certain dishes with Piemonte, like egg pasta, of course, dressing it not only with meat ragu but with butter and sage, and eating meat filled pasta the same way, or in soup. One of my favorite things is either anolini or tortellini in brodo. Another dish we share, which my parents loved but which I don't really like is bollito misto. I don't like boiled meats of any kind. I think it's the texture that bothers me, and the fact that the meat becomes so dry and flavorless.

Anyway, there are two things that are definitely better in Piemonte. One is the truffles. I like them over pasta and I even like them over eggs, and I'm not normally an egg eater, except in frittata. Do you get truffles in Argentina? Also the wine, of course. Barolo is my favorite wine in the world.

My other favorite in Piemonte is the combination of chocolate and coffee. Look at it and weep, people. :) A bicerin:
layered-mocha-x.jpg


I hope for your sake that it also survived. :)

I had meant to ask, did any people of Genovese or Ligurian descent in general settle near your family? A lot of people from La Spezia and the mountainous areas around it, and even from the Lunigiana, immigrated to Argentina, and some to Brazil.

I love all the dishes you just mentioned. I think I inherited my culinary tastes from my Piedmontese side. Sadly, most of those dishes didn't survive here in Argentina, especially truffs and barolo which obviously weren't availible in our country, so they could only cook with ingridients they found here, in the middle of the countryside.

About Genoese and Ligurian immigrants I have to say I don't know anyone in my family nor people in town. I just know that Genoese immigrants settled mostly in Buenos Aires, maybe because it has a harbour as they came from coastal areas. For example, the fans of the most important football club in Argentina, Boca Juniors, are called "xeneize" in singular and "xeneizes" in plural, that means "Genoese" in genoese. This is because La Boca neighborhood was populated mostly by Genoese people. Also, in Argentina we say "pibe" instead of "chico" (which means "boy"), a word that comes frome genoese "pive" which means "apprentice" or "the boy who does errands".
 
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My italian blood comes from my father. He is of full italian descent.

All his great-grandparents were born there.

Great-grandfather from Grignano Polesine (RO) married with great-grandmother from San Zenone degli Ezzelini (TV). From their union came my father's paternal grandfather.
Great-grandfather from Marciana (LI) married with great-grandmother from Sinalunga (SI). From their union came my father's paternal grandmother.
Great-grandfather from Sorgà (VR) married with great-grandmother from Castelbelforte (MN). From their union came my father's maternal grandfather.
Great-grandfather from Camposampiero (PD) married with great-grandmother from Meolo (VE). From their union came my father's maternal grandmother.

Migrated fleeing from hunger.

Here, with hardwork on the coffee plantations they saved enough money and all we have today is because of them (along with my portuguese maternal grandparents). People that came from another continent with nothing but dreams of a new life. I owe them so much!

About the language, the only italian words that I heard from my father are curses and bestemmia.
 
My italian blood comes from my father. He is of full italian descent.

All his great-grandparents were born there.

Great-grandfather from Grignano Polesine (RO) married with great-grandmother from San Zenone degli Ezzelini (TV). From their union came my father's paternal grandfather.
Great-grandfather from Marciana (LI) married with great-grandmother from Sinalunga (SI). From their union came my father's paternal grandmother.
Great-grandfather from Sorgà (VR) married with great-grandmother from Castelbelforte (MN). From their union came my father's maternal grandfather.
Great-grandfather from Camposampiero (PD) married with great-grandmother from Meolo (VE). From their union came my father's maternal grandmother.

Migrated fleeing from hunger.

Here, with hardwork on the coffee plantations they saved enough money and all we have today is because of them (along with my portuguese maternal grandparents). People that came from another continent with nothing but dreams of a new life. I owe them so much!

About the language, the only italian words that I heard from my father are curses and bestemmia.

I've read something about the work on those plantations and it sounds like a horror. They should be honored indeed. Yes, today when the Veneto and Emilia Romagna are so prosperous, some people forget the miseria that ruled the countryside in those areas, and fueled the migration.

Did anything of the culture survive? Food, music, dance?

Have you ever been there for a visit?

@Benzgolv,

For those who don't know what we're talking about...

Vitello tonnato-Veal with tuna sauce. By us it's a summer dish because it's served room temperature. In richer areas you can buy it prepared.
foto-vitello-tonnato...jpg


Bagna Cauda-Warm bath of oil, butter, garlic and anchovies. You may think you don't like vegetables, but you will dunked in this...
3068911468_b3d2266fe6.jpg



When you're next in Piemonte, for goodness sakes sample the pastries as well as the chocolates, many of them paired with hazelnuts. The ones all the way to the left are baba au rum. They're drenched in it. I'm not normally a sweet eater, but I make an exception for this.

Crown-of-Delights_pasticcini.jpg
 
Frosinone is where my italian background is from. Found out from my dad years ago; he spioke to a genealogist.
 
I love all the dishes you just mentioned. I think I inherited my culinary tastes from my Piedmontese side. Sadly, most of those dishes didn't survive here in Argentina, especially truffs and barolo which obviously weren't availible in our country, so they could only cook with ingridients they found here, in the middle of the countryside.

About Genoese and Ligurian immigrants I have to say I don't know anyone in my family nor people in town. I just know that Genoese immigrants settled mostly in Buenos Aires, maybe because it has a harbour as they came from coastal areas. For example, the fans of the most important football club in Argentina, Boca Juniors, are called "xeneize" in singular and "xeneizes" in plural, that means "Genoese" in genoese. This is because La Boca neighborhood was populated mostly by Genoese people. Also, in Argentina we say "pibe" instead of "chico" (which means "boy"), a word that comes frome genoese "pive" which means "apprentice" or "the boy who does errands".

this makes me laugh .............recognize any ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBDJrmLYcQY
 
@Benzgolv,

For those who don't know what we're talking about...

Vitello tonnato-Veal with tuna sauce. By us it's a summer dish because it's served room temperature. In richer areas you can buy it prepared.
foto-vitello-tonnato...jpg


Bagna Cauda-Warm bath of oil, butter, garlic and anchovies. You may think you don't like vegetables, but you will dunked in this...
3068911468_b3d2266fe6.jpg



When you're next in Piemonte, for goodness sakes sample the pastries as well as the chocolates, many of them paired with hazelnuts. The ones all the way to the left are baba au rum. They're drenched in it. I'm not normally a sweet eater, but I make an exception for this.

You are making me cry haha. I won't be in Piemonte until 2018, so I'll have to conform with Nutella and Vitel tonné in summer meanwhile :)


this makes me laugh .............recognize any ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBDJrmLYcQY

I recognize the accent! Haha I'm not that good speaking Italian, but I recognize it. Now I'm following that Youtube channel!
 
@HYGILI4K

Are these songs familiar?

El Vin Le' Bon-Wine is good! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2-EMIjsHtA

I always thought this song was cute, especially for children,and years ago I came across this video that shows it was sung in Brazil.

This is how you "grow" polenta:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tOdDgq82f0

La Furlana:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c62vAhUI4Gw

Of course, you don't need me to go through the many contributions that the Veneto made to the world or its storied past.

@Davef,

There were a lot of people from Frosinone in the town we moved to in the U.S. It's basically south of Rome heading into Campania. If you ever visit Rome it's a short trip.

@Benzgolv,

Basically, the video follows an argument between husband and wife over whether the husband's mother should go on vacation with them. (The whole thing is one stereotype after another, but very funny nonetheless.) While I had to watch the movie about the Neapolitan Camorra with Italian subtitles, the subject matter here is simple enough that I had no problem with any of the bits. My favorite was during the Sicilian segment, when she gets right in his face, looks him in the eye, and says, "Paura mi fa". Oh, you really scare me! Don't mess with Sicilian women. :)

In the interests of full disclosure, my husband and I, and later husband and children and I often went on vacation with my parents, more often than not, in fact, and no, not because they always paid. :) He had no problem with it , thank God. Maybe you have to be Italian to understand?

Oh, for our new members in general, if you go to the European culture section and follow arts and entertainment and "music", you'll come on an Italian folkmusic thread. I posted songs and dances from all over Italy, but a lot from the north. Many of these songs were sung throughout northern Italy,

http://www.eupedia.com/forum/thread...aditional-Songs-(also-in-dialects)-and-Dances

For example, here are some Alpini singing "Amici Miei": My Friends".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUefPFVt5Cg

This is from a group that originates on the border of Alessandria and touches my father's area on the east. I love all their songs, hear them every summer. Baraban-La Brunetta, or "The Brunette".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkBYn-AYULU
 
My father's side is from Roccanova, Basilicata, both my grandparents were born there, three of my four greatparents were born there and other was born in Aliano which is a neighbouring paese, the book and movie of Cristo si Fermato a Eboli takes place in Aliano, there is a movie starring Gian Maria Volontè, if anybody is interested in watching.

My mother's side is from Cattolica Eraclea, all of my Sicilian ancestry is from Cattolica Eraclea starting from my grandparents up until at least since the early 1800's, its located in the region of Agrigento.



 
I don't understand why my writing came out all weird?
 
@Angela

The work on the coffee plantations is cruel. The sun is so strong! High risk of skin cancer.

I never visited Italy, but I hope one day I will.

Here in my city (northeast of São Paulo state), there is no sign of italian music or dance. These elements of the italian culture survived better in the southern region of the country and in São Paulo city.

On the other hand, Italian food is popular all over the country. I love polenta and lasanha (lasagne).
 
Hi Azzurro

Have you ever visited 'a Vaddi dî Tempî ?

We have an expression from my neck of the woods, appropriate for this site: aviri passatu vaddi e vadduna - said of someone who has travelled widely, experienced much of the world, who has been a bit adventurous in his life, who has been there done that, etc.
 

@Benzgolv,

Basically, the video follows an argument between husband and wife over whether the husband's mother should go on vacation with them. (The whole thing is one stereotype after another, but very funny nonetheless.) While I had to watch the movie about the Neapolitan Camorra with Italian subtitles, the subject matter here is simple enough that I had no problem with any of the bits. My favorite was during the Sicilian segment, when she gets right in his face, looks him in the eye, and says, "Paura mi fa". Oh, you really scare me! Don't mess with Sicilian women. :)

In the interests of full disclosure, my husband and I, and later husband and children and I often went on vacation with my parents, more often than not, in fact, and no, not because they always paid. :) He had no problem with it , thank God. Maybe you have to be Italian to understand?

Oh, for our new members in general, if you go to the European culture section and follow arts and entertainment and "music", you'll come on an Italian folkmusic thread. I posted songs and dances from all over Italy, but a lot from the north. Many of these songs were sung throughout northern Italy,

http://www.eupedia.com/forum/thread...aditional-Songs-(also-in-dialects)-and-Dances

For example, here are some Alpini singing "Amici Miei": My Friends".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUefPFVt5Cg

This is from a group that originates on the border of Alessandria and touches my father's area on the east. I love all their songs, hear them every summer. Baraban-La Brunetta, or "The Brunette".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkBYn-AYULU
I like them. The lastone comes Alessandria, where my great-grandmother's hometown is located. Thanks for the recommendations! I have to start listening more Italian music. The last song I listend was the one of the 1990 World Cup (my favorite World Cup), I think it's called "estate italiana".
 
I've read something about the work on those plantations and it sounds like a horror. They should be honored indeed. Yes, today when the Veneto and Emilia Romagna are so prosperous, some people forget the miseria that ruled the countryside in those areas, and fueled the migration.

Did anything of the culture survive? Food, music, dance?

Have you ever been there for a visit?

@Benzgolv,

For those who don't know what we're talking about...

Vitello tonnato-Veal with tuna sauce. By us it's a summer dish because it's served room temperature. In richer areas you can buy it prepared.
foto-vitello-tonnato...jpg


Bagna Cauda-Warm bath of oil, butter, garlic and anchovies. You may think you don't like vegetables, but you will dunked in this...
3068911468_b3d2266fe6.jpg



When you're next in Piemonte, for goodness sakes sample the pastries as well as the chocolates, many of them paired with hazelnuts. The ones all the way to the left are baba au rum. They're drenched in it. I'm not normally a sweet eater, but I make an exception for this.

Crown-of-Delights_pasticcini.jpg

I'm not usually a sweet tooth either but my dessert is the not so italian sweet and sour chicken dipped in blood red sweet and sour sauce with a thing of rice I guess to serve as a natural "Tums"....

I guess we all have a sweet tooth for something
 

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