McDonalds relief in the land of great food

On October 11, 7:35 AM, we picked up our rental car as arranged for.  It looked like we would make our 9:00 AM meeting time with "My Italian Family" genealogist in San Matteo Della Decima. It was projected as only a 30 - 40 minute drive. Even though it was our first effort at driving in Italy and we were unsure as to the exact route, with a GPS, we would surely make it to San Matteo in less than 1.5 hours. Luckily, we had used our hotel internet access the night before to establish a route on the iPad. Seemed simple. Gave us an idea of where to go.

Our wonderful food tour guide on October 10 had warned us to not use a GPS in Bologna---they were notoriously wrong----use a map, any map, he advised. Just over 2 hours after picking up the car, we came to realize how wise was that council. Instead of guiding us out of Bologna to San Matteo Della Decima, it directed us into the middle of Old Bologna and seemed to send us in circles. "Didn't we already do this?"

The section of Bologna we had walked for the 2 days before with very narrow streets, we now were driving with a GPS that gave two arrows back at our location as directions. And, there seemed to be no sense to the diections except to move us deeper into Bologna. Leaving did not seem to be part of the plan.

Command decision time. We put the GPS away as a source of annoyance and frustration.We got out the minimal map we had from our hotel. Now we had to find a street with a name we could find on the mini map.

Got one. Now for the real test. We picked a spot to get close to the side and stopped! Just like the Italians we put on our flashers. Remember we are using a mini map. Most streets unnamed. Many not there. Then, we determined where we thought we were and how to get out of Bologna. Got a route that was to the wrong side of Bologna, but it was out and to a major road that appeared to go around the city. Flashers off. Back into moving traffic. Everyone stopped blowing horns at us

As we were within sight of what we believed to be the access road to the Italian Autostrade (Turnpike), which we thought we needed to get to San Matteo, What do our wondering eyes behold-----a road sign telling us we had just 5 km to go to get to McDonalds. Forget all GPS directions. Forget the mini map. Follow the directions to McDonalds. Yes, sir! To Mcdonalds with a big sigh of relief!

There we would re-group. Get an Americano coffee. Visit the rest rooms. Find our cell phones so we could call our genealogist and tell him we were lost but coming. Find a map that would help us get to San Matteo, maybe someone who could tell us how to get there from here. Forgetting we might not be able to get there from here.

We parked our vehicle. Made sure we had Euros. Locked the car and headed into our first Italian McDonalds. Opened the door and..................it was not like any American McDonalds. The rest rooms could be found without help, but.....................

All the signs were in Italian. There were two counters......the first, and most prominent, was the McCafe counter. All coffee and other drinks were served here. Italian Espresso or Cafe Americano or Capucino. And, real Italian pastries. Espresso, 1 Euro. Cafe Americano, 1.5 Euros. During our 3 weeks in Italy, we never got to the second counter.............the one we all see as McDonalds in the USA.

Next discovery............free wi-fi! Just like the US. But, you need to get an ID and password to use it. Easy to do, except the instruction screen is in Italian and the local employees do not know how to do it, especially whereas they only speak Italian. We need the access, because we can get a map that will tell us where to go. They know some one who knows what to do. Only she is not at work for another 20 minutes. Wait! She arrives, but it takes a committee of three to establish what is almost correct. Luckily I can decipher some of it by watching. We enter the info to get access............now we have a map.

And, the blue location dot stays with us until we are truely on the way along our route to San Matteo.
10 kms outside of San Matteo we try the GPS.......it works.

We quickly learned that all over Northern Italy and and around Rome there are McDonalds. Bologna RR station, McDonalds. Trevi Fountain in Rome, McDonalds. Napoli anywhere, no McDonalds. We used McDonalds as our compass for much of our trip. Except for Napoli and Avellino.

The dates on the pics are exactly one year off. We set the camera date incorrectly.

Outside Bologna. The one that started it all................

..............not the average American McDonalds.

Cento.......

..................playground.

Note the spinach Bites with the chicken Bites. A big favorite. And, they are good!

On the Autostrade. A rest stop.

We did not eat McDonalds, but they were ther. For us, Italian pizza is much better.

Outside Parma.

 

Lamborghini

"Life is short. Drive fast."  That is the motto of Lamborghini. Very appropriate for a car manufacturer which produces a family car that cruises at 180 mph. Lovely way to take the kids for a Sunday drive to get an ice cream. Even in the town Lamborghini is produced, a car on the road causes all to stop and take pictures; and, the day we went there we saw 12 of them on the road coming back from the test track just outside Bologna.  We went to the museum, store, and factory on Monday 14 October after completing our visit to San Matteo Della Decima and were on our way to Parma. Even the trucks with Lamborghini on the sides are immediate subjects for taking pictures. This is a manufacturer where a production run can consist of 2 cars. If you saw yesterday's 60 Minutes, the roads of Italy they were driving on were the same ones I and other everyday drivers drive on. Yes, they do go 150 mph when just crusing around. The Police car used to catch them is----another Lamborghini. For anybody with even a passing interest in the car you drive a stop in Sant' Agata just outside Bologna and San Giovanni in Persiceto at the Lamborghini showroom and store is worth the trip. And, do not touch any of the cars! Viewing only is permited, no breath tests allowed.

How you get to 200+ mph on the roads of Italy.

Nice street model!

Sounds perfect for the streets of Baltimore and West Lebanon

.................then again, maybe Silver Spring.

Little family car for Sunday family drives.

Nona does some shopping.......after all it is a bargain at $400,000+  And, you get any color you want. No extra charge.

Nice date car.

Nona makes a choice. Perfect for Maine roads and weather...assuming it comes with all weather tires. How often do you change the oil?

Park this in your frontyard if you want to get people talking.

Our final offer!

ed.

Walking about and a contact breakthru

We spent 2 days in Roccabascerana and Cassano Caudino. The first was concentrated on research of records; the second on walking around the towns. We established that the Parrellas and Principes (yes, that is the correct spelling) lived in Cassano Caudino while the Cavuotos were in Roccabascerana. There are still many Parrellas and Principes in Cassano. Today, the Cavuotos are not to be found: anywhere,no people, no monuments, no names on doors, nothing to be seen of Cavuotos anywhere. Even records have very limited mention.  We learned that Maria Assunta Parrella's family were farmers who worked on large landholders olive trees. Also Assunta's family probably boardered other farm workers, especially when seasonal work demanded additional workers.

Research of any type was difficult because we found noone who could speak English. We found no Parrellas that even remotely could be related to Linda. Then on the second day as we were discussing leaving-----a big break----by shear happenstance Linda's Italian greeting to a gentlemen in his garden led to meeting his granddaughter, Filomena De Pietro, who spoke and wrote English, well. Furthermore, her grandparents are Parrellas and Principes. Filomena agreeted to give us her name, address and email. And, to exchange email letters exploring family connections. She gave us directions to the Cassano cemetery. We now have a path................!

Follow that car. The road guarded by the dog is the main road to Roccabascerana,

Linda stands by the sign marking the Roccabascerana Town Line.

Cassano Caudino. The hamlet of the Parrellas and Principes. The church steeple is Assunta's church.

The sign marking the town line of Cassano Caudino, the Parrellas and Principles hamlet.

The street is the street Assunta's family lived on. Note the plaque in the center of the picture.

Linda and Stan stand at the entrance to Assunta's church.

In the hamlet town square is this plaque honoring Cassano's WWI and WWII war dead. Under WWI are listed 3 of Assunta's brothers who died in WWI combat: Emilio, Earnesto, and Colo.

Linda walks along the street her grandmother Maria Assunta Parrella lived.

Wile walking along Assunta's street, Linda starts a conversation with a man, then his granddaughter who speaks English and who has a dauchsan dog.

A family conference more than 100 years in the making.

Their house. They grow olives and produce olive oil.

Like on a pilgrimage. Linda climbs the steps to the Cassano cemetery where the Parrellas and Principes are buried.

M(aria) Assunta Principe

Emilio Parrella, Assunta's brother who died in WWI. Flowers show he is still visited. Are they related to Linda? Most likely, yes.

The tower of the church Frederico Fedele Cavuoto. The church burned down in1929.

Wednesday, 23 October 2013, We focus on why we are here

After months of research at home, hounding all known relatives for information, searching using Ancestry.com and other search engines, consulting with genealogy experts, we arrive in Roccabascerana to research the town records for data about the Parrellas, Principis, and Cavutos. Town records are selected because church records do not cover all of the hamlets in Roccabascerana: like Rocca and Cassano Caudino, the church records only cover the parish of the church. Thus, we begin by going to the town clerk's office. We are assisted by a genalogy researcher from Naples, Alfredo Franco. Alfredo is employed by a US based organization that specializes in assisting Italians, "My Italian Family." Besides being an expert in genealogy reseach, he speaks Italian, Niether I nor Linda do. My Italian Family will provide us with a book that has pictures of all records, pictures of locations, the family tree built by our efforts, and paths to follow for further research.

Linda enters the limits of the Town of Roccabascerana

Linda about to enter the Town Clerk's Office

Roccabascerana's Banner.

Linda consults with Alfredo Franco as state of researh, her observations and what is to be done.

......and now we need...

The town clerk and one of his assistants.

Searching fragel page by fragel page.

Maybe this binder from 1870

Finding Parrellas

Are we following the correct family line.

We are finding that the Parrellas and Principes are located in Cassano Caudin, Cavuotos in Rocca.

Crecenzo Parrella

Linda leaves Town Offices.

The tree that dominates the picture upper left has been there for more than 200 years. Assunta would have seen it when 100 years.