Filo - Merano - Volume 23 - Winter 2020

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FILÃ’

A Journal for Tyrolean Americans Volume 23

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An Introduction . . .

The Filò is to be published and distributed several times each year and is targeted to the children of our immigrant parents. The Filò (pronounced fee-lò) was the daily gathering in the stables of the Trentino where the villagers met and socialized. The intent is to provide a summary of our culture, history, and customs in plain English to inform and provide you with the background of your roots and ancestry.. If you wish to contact us, call Lou Brunelli at 914-402-5248. Attention: Your help is needed to expand our outreach to fellow Tyrolean Americans. Help us identify them, be they your children, relatives or acquaintances. Go to filo.tiroles.com and register on line to receive the magazine free of charge. You may also send your data to Filò Magazine, PO Box 90, Crompond, NY 10517 or fax them to 914-734-9644 or submit them by email to filo.tiroles@att.net.

Front cover: Schloss Tirol, Tyrol Castle hovering over Meran 3

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Introduction to Meran...

Meran (or Merano (Italian) is the second-largest city in (40,000 inhabitants) proports an Alpine-Mediterranean style and unique combination of quality of life and elegance. 62.3% of the population speaks German a s

overlooks Meran and was the residence of our historic rulers. In the surrounding area, there are about 30 castles, the most celebrated of which is Tirolo, from which the Tirol took its name.

After the county had been handed over to the Hapbsburg Dynasty in 1363 upon the abdication of Countess Margherita Maultasch,Countess of Tyrol. In 1420 Duke of moved the Tyrolean court to Innsbruck.

Though Meran remained the official capital until 1848, it subsequently lost its predominant position and almost all its importance as an economic hub across the roads connecting Italy and Germany. The important Meran mint production was also moved to Hall , Austria in 1477.

The Tyrolean Rebellion of 1809 was led by the great Champion and Icon of the Tyrol , Andeas Hofer against the French occupation drew attention again to Meran. first language (Standard German in the written form and In that year, on the Kßchelberg above the city, Hofer’s an Austro-Bavarian dialect in the spoken form); 23.4% of peasants' army of citizem soldiers were victorius against the population speaks Italian, mainly in and around the the united French and Bavarian forces. two largest cities (Bolzano and Meran); 4.1% speaks Ladin.Both the Italian (Merano) and the German (Meran) Most of the region is mountainous terrain above 3,000 name for the city are used in English. The form of the feet, including the Otztal , Brenner, (Aurine), and name is Maran. The official name of the municipality is Pusteria Alps to the north, the Ortles and Adamello Stadtgemeinde Meran in German and Comune di Merano in groups in the west, the in the east, and the high plateaus of the interior. Some peaks of the border are Italian. among the highest in Europe, notably Palla Bianca The area has been inhabited since the 3rd millennium (Weisskugel; 12,264 in the Otzal Alps . Passes breachBC, as shown by the presence of , vertical stone markers ing these Alps are the into Switzerland, the and the found also in other countries and other findings. The into Austrian Tirol, and the Dobbiaco or Pusteria Valley story of the city proper began in 15 BC when the occu- (Pustertal) into Austrian Kärnten (Carinthia). The chief pied the valley founding a road station, Statio Maiensis. rivers draining the mountain masses are the down the The settlement was first mentioned in an 857 deed as principal valley through Bolzano and Trento cities to Mairania.

Verona in the Lombardy Plain.

Meran`s history has a particular significance for our Tyrolean American community. Meran was the epicenter The valleys of the larger rivers are well populated and of the Tyrol. The Counts at elevated Meran to the status fertile, especially in the south. Much of the region is of a city during the 13th century and made it the capital forested, and a timber industry has been developed, but of their Count of Tyrol. Schloss Tirol, the Tyrol Castle, the valleys are quite densely populated and intensively

City coat of Arms-Alpine Eagle

Empress Elizabeth of Austria

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City coat of Arms-Alpine Eagle

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culivated. Vines and fruit trees are grown extensively on the hillsides. Corn (maize), wheat, oats, and barley are grown in the south, while rye is more common north of Bolzano city. Cattle raising and are found on the lower hills and slopes in the valleys. Deposits of zinc, lead, copper, and iron, along with stations on the Adige and Noce rivers, have encouraged the development of mining and manufacturing. in both summer and winter is also of prime importance.

The climate of Meran has a gentle mild climate referred to as submediterranean. It renders Meran a veritable Alpine Riviera as Arco in the South in the Trentino is a Lake of Garda Riviera. It was frequented by none other Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Hungary (known as Sisi), the spouse of the Emperor Franz Joseph along with her cortege. Her many visits became the change and impetus of developing Meran to a spa resort. With 11 miles of walking paths and 40 acres of parkland, Meran

is a veritable “city of gardens” with Central European charm. Throughout the city, there are palm trees, oleander, cactus and colorful flowerbeds throughout the city.

The “Old Town” of Meran boasts a multitude of magnificent buildings from the Middle Ages and the Belle Époque, which are still used today - such as the Kurhaus or the Merano Theatre. The arches and alleys of Steinach, the oldest district of the city, are particularly

Ladini community is a strong presence in Meran...as well as its language

atmospheric. There are museum’s(see articles), art galleries, and notable buildings throughout the city reminiscent of the past. Among the city's landmarks are the medieval gates such as the Vinschgauer Tor, Passeirer Tor, and the Bozener Tor. Also belonging to the fortifications is the medieval Ortenstein tower, popularly called Pulverturm (lit. "powder tower"). The main churches are the Gothic St. City coat of ArmsAlpine Eagle Nicholas’ Church and theSt. Barbara’s Chapel , both dating to the 15th century. Also dating to this period is the Princely Castle (Landesfürstliche Burg), which was a residence of Archduke Sigismond of Austria. The Steinerner Steg stone bridge crosses the Passer River and dates to the 17th century…

Outside the city is Trauttmansdorff Castle and its gardens .

The city's coat of arms depicts the red Tyrolean eagle sitting on a wall with four pieces of Ghibelline battlements and three arches that symbolize the city. The arms is known from the 14th century and the oldest seal dates from 1353, while the coloured one since 1390. In a 1759 image, the eagle is represented with a crown and a green wreath of honor.

Review Meran map on page 34.

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Schloss Tirol Creates the Tyrol...

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Schloss Tirol (Tirol Castle) dominates the whole city of Meran. It was built shortly after the year 1000. It is one of the symbols of the Tyrol (now the Trentino-Alto Adige region) .In the 13th century, it gave its name to the entire region of Tyrol, on both sides of the Alps. In fact, the historic Tyrol includes a part of the Inn valley, today in Austria, and a part of the region south of the Alps, the Sudtirol, crossed by the river Adige. The Schloss was the residence of nobles from the Middle Ages. Mainardo II (12381295), who was the founder of the County of Tyrol, was appointed "advocate" of the prince-bishops of Trento and Bressanone.The “advocates” were the designated temporal forces that served the Prince Bishops. Like all the advocates in the 800 year history of the reign of the Prince Bishops (Principati) Mainardo II proclaimed himself the defender of the rights and of the political-civil power of the yet Bishops, Prince the progressively, advocates in fact made the Prince Bishops dependent on their will. Mainardo tried to weaken the power of the local nobility by Countess Margherita leasing the land to peasants.

Maultasch Using cunning and strength, he took advantage of the weakness of the German Emperor of the Holy Roman Empier on whom his appointment depended. He strengthened the coinage of Meran, where they were minted and called "Grossi".

around the year 1100, is one of the oldest and wellpreserved walls that can still be admired today. The castle rises above the basin of Meran. It has

Schloss Tirol-Tyrol Castle

Romanesque portals both in the palace and in the chapel, rich in bas-reliefs and frescoes of the thirteenth century. Inside the chapel there are important Gothic frescoes and the oldest glass paintings in the Tyrol, as well as a life-size wooden group representing the Crucifixion of Jesus. Above the entrance to the chapel, instead, you can admire the oldest depiction of the Tyrolean Eagle (13th century), the symbol that represents the notion of the Tyrol dominating the Alpine world. In 1919, the castle became the property of the province of Bozen. The restoration works have affected the entire building.

In 2003 the HistoricalCultural Museum of the Province of Bozen was The Countess of Tirolo-Gorizia Margherita Maultasch Count Meinhard II opened, which represents (in German means: Wide mouth) lived in the castle of the from objects and exhibits Tirolo for a long time. She was born in 1318 in the In the castle itself and died in Vienna in 1369. She was the last history of the Tyrol region in twenty rooms.

"Tower of Memory" the stages of the long journey of countess of the Tyrol. Since the 11th century the the German-speaking population of South Tyrol Schloss Tirol became the most important castle in the towards autonomy from the Italian state are whole region. The surrounding wall, built represented. Near the castle you can also visit the "Castel Tirolo Bird Recovery Center" with demonstrations of birds of prey, and just below the castle, above the path, there are the Earth Pyramids of Tyrol. Written by Alberto Folgheraiter, journalist and author.

“Grossi” coins minted by Meinhard II in Meran 6

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Counts of Tyrol’s Residence...

Immersed in a breathtaking landscape, the castle is the ancestral castle of the Counts of Tirolo, who were named this way for the first time in a document from 1140. The castle is now one of the most studied medieval archaeological sites in Europe.

For decades, scholars have been concerned with the development of its building history. On the basis of these researches, the first building phase could be dated to around 1100. The foundations of the palace and chapel date back to that period It overlooked the Adige Valley, as well as a section of the surrounding walls. The area was already settled in a previous period. The church found during an archaeological excavation campaign in 1992 south of the castle, in fact, dates back to the 5th century with modifications of the 9th century. The majestic castle, located in an excellent strategic position, dominates the basin of Meran, the Val d’Adige and the entrance to the Val Venosta, also controlling the accesses to these areas. Visitors reach the castle starting from the village of Tirolo with a walk of about 20 minutes between vineyards and apple orchards, crossing the socalled "Knappenloch", a tunnel created to ensure a safe passage. After a short climb, they arrive at their destination passing the "Köstenbrugg" ( chestnuts bridge). In the 19th century, this route was often undertaken by the first travelers who visited Tyrol.

possible to admire a faithful copy; the original altar is kept at the Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck where it is the subject of study and restoration. Furthermore, under the Habsburg rule, the castle lost its importance. Frederick IV of Austria around 1420 moved the seat of the government of Tyrol from Meran to Innsbruck, a city more easily accessible. In the ensuing centuries, some building interventions were made.

The Schloss Tirol remained firmly anchored in the heart of the population as the symbol of the territory. During the Bavarian occupation, in the course of the liberation struggles, Castel Tirolo was targeted by the invaders. It was sacked and officially auctioned in 1807. In 1814 it became the property of the city of Meran, which in turn donated it to the Emperor of Austria, Francesco I. In this period the castle was recognized as a symbolic place of the territorial politics. In 1818, Empress Maria Luisa, wife of Napoleon, had herself transported to Castel Tirolo on a sedan chair; Emperor Ferdinand visited it in 1838 during his coronation trip from Vienna to Milan.

The present appearance of Schloss Tirol is strongly marked by the concepts and ideas underlying the conservation activity undertaken in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The completion of the keep in 1903 was decisive, according to the proposals of the From the historical-cultural point of view, some castellologist Otto Piper. Several medieval-style architectural details are of particular importance. The architectural additions were also made. The construction two famous Romanesque marble portals, the chapel of the patrol walkway dates back to 1913. portal and the palace portal can be dated to around 1138.

These are two works that are rarely found in castle In 1974 Castel Tirolo, which had passed to the Italian contexts and which were intended to emphasize the state in 1919, became the property of the Autonomous importance of the (relatively young) history of the Province of Bolzano. Since 2003 it has housed the Counts of Tirolo. The Counts gave themselves the name Historical-Cultural Museum of the Province of Bolzano. of the place where their castle stood. The work was The museum's collections were enriched by exhibitions carried out by Lombard stonecutters. In the 13th century, on historical and cultural themes of the area. In the Count Mainardo II had some areas of the castle raised by "Tower of Memory", visitors can relive an overview of one floor. In the two-storey chapel of San Pancrazio, you the changing history of South Tyrol / South Tyrol in the can still admire the statues and the Gothic wall paintings twentieth century. Written by Sara Di Gesaro-South dating back to around 1330, commissioned by the son of Tyrolean Museum of Culture and Provincial History Mainardo, Enrico di Tirolo. The Crucifixion Group and the oldest stained glass window in the Tyrol date back to the same period. In 1363 the castle and the whole county of Tirolo passed under the rule of the Habsburgs following the death of Mainardo III, son of Margarete of Tyrol. In 1370 the Habsburgs brought to the castle the famous altar with doors of Castel Tirolo. Today it is 8

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The Rulers of the Tyrol...

often rebellious lay princes. Prior to the creation of the two Principati, that territory was the jurisdiction of the comital dynasty (a dynasty belonging to a count) of the Lords of the Tyrol residing in the Schloss Tirol near, Meran. They held the office of ( “avvocati”, bailiffs, manager, overseer or custodian) in the Trent diocese.

It behooves us to know who and how our people were governed by and thereby understanding perhaps the influences that created the very character and heritage of our ancestors. Our people had a continuity…a continuum of 1000 years of governance and stability while so many other nations in Europe including Italy were historically fractured and ever changing with emerging potentates and movements. Our people’s experience was unique with 800 years of a theocracy ruled by Prince Bishops and followed by an empire whose hallmark was indeed its Catholicity. The actual experience of our own emigrant relatives in adapting and settling in the USA attest to their nurtance by these historical governance experiences. Would that there ensue studies and research to analyse these linkages to demonstrate that Who our emigrants were and Who they had been. Here is a review of that governance history.

The Tyrol as an area goes back to pre-historic times. The Tyrol was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It is disputed when the “Holy Roman Empire” began in earnest with the crowning of Charlemagne in 800 or the Conquest of the Lombard kingdom by Otto I. This empire was a decentralized, limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of sub-units: kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince bishops (Principati), free imperial cities, and other domains. Few were the defined nations as we have come to know them in this day and age. The Kingdom of Italy was one of the constituent kingdoms ofthe Holy Roman Empire, along with the kingdoms of Germany, Bohemia and Bergundy. The Kingdom of Italy solely encumbered parts of Lombardy and the Papal states. All of what is now Southern Italy was not part of the Empire while Italy as we now know it became a nation only in 1861 despite the Irredentist assertion of some mythical eternal Italy. In 951, the German King Otto 1 led a campaign against King Berengar of the Kingdom of Italy and Lombardy. From 1004, the German Emperor and his successor separated several smaller territories and granted them to the Trent Principato (Bishopric). Originally a fief (a person who owes allegiance and service to a feudal lord), by 1027 the Principato, Prince-bishopric of Trento was established, together with the similar Principato of Brixen. These Princely states were created to favor passage to Imperial armies across the Alps towards Italy along the two ancient roads, the Via Claudia-Augusta and the Via Altinate , entrusting the area to two bishops instead of

About 1140, there was established the (Princely) County of Tyrol, an estate of the Holy Roman Empire.. Originally a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of the Counts of Tyrol , it was inherited by the Counts of Gorizia in 1253 and finally fell to the House of Austrian House of the Hapsburgs in 1363 who ruled the Tyrol for almost 600 years. In 1804 the Princely County of Tyrol, unified with the secularized princebishoprics of Trent and Brixen , became a crown land of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a crown land of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

There is one more very critical consideration enhancing the role and function of the Tyrol. The most sort after endorsement of the Pope in Rome was critical and the corequisite for governance of these varied Princes.

Moreover, the Tyrol was the all important portal and avenue to reach the papacy. Hence, there was both a logic and a tradition to safeguard that this critical corridor be protected and safeguarded so that in 1027 the Emperor established the Principato or Bishopric of Trent subsequently that of Brixen. The temporal power of the Principati Princes was constrained by both the tradition and the theology of the Church. The Church would not tolerate the direct use of torture or capital punishment by a bishop according to the principle of the ecclesia non sitit sanguinem . the church does not thirst for blood ). They was not allowed to take part in measures of temporal justice. Nor could the Bishop have a direct involvement with warfare and therefore in military defence. Hence for these needs for temporal governance, crucial to the exercise of his sovereignty, the Bishop had to resort to engage others by engaging advocates ( ad-vocating) of a feudatory in whom he could trust. A feudatory or a vassal is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe.

The obligations often included military support by knights in exchange for certain privileges, usually including land held as a tenant or fief

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.

Near Meran, there was a small village…Tirol. Its name became the name of the Schloss Tirol (the Tyrol Castle)

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and the nomenclature Tirol or Tyrol was extended to the entire region of the Conti del Tirolo, the Counts of the Tyrol. These very same Counts of the Tyrol became the “avvocati” of the Principati assuming those activities and/or those services or functions aforementioned and incompatible with the ecclesiatical role and function of the sovereignty of Prince Bishop. These Counts of the Tyrol were the partners with the Prince Bishops to maintain temporal power, to defend their realm, and to safeguard the geopolitical passage from the north to Rome and the papacy. The Counts of the Tyrol continued up 1802 when the Principati ended as they became secularized during the Napoleonic invasion. While the Counts were originally and primarily those of the castle and the region, in 1863 with the Hapsburg taking power, they continued to maintain their name derived from their original point of origin so that for over 6 centuries throughout the entire Tyrol they functioned under the Hapsburg.

expressed themselves. In 1802, 15,000 Tyrolean citizen soldiers led by Andreas Hofer fought and defeated Napoleon’s army to preserve their Tyrolean culture, homeland, identity and faith at Bergisel just south of Innsbruck.

Andreas Hofer-Victory at Bergisl

In 1914, 70,000 Tyroleans heeded the call to arms of their beloved Emperor Franz Josef read from all the pulpits of the Tyrol. Many have told me that the Emperor’s image hung in their homes along with those of the Pope In 1565, Trento played host to the very important and and Blessed Virgin Mary. In that world wide conflict, the significant Ecumenical Council to Counter Luther and combatants fought bravely against the Allies the Protestant Reformation. Such a historical and politi- Tyrolean to preserve their homeland and culture.

Italy…again and cally significant Council would seem to be better situatMany European emigrants fled from their homelands ed in Rome, Paris and some other European capital. due to the oppression and persecution of their rulers.

Nonetheless, Trento under the tutelage and protection Our emigrants fled no persecution but poverty alone. of the Prince Bishop of Trento was deemed the safest They embraced America maintaining a fondness and and most secure to carry on the reform of the Church affection for the Empire they left behind and whose citand Christendom. izens they had been…They held on and asserted their In 1802, as Napoleon’s armies was steamrolling one Tyrolean identity and their Catholic faith in the face of European country after another. Only the tiny Tyrol, the great diversity of our country. In so doing, they stood up to Napoleon with an insurrection inspired and served as an endorsement, a testimony….a witnessing of led not by some general or tactician but Andreas Hofer, their historical experiences. In the words of Alexis De a paesant, a shepherd who beat Napoleon’s armies at Tocqueville, here indeed is the evidence of the excepBergisl south of Innsbruck and at Sterzing just south of tionalism of our people. the Brenner Pass. He beat them with 15,000 ordinary Tyrolean citizen soldiers who like those citizen soldiers of our War of Independence did beating the mighty British armies. They fought for their empire, their Tyrolean identity and their Catholic faith. Hofer sought to preserve and defend our Tyrolean-Catholic-Alpine heritage, ethnicity, and culture, against the devastation of Napoleonic anti-religious, reductionist-positivist Enlightenment supported by the big powers against the Austrian-Hungarian empire.

Having reviewed how we were governed, what did those who were ruled experience and feel. The Tyrol and its citizens have all passed into history but we do have both indications and testimonies of how they regarded and

The United Kingdom of Austria-Hungary-1914

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Meran`s Municipal Museum...

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The Meran Municipal Museum, or Palais Mamming Museum, is one of the oldest museums of South Tyrol. The Palais Mamming Museum, which presents the collections of the City Museum of Meran, is situated in the newly renovated Baroque palace on Piazza Duomo. The exhibition offers an overview of the city's historical development.

The circuit begins with Pre- and Ancient History and touches all areas of life, finally ending with Modern Art. As the Meran Municipal Museum - "Stadtmuseum Meran" in German, "Museo Civico di Merano" in Italian - has already been opened in 1900, it is one of the oldest museums of South Tyrol. In that period Franz

Meran’s Civic Museum-Palais Mamming Museum

Innerhofer (1847 - 1918), a physician of Meran, collected Gothic figurines and Baroque paintings of Tyrolean masters with passion. In this way he laid the foundations for the museum. First housed in the building of the English Ladies along the Winter Promenade, the Merano Municipal Museum was transferred several times, for example to the well-known Roter Adler tavern in the Via delle Corse road.

Museum Interior

Interior of Merano’s Civic Museum-Palais Mamming Museum

In 2015, in a final step, the museum - now also known as "Palais Mamming Museum" - has been reopened in the newly renovated Palais Mamming in the historic town.

The permanent collection offers 27 sections and provides an overview of the historical development of the town of Meran, from prehistory up to modern art. What you can admire in the museum are for example Baroque paintings of Tyrolean masters and traditional costumes, as well as some exotic exhibits, including an Egyptian mummy, a death mask of Napoleon as well as a Sudanese weapons collection from the Austrian Major-General Rudolf Anton Carl, Baron of Slatin.

One of the most famous exhibits is the 4th typewriter model by its inventor Peter Mitterhofer. He was born in 1822 in the nearby village of Parcines, where the Typewriter Museum "Peter Mitterhofer" can be found.

And how to reach the Merano Municipal Museum? It is located at the end of the Arcades of Merano, near the St. Nicholas Parish Church. Written by Tiziano Rosani, Meran Municipal Museum, or Palais Mamming Museum

Museum Displays

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Tyrolean art

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The Mountains Around Meran...

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Merano surrounded by high mountains, up to over three thousand meters of altitude. It is a rich town, with an ancient tradition as a place of health and tourism.

Today it has over forty thousand inhabitants (about half speak German and the other half Italian), many of whom practice numerous sports, of course walking and trekking such as the famous Tappeiner walk, very easy and beautiful, suitable for everyone, but also along the interesting routes. that follow the irrigation canals of the countryside. The more experienced are dedicated to more demanding trekking, even at high altitude, to mountaineering, but also mountain biking, horseback riding, etc. given that there are numerous infrastructures and paths around the city, located in the valley floor at the confluence of four valleys: Venosta, Passiria, Val d’Ultimo and Val d’Adige.

In addition to the high mountains, the most characteristic natural stretch of Meran is the Passirio stream, a tributary of the Adige river. Monte Luco, also known as Laugenspitze, is interesting and can be climbed from Passo delle Palade with a somewhat challenging route.

This peak has the privilege of being the first mountain climbed in the region, the ascension took place in 1552 and the protagonists were a local noble, along with his wife and daughter. Just below the summit in 1875 the

Sektion Meran of the Deutscher und Oesterreichischer Alpenverein built one of the first alpine refuges in the region. Other peaks for interesting excursions are the Cornicolo, Cima degli Olmi, Hoher Dieb, Mutspitze, Ebener First, Granatenkogel, Hohe Weisse, Matatz, Flecknerspitze, Hirzer, Grosser Mittager, Mutspitze etc.

The most important mountain in the area is undoubtedly the Ortles (3,905 meters high), the highest peak in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, characterized by a large glacier, now unfortunately gradually retreating.

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The summit was first climbed by Joseph Pichler, a chamois hunter from Val Passiria, attracted by the prize promised by Archduke John of Austria, brother of Emperor Francis II. At the end of September 1804 Pichler with some companions reached the summit.

Today the best way to admire the Ortles even by nonmountaineers is to take the cable car from Solda to the Città di Milano refuge. Here you are in a very scenic high mountain environment. Mountaineers can instead go up to the Tabaretta refuge and then to the Payer refuge, the starting point for the climb to the top. Another great mountaineer who worked in this area was the Bohemian Julius von Payer, the first to climb numerous peaks of the Ortles-Cevedale group, then became a formidable polar explorer, discovering in 1874 the Land of Franz Joseph, also known as Franz Joseph Land. In this undertaking he was also accompanied by two hunters from Val Passiria Johann Haller and Alexander Klotz, the latter progenitor of the famous South Tyrolean politics Eva Klotz. Nature lovers will find two important parks around Merano: the Stelvio National Park, between Lombardy and Trentino-Alto Adige and the Tessa Natural Park, north-west of Merano. The eastern part is instead occupied by the Sarentini Mountains, with slightly lower peaks, while to the south are the mountains of Val d’Ultimo and Alta Val di Non.Written by Riccardo Decarli-Biblioteca della Montagna-SAT, Trento

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Were we…are we…Austrians?...

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The question…or more and rather the assertion of so many of the readers of the Filo` in their emails to me, in their chats with me would glibly say that their families were from Austria!!!...Well… yes and no and even maybe. The answer and response is multi-faceted and needs an explanation.

Fr. Bonifacio Bolognani, our beloved chronicler, born in 1923…schooled in the Italianized Trentino, came and lived amongst us for 22 years…seeking fellow Italian Trentini and to his surprise found instead our community that stubbornly and steadfastly held on to memories of the Empire that they had left and the Tyrolean identity that they and their relatives were born in. He finally conceded and in his book about us asserted his interpretation or the answer to the question. He wrote…After all our people were for 1000 years under German sovereignty…not Germany but more specifically Austria.

ation to Italy with Austrian documentation. Austria became a nation in 1918 so that we cannot be identified now as its citizens but we were and are indeed Tyroleans whose history and culture was nurtured and cultivated by none other than Austria!

As 97% of our emigrants to the USA, leaving behind their historic Tyrolean heritage, they became quasi orphans since their cherished homeland was simply given away, annexed to another country without a plebiscite.

With the defeat of the Austrian Hungarian Empire in 1918, the Allies determined to donate the Tyrol to Italy.

The deciders included imperialistic, anti-Catholic Protestant England, the now acknowledged racist President Wilson, and Church averse France, and the Irredentist Orlando of Italy, averse to Austria…and could be speculated…determined to punish Austria for its Catholicity. The annexation was not only a spoil of war land grab but it became a culture cleansing and transforming installation. Italian culture was imposed and enforced. Street signs, village names, school text books were changed to enforce the Irredentist ideology of the times. With Fascism, with the delusional Mussolini ideation of repeating Roman grandeur, the imposition of culture became a deliberate suppression and cruel persecution of the South Tyroleans and our linguistic minorities: the Ladini, Mochen and Cimbri.

Let’s review…Our lands were ruled by German Emperors, Lords of the Tyrol, and the Germanic Prince Bishops. For almost 6 consecutive centuries, we lived explicitly, factually in the County of Tyrol protected by the Lords of the Tyrol and ruled by the Austrian Hapsburgs. After a brief interlude during the Napoleonic invasions, the Austrian Tyrol under the leadership of Andreas Hofer was the only European nation that rose up in an insurrection to defeat Napoleon reasserting its devotion to its Austrian Empire and their Tyrolean iden- During the Great War, World War I, 1914-1918, the valtity and the Catholic Church. The very piety and religios- leys of the now Trentino, then the Tyrol, were being merity of our people is their experience living in the theoc- cilessly attacked and bombed by the Italian Army that racies of the Prince Bishops and being citizens of their included Garibaldi and his followers. Villages were being Catholic Empire. The Austrian Empress Maria Teresa in destroyed; work interrupted and their populations being her Theresian Reform of 1774 mandated that the chil- killed. Austria identified with these populations as their dren of the Tyrol were to remain in school until they 12 citizens and historic countrymen intervened and organyears old enhancing the literacy of our people and even- ized large scale evacuations of the residents of these war tually that of our emigrants. From an administrative per- embattled valleys. 77,000 people were gathered and spective, there was no area identified as "Trentino": such transported to camps in Moravia and Bohemia. The valan area coincided with the Italian-speaking part of South leys included Val di Ledro, Val del Chiese, Val di Gresta, Tyrol, south of the Brenner Pass. It was, therefore, part Valagarina, Lavarone, Lucerna, Valsugana, Primiero, and of the Land Tirol and Innsbruck was its capital. the Alti Piani of Folgaria. In other cases, my Giudicarie Innsbruck was also the seat of the Provincial Diet, the Esteriori valley sheltered and hosted the refugees from formal deliberative assembly of princes or estates. the embattled neighboring valley of the Val delle Hence, governance and decision making for the Tyrol Giudicarie Inferiori (Val del Chiese). How and what can was their Diets (Congresses) emanated from Innsbruck, this factual episode be understood and interpreted other Austria. In 1914, 75,000 of our people heeded the call to than the integral association that Austria had with our arms of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria read from the people and our people with Austria. pulpits of the Tyrol and fought bravely..75.000 strong in As all the above hapened in Europe, our emigrants were the Tyrolean army…They emigrated prior to the annex- in Diaspora and were focused and comitted to embrace 14

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the USA for their existence and that of their families. We were ignored in regard to services and assistance by both the now Italian Trentino and even the Hierarchy of the Church. It could be said that we were essentially a remnant if not a witness of and to the historic Tyrol and therefore stakeholders or associated with their geopolitical adversaries of the Italy of today. We were citizens of an Empire that was despised and hated and then were citizens of the USA, against whom Italy declared war upon and became a willing and active partners’ co-combatants of the Axis Powers.To repeat, all that happened there and to them… not to us here! We were rendered like the novel the Man without a Country…a People without a country of origin. While the Trentino became Italianized, we remained who we were. Had Abyssinia taken over the Tyrol making the people of the Tyrol Abyssinian, we..departed, separated rightly, justly were entitled to our historic heritage and identity. While we were victims of the geopolitical treachery, our community remained lovingly attached to their relatives in the valleys sending them remittances, clothes and other goods.

I am not sure whether it be an accurate portrayal or an accusation but I feel that the Trentino evolved into an ignoring or perhaps an actual Tyrol denier. The result was obvious whether contrived or incremental, our common heritage to things Tyrolean and Austrian were and are overlooked or simply no longer remembered or appreciated., whether there lingers an animosity to that heritage or simply the successful suppression and repression of it with the deliberate Italianization process that ensued at the annexation. To this day, things Tyrolean conjure up a political tribalism …a political animosity rather than a rich memory of a unique and common heritage. Hardly is there the axiom of the Filo` that Who we are is Who they were. Two years ago, on the anniversary of the annexation, Trento celebrated with parades of the Italian army Alpini with no recollection, no reference, no display of their very own sons and daughters that were part of the Tiroler Kaiserjaeger. In my research for the Filo`, I remain watchful and distrustful as to veracity of the historical narratives that I read and explore. There seems to be more of an Italian triumphalism than the minimal recollection of their total and complete past that did not begin in 1919.

cal differences? In their magazines, in their media and in the very names of their associations e.g. Trentini Nel Mondo, there appears to be either an agenda or a lack of historical literacy that misrepresents us either wittingly or unwittingly, superimposing their derived identity from their revived history unconnected to ours. Hence, when in 2011 when I was packaging this Filo’ thing…Filo`s title was easy, perfect and reflective of our history and culture. Well, then, there was a sub-title…the target of the Filo’…the Journal…for whom? Italian Americans?

Trentino Americans? All my pent up reading, research, memories…and socilological literacy easily infomed me to name it… a Journal for TYROLEAN AMERICANS! The title emphasized our entitlement to our heritage and our respectful American differentiation. It was a declaration, an assertion that… Who we are is indeed Who we were! What to make of this history? First of all, the historical references were not generated by the Filo` magazine. They are and were simply the echoes, the ideation of our very own original emigrants. As a vox populi, vox Dei, our emigrants articulated a memory or an experience that they have lived, been taught and had seen in their valleys. As such, their articulation of their origins was a testimony and a witness of who we were.

We, us..like our forebearers were in a diaspora to a new land and country, made orphans or a people without a country of origin since it has been coopted by the geopolitics of war. As by an on and off switch, our country of origin was turned off and Italy was turned on.

One needs to understand the then and still lingering elements of Irredentism, Nationalism and Fascism that combined in an aggressive campaign to Italianize the Tyrol while dismissing and suppressing whatsover we had been and what our emigrants still were. Street signs, town names, addresses and school books and curricula were changed while our history was ignored or simply suppressed. It was a cultural gymnastic …or somesalt, an imposition of a new history and a new governance.

All this is not an argument or thesis to return or revive our connection to Austria although it is fancy of mine to acquire Austrian citizenship. We are Tyrolean Americans…fundamentally and proudly American but legitimately qualified and distinquished by our Tyrolean heritage, an entitlement and right that each and every Finally…in my yearly and multiple trips to my ancestral emigrant descendant enjoy in our beloved USA. home in the Tyrol, in my dialogues with their legisla- In summary, you have a recollection and a review of our tors,with people in the villages, I find myself referred to unique and individual history as expressed by our foreas an Italian American and/or a Trentino. Politely, I bearers. Now…you decide. explain our differences but find myself wondering to myself…Do you not know your or our common histori15

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Family Stories: Maestri-Taffelli

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My ancestors were of modest means who worked hard; largely subsistence farming, raising cattle, and making wine and cheese. Our Maestri/Taffelli story is similar to many Tirolesi who emigrated from the Sudtirol to the United States in the mid-18th through the early 19th centuries for greater economic opportunities in America.

My paternal great-grandparents, Batista and Maria Maestri migrated to join paesani who settled in Solvay, New York. Great zia Teresa was born in Prezzo and remained there with family. Nonno, Celeste, was born in the States, served in the U.S. Army during WWI, and worked at Solvay Process from which he sent his wages to help family who remained in the Old Country. My maternal great-grandparents, Bertolino and Lucia Taffeli, remained in Prezzo in Val del Chiese with my great zia Barbara “Bina” and my nonna, Caterina Maria. Nonno and nonna met in Prezzo while nonno was on one of his many visits home. They married in the Tyrol in (c.) 1921.

My father, Giovanni Batista “John” was born in nonna’s unheated home in Prezzo in the winter of 1924. You could say their home WAS indeed heated . . . by the kitchen stove, and cattle that were stabled below the house.

Nonna and dad (five years old) were reunited with nonno in 1929 after arriving in New York City on the SS Europa when my father remembers kicking and screaming at a nurse for the comfort of his nonno (Maestri), “Padre Tita,” as he was being separated from his mother for immigration processing on Ellis Island. Unlike nonno, who never learned to drive a car, nonna learned to drive in a 1929 Whippet in the fields near their home.

My father, John, served honorably in the U.S. Coast Guard during WWII aboard the USS “Billy” Mitchel, which transported U.S. and allied soldiers as well as enemy POWs from European and Pacific theaters. Dad recalls seeing countless wounded soldiers and allies on board ship. He also remembers having a conversation in his Tyrolean dialect with an Italian POW. The conversation became somewhat heated when he tried (unsuccessfully) to convince the Italian to denounce Mussolini in order to be freed. After returning from the war, my father and Uncle Bert started an iron works company in my nonni’s garage. The business operated for over 65 years and employed thousands of people. In

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the absence of formal educations, their ‘can do’ spirit left a legacy of schools, businesses, and hotels that remain standing throughout New York State today.

My grandparents had two more children, Celestina (Aunt Tina) and Uncle Bert. My family were members of the Tyrol Club of Solvay, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2019 and has over 500 members. With its monthly polenta dinners, games of pitch and bocci, raffles, picnics, pig roasts, etc., the Tyrol Club remains a cultural anchor of the Tyrolean community that support numerous local causes and awards college scholarships. Fond memories of visits with my nonni include: Sunday polenta dinners (a tradition that my Uncle Bert continues to this day), cooked of course, with their pirole and trisa. Nonna’s knitting, while wearing her ever-present aprons and practical black lace shoes with their short heels. Their coocoo clocks.

Framed edelweiss. And, the smell of cigars. I learned much of my Tyrolean heritage from my family that include: food (POLENTA, salamini, cheese, chestnuts, canederli, and capun), song (“Quel Mazzolin di Fiori”), and music (including Uncle Bert’s accordion).

Foremost, was that nonni’s kitchen was always ready to greet paesani who dropped in for conversation where coffee percolated on the stove, and bottles of nonno’s homemade wine and grappa, Italian bread, and cheese on the table. Written by Rebecca Maestri, Arlington, Virginia.

My Nona Maria Maestri, my father John Maestri, my nonno Celeste Maestri & My Aunt Tina

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Tyrolean Spaetzle...

Spaetzle, or spätzle, is a rustic pasta most commonly associated with Germany, but is quite prevalent in the Sudtirol region and the valleys north of Trento. It is a fairly simple recipe, consisting of eggs, flour, salt, and milk or water. Centuries ago, this pasta was shaped by hand or with a spoon, scraping it off of a wooden cutting board directly into boiling water. The shape resembled small birds, so that the name refers to “little sparows’. Common in Sudtirol is Spinatspatzeln, spätzle that has spinach added to the dough in the manner of making strangopreti or spinach tagliatelle. Spätzle can be served in soup, served with lentils, saurkraut, carmal- Spaezle served in my kitchen ized onions, mushrooms or served as a side dish to meats with sauces. You can also tossed it in a pan with regular or clarified butter, adding chopped parsley and seasoning. I bought a spätzle maker from Amazon for $11.99. (see illustration) You could use a colander or flat grater, and push the dough through the holes with a metal spoon…or put the dough in plastic bag, cutting a hole in the bottom corner and squeeze the dough into the boiling water.

Spaetzle Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 4 eggs 2/3 cups milk 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

Preparing Combine the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, beat the eggs. Alternating, gradually add the eggs and the milk to the flour. The dough should be the consistency of a brownie batter. Too thick, and it will be extremely difficult to force through the holes of your colander or spaetzle maker. Too thin, and it will not keep its shape after extrusion, the noodles will all stick together as they fall into the boiling water. You may have to play a bit with the dough to get the right consistency. Let the dough rest for an hour. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove. Season with salt. Using a spaetzle maker, or colander or grater, press the about 1/4 of the dough through the holes directly into the boiling water. The noodles will rise to the top when cooked, skim them off with a slotted spoon and transfer to a sheet pan.

Continue until all the noodles have been cooke. Place the cooked spaezle on a pan. Melt the butter and place the spaezle into the pass tossing them. Add seasinging and the chopped parsley.

Spaezle too bought from Amazon

Ingredients

Beeat the eggs

Dripple the mixture into boiling water

Lift the spaezle with a slotted spoon or device

Add the cooked spaezle to a pan with melted or clarified butter

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Add flour, milk...mix thoroughly.

Plated spaezle with butter and parsley

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The Prince’s Castle in Meran...

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The Schloss Tirol that hovers over and looks down to Meran was the first and main and historic residence of the Lords of the Tyrol.The Prince’s Castle Meran in the centre of the spa town was the city residence of the Counts of the Tyrol.The Prince's Castle of Meran is a small town residence. It was built in the second half of the 15th century by Duke Sigismund of Austria, known by the epithet of "the Danaroso " (the money guy). who invested many resources in the construction of castles and residences. Sigismund, Archduke of Austria, had this modest castle - "Landesfürstliche Burg" in German, "Castello Principesco" in Italian - built in central location of Meran in the second half of the 15th century. He probably used this fortress behind the town hall, at the foot of Mt. Benedetto, as his private city residence. However, this ensemble of buildings rather resembles an artistically designed, solid building with low enclosure than a fullydeveloped castle. For this reason it is simply often referred to as residence. Up to the 16th century the Prince's Castle remained a royal residence. In 1516, also Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, resided in the castle.

The Prince’s Residence in Merano

to offer visitors a brief but intense walk through time, immersing the visitor in the various furnished rooms to relive the atmosphere of the late 15th century. The castle appeals to both the casual visitor or children as well as the serious student of history.

In addition to fine period furniture, the Prince's Castle houses a small collection of weapons, a fine collection of period musical instruments and a collection of portraits dating back mainly to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. One of the most curious objects is in the courtyard and is an authentic mammoth cervical vertebra from a church in Innsbruck. In medieval times it was not uncommon to find bones of large animals of the past hanging inside the walls as magical protection against castle`s enemy attacks. The most precious and important piece on display, however, is probably the beautiful tower stove dating back to the second half of the 15th century, whose green glazed majolica tiles and beautiful decorations make it one of the oldest and best preserved Gothic stoves in Europe.

In 1875, As the building repeatedly changed hands, it started deteriorating in the course of the centuries., the city of Meran bought the property with the intention of demolishing it to build a school. However, the public opinion of both prominent and the ordinary citizenry avoided a similar fate and saved the castle and its history Between 1878 and 1880, a restoration period followed, based on the drawings of the internationally famous architect Friedrich von Schmidt, who also directed the renovations of the Dome of Vienna. When these renovations came to an end, the castle was opened also for Finally, the Castle acts as the perfect setting for civil wedthe public. Today it hosts the Prince's Castle Museum’. dings celebrated by the Municipality of Meran. The hall In 1878, prompted by public interest and support, the used for these ceremonies has also recently hosted some restoration work began under the supervision of the his- interesting temporary exhibitions dedicated to internatoricist architect Friedrich von Schmidt. His aim was to tionally renowned artists, such as Albrecht Dürer (2018) bring the building back to the splendor of the Sigismund and Giorgio de Chirico (2019) Lithographs and paintings era, eliminating all traces of the structural additions of belonging to private collections have attracted numerous the ensuing centuries. The existing interiors were pre- visitors including school children. All this allows the served e.g. the the wooden floor in the emperor's room Prince's Castle to attract more than 15,000 visitors every .The current furnishings and appointments were not year, and to place itself, also thanks to its location in the originally housed in the rooms of the princely residence, city center, among the beating hearts of Meran, both but were taken from other castles and churches to create from a historical-cultural and tourist point of view. the current exhibition. Unlike a traditional museum with Written by Tiziano Rosani, Meran Municipal Museum, simple showcases full of objects on display, the effort is or Palais Mamming Museum 18

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Spressa-the Mountain’s Cheese...

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The three Giudicare valleys represent a vast area of western Trentino, which includes the upper reaches of the Sarca river (from its source in Val Rendena to the Limarò gorge) and the valley of the Chiese river up to its outlet in Lake Idro. It is a mountainous and rugged area, very rich in water, dominated by the wonderful Brenta Dolomites and the imposing Adamello massif, where the largest glaciers in Trentino are located.The rural culture of the Giudicarie has always been deeply rooted and has shaped the landscape of these valleys over the centuries. The valley floors were historically cultivated with cereals and vegetables, among which the potato (Lomaso) and corn for polenta (Storo) stood out in particular, which have become famous and have survived intact to this day. The slopes of the mountains were instead covered with meadows and barns, where the farmers cut and kept the precious hay to feed the animals during the winter months. In summer, however, the cows were sent for three months to the huts, where they fed on fresh grass and flowers from the high mountain pastures. Animal breeding has a long tradition in the Giudicarie Valleys. It is no coincidence that a native breed of cow, called Rendena, is bred in these territories, with a dark coat and good milk production. It is a rustic animal, well adapted to the mountain environment and the most inaccessible pastures, and was once used not only for the production of milk but also for meat and work in the fields. In fact, there is talk of an animal with a "triple aptitude", which had to respond to all the needs of peasant life, including work. The Rendena is an endangered breed and today has only a few thousand bred heads, but it represents a collective heritage of great importance for the Giudicarie. Recently the breed was declared a Slow-Food Presidium, with the aim of protecting it and telling its value in the world.

But that's not enough. From the hay of the meadows, from the grass of the pastures, from the precious milk of the Rendena cow, a unique cheese called "Spressa delle Giudicarie" is born in these valleys. Spressa derives from “spress”, which means “to squeeze”, because according to tradition the milk had to be skimmed several times before it could be transformed into cheese. In fact, the cream was obtained from skimming, from which the precious mountain butter was born. As the peasants say, "butter is money immediately", meaning that butter could be sold immediately and allowed humble peasant 20

families to immediately collect some money for their daily expenses, certainly faster than cheese.

But you know, a milk without cream can only give life to a poor cheese: historically this was Spressa, a low-fat cheese that, to acquire a bit of flavor, had to mature for a long time on wooden boards, in the cellars of the farmers. And during the aging it could happen that some form took the "tara", an infiltration of mold and mite that gave a very intense aromatic note to the cheese. In the opinion of the locals, even today the "formai de tara" is considered a special product, sometimes highly sought after by those who love the flavors of a bygone era.

Today the Spressa delle Giudicarie is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese and is produced in the Giustino dairy, near Pinzolo, by the Latte Trento producers' cooperative. It is a niche production, with a few thousand wheels per year, but of great value and traditionality. Raw milk is still skimmed according to the ancient method of surfacing and handcrafted to give life to shapes weighing 7-10 kg. The minimum seasoning is 3 months, but the cheese can mature up to 12-24 months, when it best expresses its typical characteristics.

Production takes place only in the winter months, since in summer the animals are taken to high altitude pastures, where the malga cheese is produced.

Even today the Spressa is part of the food habits and traditions of the Giudicarie Valleys, so much so that it represents an indispensable ingredient in many local recipes. Polenta carbonera is still very well known in the area today, a polenta made with Storo corn flour by adding butter, lucanica pasta and diced Spressa. It was the typical "unique" dish of peasant people, which had to provide all the energy needed for hard work in the countryside. The Spressa is also used in potato polenta or can be cooked roasted (rostìda) together with a knob of butter. It is certainly used in various soups and minestrone, grated, to replace the more “modern” Grana cheese or to flavor other traditional peasant dishes, such as the famous dumplings. The crusts, often very hard, were chopped and put under grappa together with pepper to be softened, thus creating a sort of cheese cream called “formai miz”.Written by Francisco Gubert of the Val di Ledro, Agronomist, Agricultural Consultant, Author

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Geneology Corner # 11...

Over the past two articles, we’ve been talking about DNA tests. First, we looked at the different kinds of DNA tests and what they can tell us. Then, we looked at why DNA test are no substitute for genealogical research. Today I’d like to conclude our discussion by addressing one of the most controversial aspect of these tests, and something that has caused many people with Trentino ancestry to be confused or even upset – ethnicity estimates.

How Your ‘Ethnicity’ is Determined One of the primary reasons people take a DNA test is to find out ‘who they are’ ethnically. This is especially true for anyone who was adopted, or who is descended from people who emigrated far from their ancestral homeland. But what few people understand is that ethnicity reports from DNA testing companies do not – and cannot – tell you ‘who you are’, but only who you are most similar to in comparison to other test takers in their system.

To generate your ethnicity report, DNA testing companies compare your DNA to data gathered from ‘test groups’ of living people who have known, documented ethnicities. The members of these reference panels are grouped according to ‘ethnicity’ or ‘populations’. These reference sets provide DNA testing companies with the comparative foundation for their data.

In other words, the reports you receive are comparative, not ‘absolute’. This is the crucial detail that many people don’t seem to realize, and it is certainly not something that is explained in advertising. The media hype seems to imply there is some sort of ‘ethnic gene pool’ sitting in a vault with the names of each ethnic group neatly labelled on them. But such a thing simply does not exist.

Lack of Consistency Between Testing Companies Because DNA testing companies do not share the same test groups for their analyses, it is impossible that two companies would ever give you the same results.

Moreover, there is no consistency in the way these companies choose to label their various ethnic populations.

Because of these variables, the ethnicity report you will receive from one DNA testing company is going to be different (sometimes radically so) from what you receive from another. This can also create confusion for 22

people, as they don’t know which (if either) to believe.

How Far Back to Ethnicity Reports Reflect?

Another misconception people have is that an ethnicity report can tell them about their ancient ancestry. But autosomal DNA tests like those offered by AncestryDNA and 23AndMe cannot provide us with an accurate picture of ancient ancestry for the simple reason that autosomal DNA is ‘diluted’ at each generation. In fact, the test groups that AncestryDNA uses are only required to go back five generations, i.e. to their great-great-great-grandparents, which typically spans only about 250 years. Moreover, test subjects in some of the less represented ethic groups are only required to go back to their grandparents – perhaps less than 100 years!

Under-Represented Ethnicity Groups Our Trentino diaspora has consistently been underrepresented in DNA testing reference groups. Many of us Trentini have been able to trace our ancestry back at least 500 years because the parish records for our province have been so carefully preserved by the Diocese of Trento. Yet, as we are one of many under-represented ethnic groups in these corporate databases, our DNA might be compared with that of living people who cannot even trace their ancestry back more than 100 years. It is small wonder, then, why so many Trentini consistently receive confusing and contradictory ethnicity results from these companies.

Five years ago, many of us Trentini were called ‘Scandinavian’ on AncestryDNA. Then, in 2019, they decided to call us ‘French’. This is because Ancestry had bundled all Alpine populations together under one banner and decided to call them ‘French’. Many of us (including me) wrote to them complaining about this.

Then, in September 2020, AncestryDNA updated their parameters, and now many of us have at least some ‘Northern Italian’ in our ethnicity. Whether or not you call yourself ‘Italian’, this is at least a bit more accurate than ‘French’. The only trouble is, according to AncestryDNA, many of us Trentini are now suddenly part ‘Scottish’ too!

Speaking for myself, I’d rather get back to traditional genealogy to discover my my roots, and stop worrying about who the big DNA testing companies say I am.

Written by Lynn Serafinn, author and genealogist specializing in Trentino. Visit her website at Trentinogeneology.com.

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A Prayer Song for the Fallen...

The Tyrol is an Alpine paradise with magnficent mountains everywhere. They shape the valleys, provide wood for their homes, pasture for their cattle and beauty for their villages…and company for those who live under, beside and around them as if they were constant and faithful neighbors. Their peaks staring down seem to beckon and invite those below to come up…Up many have gone and continue to do so…However, they are not without danger and hazard and from time to time, the mountains seemingly take some daring climber and send them yet higher to the beyond…su per il Paradiso!

This popular song is an emotional and sad prayer to the “God of the Skies and Lord of the Peaks” to take up to paradise a fallen friend and companion. Su per il paradiso…up to paradise take our fallen companion and Mary, Our Lady of the snows, cover our brother with your soft snowy mantle…su per il paradiso…up to heaven

God of the Sky..Lord of the Peaks God in heaven Lord of the peaks, you have asked the mountain for a friend of ours.

But we pray thee, we pray thee, up there in heaven, up there in heaven, let him hike in your mountains.

Holy Mary, Lady of snow, cover with (your) white soft cloak our friend, our brother.

Up there in heaven, up there in heaven, let him hike in your mountains.

Dio del Cielo, Signore delle Cime, un nostro amico hai chiesto alla montagna.

Ma ti preghiamo, ma ti preghiamo: su nel paradiso, su nel paradiso, lascialo andare per le tue montagne.

Santa Maria, signora della neve, copri col bianco, (tuo) soffice mantello il nostro amico, il nostro fratello.

Su nel paradiso, su nel paradiso, lascialo andare per le tue montagne.

A Shrine to the Fallen High up in the Brenta Dolomites, in the Val D`Algone, in the Brenta Adamelo Parco, there is a chapel chiseled out of the Dolomitic rock with a huge rock cross for its exterior openingt overlookingo the deep valley below. Inside the chapel/shrine, there is an altar and on its walls, the stone memorial plaques of those fallen climbing in these very mountains. It is known as the Dodici Apostoli since it finds itself among 12 Dolomitic campaniles or spires.

In 1970, on the Fer d`Agosto, the Feast of Mary’s Assumption, several people from Rango and Cavaione including a relative of mine, Guseppe Fenice went climbing in the Brenta dolomotes. On that occasion, he fell as a rock dislodged climbing the Crozon del Brenta. He was the only son of a widowed mother. The year later, to the very same occasion, I accompanied a group of 40 villagers up to the chapel, where a priest, a neighbor of mine, celebrated the Eucharist. We installed his memorial plaque after mass...I had the honor of having carried in my back pack the marble plaque up the valley to the heights of the Dodici Apostoli...along with edelweiss, the Stella Alpina, the blossom of snow.

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My Dad...the Strawberry Farmer

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He was born ill and blinked and realized I grew up and destined to die young. 1947 my dad’s health had caught up to did not hold much hope for him, as had many years of a long life of chronic lung backbreaking labor. As my life sped disease, especially in the rural areas of up and his slowed down, our roles the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. reversed and I had the honor and Nonetheless, Roger Louis Pellegrini, son blessing to care for him. He would of Louis & Esther (nata Cologna), was tell me stories of his life, at the most determined to keep up with the rest of random times, as if he knew he had the family. He got his first taste of to get them in before time ran out. driving a tractor when his dad placed Stories of how he and his brothers Roger Louis Pellegrini him on one when he was six years old! raised heck around the farm, or about 1947-2019 Being the youngest of his brothers and the grappa my grandpa was known sisters, the last place Roger wanted to be was left behind for and how as children they always had wine with in the house while everyone else had all the fun dinner; it was as common as having a glass of milk. outdoors. His lungs, however, had other ideas and often Stories of the painstaking bean picking by hand on the he was confined to the hospital as well. One of my dad’s old farm as a boy with his sisters and brothers, or how earliest memories of being in the hospital was crying for he tied his wagon to the back of his dad’s school bus polenta. A dear lady who knew him heard his cries and one morning because he wanted to go with him. Then raced home, whipped up a batch of polenta for the sick there were the days we talked ancestry. Being the boy, and brought him his favorite dish, drying his tears! youngest, along with losing his parents so young, my This kind act stayed with him throughout his life. dad only knew one of his grandparents, his grandma Albina (Frank) Cologna from Cloz (wife of Cipriano My grandfather Louie was very inventive, and after a Nicolo Cologna from Castelfondo). I was so happy to particularly long round in the hospital in 1959, he made be able to bring our family to life for him and show a buggy for my dad to help him get around the farm. him our ancestors and where exactly we were from! We This buggy attached to my dad’s beloved German were so close to traveling together to visit, but he was Shepard, Shep, who would harness to the device and pull too sick, so I did the next best thing and pulled up young Roger around the farm to ease up on his lungs Google Earth for him and was able to bring Tyrol to and keep up with the others, greatly lowering his risk of my dad, even showing him the parish his grandparents an attack. Louie was the son of immigrants Cipriano & attended.

Lucia (nata Pedrotti) Pellegrini of Dambel, who came nd over in the 1890’s to mine and farm. Just shy of Roger’s Two days before his 72 birthday, I found myself once 19th birthday, his dad passed away. Roger took over the again holding his hand while he slept in a hospital bed. school bus route that Grandpa Louie started in 1920, He’d been in and out of the ICU for a couple of weeks. along with the farm. He bought a larger farm in Vulcan All that day, he had woken up and folded his hands in a few miles away the following year and was able to prayer, urging us to pray with him. His faith had gotten expand his farm greatly over the next few decades, in him this far, through numerous hardships, surgeries, which he would add his infamous strawberries & bouts of pneumonia, and brushes with death, be it in the cabbage, along with rutabagas, sugarbeets, and various hospital or the farm. He was tired. His rosary was grains. My brother, sister, and I were born as well. clutched in his hand, mine clasped tight in my own. I started the rosary, and before I reached the second large As a child, I knew he had some health issues but never bead, I knew I was the only one left in the room, for he thought much of it; he was Dad after all; he could do had been called home. His large, work-worn hand hadn’t anything! He always turned his doctor appointment even slackened it’s gripped on mine; our prayers were trips into a family vacation. If he went alone, we waited answered, and he was free. Written by Molly Pellegrini, up for him until he got home, then attacked him at the Vulcan, Michigan door to see what he brought back for us. Somehow I 24

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Legends: The Whistle...

Once upon a time there was a happy little shepherd boy, who lived with his goats in a green wood among distant peaks and never wished for anything better.

blood.. He went straight to the court house and reported the shepherd boy. The judges sent out guards to arrest him.But when he came near the boy, he started to play his whistle. The too danced and danced until he stopped and they were so tired they could hardly stand. And this happened whenever they went to arrest. One day, however, they caught him by surprise, seized his whistle and, after putting him in chains, took him to prison.

One day in the forest, he came across two sleeping fairies. Because the hot sun was beating down on them, the shepherd boy cut some branches and built a little shelter to give them some shade. When after a while the fairies woke up, they were astonished at what they saw The shepherd boy was quickly tried by the court which and immediately asked each other:” Who built this little green house for us?” The boy stepped forward and said: “It was me.” Then the fairies praised him and one of them said: “Now you ask for anything you wish and it will be yours,”The little shepherd boy answered: “ I`d like a whistle that makes everyone dance when I blow it.”

And fairy gave him one. Whereupon the second fairy,” I too would like to make you a gift. What would you like?

The shepherd boy answered: “ I`d like a gun to shoot all the birds you can see in the sky, but one that does not need powder or lead shot.” The woman gave him the gun. The boy said thank you and then skipped away with his two wonderful presents.

What a time he had! If he whistled in the forest, his goats danced happily around him, and with them the haeres in the bushes, the squirrels in the trees and even the foxes in their dens.It was as though the animals had all gone crazy with joy. And when a hawk hovered in the sky, or when a nasty crow croaked, he, he took his gun and killed them. He never hurt the little songbirds, though, but let them sing and flutter to their heart’s content. One day a priest was walking through the wood.

The shepherd boy had just shot a bird, which fell into a thicket of brambles.The priest approached the bush and tried to free the bird. But the boy began to play his magic flute., and the poor priest had to dance among the brambles until he was full of scratches and streaming with

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sentenced him to death by hanging. As he stood on the scaffold, he asked for a last wish to be granted him.

When he judge agreed, he ased if he could have his whistle back. When he held it in his hand, he immediately began to play. The hangman holding the rope, the judges, the guards and all the spectators began dancing merrily until they dropped in exhaustion. So the little shepherd boy easily made his escape, and n one was ever able to capture him again.

Venerable Eusebio Chini

Several weeks ago, Pope Francis declared his fellow Jesuit and our fellow Tyrolean, Eusebio Chini of Segno of the Val di Non “venerable”. “Venerable” is followed by “blessed” (beatification) followed

by Saint (canonization). This is the obligatory, arcane juridical process to officially declare him a “saint” in Catholicism. With or without this questionable process, our Eusebio Chini is unquestionably a saint available to us through very ecclesial structure of the communion of the saints. . You might think that this title is hyperbole or an inaccurate narrative…but it is certainly biblical. The early Christians expressed a sense of being a holy community and used this very vocabulary. They called everyone “saints”, hagioi in Greek, a term that appears sixty times in the New Testament. Paul’s letter gives witness to the widespread use of this term. “To all God’s beloved in Rome who are called to be Saints”, he writes, and “Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.”Eusebio...pray for us...and the Filo` too!

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The Splendid Ladini -#2...

The donzelli, usually a younger sister and brother of the couple, can be recognized by the green hat and red jacket. The single sisters wear a green hat, a small tuft gathered from a burgundy-colored net and a silk apron.

To make the black wool skirt worn by girls and women from Val Gardena, 6 meters of woolen fabric is used which is pleated by hand and then wet so that the folds remain imprinted in the fabric. The young unmarried wear a green hat and a short blue jacket over the silk or velvet waistcoat. The precious leather belt, which is part of all Val Gardena men's costumes and which is also widespread throughout the Tyrol, is embroidered with peacock feathers requiring in many hours of work. The initials of the owner, the family crest, the country of origin or the Gardena costume association to which it belongs are often embroidered on the belt, thus expressing the owner’s belonging and economic status.

The costume of married women and the bride is called bagana and takes its name from the black coat they wear. Another peculiarity of this costume is the black hat and the hats gathered in a small tuft covered with a burgundy-colored net.

Married women and the bride also wear a pleated collar, a necklace of 9, 11 or 13 strands of grenades, a brooch around the neck and a pair of dangling earrings. Girls, young women, married women and the bride wear a wide black velvet ribbon across the forehead. This velvet ribbon was already widespread in 1500 in Germany among wealthy women. The bride singularly wears red stockings, a black silk apron and a garland of golden flowers knotted on her right arm.

In Val Gardena, married men and the groom wear the costume called bagana, which takes its name from the coat they wear. Until 1830, all Gardena men wore short jackets and hats with a wide brim. From around 1830 the Gardena traders, who traveled all over Europe to sell scultped wooden articles made in Val Gardena, began to dress with a top hat and a coat (typical of the Biedermeier period). With the passage of time it became the Gardena costume of the married men and

groom. The groom singularly wears red stockings and a flower garland on his left arm. The blue coat is worn by mayors, doctors and wealthy citizens, the brown coat is worn by peasants, and the green coat is worn by middle-class men. The mother of the bride wears the costume called la cazina while the godmother wears the costume called la slapa with a white lace cap on her head. They both wear a closed bodice with wide sleeves. The father of the groom wears the Val Gardena costume of the bagana, like all married men displaying the silver watch chain, thereby indicating a certain economic well-being. Grandpa also wears a coat but with a wool cap. The grandmother and the grandfather The neighbors were very important in the life of the spouses, because they brought help in all situations of need and it was important to establish a beautiful friendship with them. Neighbors who lived in the first house on the road leading to the church were invited to the wedding. The neighbor is wears a red shirt or jacket as well as the bagana costume. The hostess and landlord also participated in the wedding procession, both wearing a white apron since they had to work on the wedding day of the couple making sure that the hospitality was delicious and accompanied by a good wine. The landlady wears a shirt with short sleeves and carries the keys to the wine cellar with her.

The largest "wedding procession" is represented every year on the first Sunday of August (alternating in Ortisei, Santa Cristina and Selva), which is attended by many people in costume together with the bands of Val Gardena (from Ortisei, Santa Cristina, Selva and Bulla).

The Gardena Costume Associations keep the costumes donated by the benefactors and rent these costumes to the Gardena citizens for important celebrations. The members of the associations pass on the knowledge about customs to interested people and to future generations, so that the traditions and this knowledge will persist over time.Written by Patricia Ciechi Crepaz, Ortisei, Val Gardena 26

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Tyrolean Wines: Gewürztraminer

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From the perspective of Alto Adige’s winegrowers, the questionas to the origin of Gewürztraminer is a delicate topic.

Speaking for the name being provided by the winegrowing village of Tramin is the fact that wine from Tramin already had a reputation in the Middle Ages that ranged far beyond the borders of the province. This grape was consequently also named after the location from which the most sought-after wines were produced. The municipal laws of Munich from 1346 where, with regard to the wines from Bolzano and Tramin, it was specified, “The wine is named after where it grows.” Initially, the “Traminer” from Alto Adige was a white wine which was most likely made from the White Lagrein variety. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was a wine with a reddish color. A further hypothesis from the research on the name goes back to the Vitis aminea that was known to the Romans, which was supposedly of Greek origin. German monks then supposedly contributed to this name being transformed to “der Aminer” and then “dr’Aminer” until finally arriving at Traminer, but there is no evidence of this in the literature. Prestigious researchers presume that the starting point of the variety was actually what is today Southwestern Germany. In a monastery in Stuttgart, the term “Traminer vines” was already mentioned for the first time as early as 1483. The initial variety must have been the white Traminer, which is still grown today in the Jura region of France under the name “Savagnin Blanc”. A color mutation from this yielded the Red Traminer. And a mutation in the aroma then led to the Gewürztraminer. This name was only mentioned in writing for the first time in 1827 in a document from Rheingau.Traminer is one of the old original varieties of Europe, from which a multitude of European grape varieties came into existence as a result of hybridization, including Sauvignon Blanc, Sylvaner, Rotgipfler, Green Veltliner, and Chenin Blanc.For Alto Adige, the first plantings of Red Traminer were carried out by Archduke Johann in Appiano in 1848. Shortly thereafter, selected locations in Bolzano, Merano, Bressanone, and Termeno were also planted with the v i n e s .

Today, the variety is planted worldwide on 39,043 acres.

The country that leads in its cultivation is clearly France with Gewürztraminer being grown exclusively in Alsace.

This is followed by of which 42 percent are found in

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Alto Adige, followed by the regions of Trentino, Friuli, and Veneto. In Alto Adige, only Gewürztraminer is planted. It consists Gewürztraminer predominantly of separate clones from the Technical College for Fruticulture, Viticulture, and Horticulture in Laimburg..The most important cultivation zones of the variety in Alto Adige are found in Termeno and Appiano. But winegrowers are also dedicated to Gewürztraminer in Caldaro, Cortaccia and Bolzano as well as the Isarco Valley. Back in 1965, there were only 124 acres planted with Gewürztraminer in the entire province. But especially starting from 1990, the area of cultivation increased greatly to 2320 acres in 2005. Today, having achieved a distribution of 1,438 acres, Gewürztraminer is the third most important vine in Alto Adige. The good price level for these grapes but also for the wines made from them have supported this development which, however, now seems to have gradually reached its limits in terms of revenue possibilities.Gewürztraminer is difficult to grow. Physiological disturbances and a difficult blossoming phase, especially with cool weather,lead to considerable fluctuations in yield. The small bunch has small, densely structured berries of a gray to brownishred color.The skin is firm. It generally reaches its necessary maturity in late September. It flourishes especially well on warm terraced slopes up to 600 meters (2,000 feet) above sea level. This variety is also very well suited for making late-harvest wines. The prominent aromatic quality is already recognized when chewing the grapes.

The aromas develop especially intensely with grapes that mature at medium-level terraced slopes (for example, in Ronco and Sella near Termeno) as well as on calcareous, moderately heavy loamy soils. In the main production area around Tramin, a type of Gewürztraminer is produced that tends to be lush, with a prominent aromatic quality. These wines often have a high alcohol content,keeping rather low in acidity with a complex structure. The wines from the Isarco Valley are rather lean and delicate, characterized by floral aromas. The total spectrum of aromas from Alto Adige Gewürztraminer varies beteen rose petals, cloves, cinnamon, citrus fruits, apricots, lychees, acacia blossoms, and thyme. Gewürztraminers are the only so-called “sweet wines” in Alto Adige. A variety of wineries also produce dessert wines from this variety. Submitted by Thomas Auscholl, IDM Sudtirol

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N OS D IALET...O UR D IALECT #23

There might be indeed a mutual frustration as I struggle to teach or present our dialect and in you the reader to understand. My experience with the dialect was not the language learning as in school but simply its natural acquisition since it was the sole and usual language acquired in a household. I. My modest hope is to communicate minumly the existence and use of the language of our people. The chart below prompts our readers to take a crack at the pronunciation of the dialectal words. Our dialect is almost entirely phonetic with no fancy rules.

LISTEN TO THE DIALECT:Consider making the effort to go the website to hear the sounds and nuances of how our people communicated. Website: http://www.museosanmichele.it/alfabeto-delle-cose/ There are three conjugatioisn Trentino dialects: -ar, -er, -ir. Like all spoken languages, the Trentino dialects have irregular verbs such as: dir (to say), bever (to drink) etc. These are the regular declensions of the present active magnar (eat) meter (put, place) sentir (hear) eser (to be) aver (have) mi gh’ho mi magno mi mèto mi son/sont mi sènto ti te magni/magne ti te mèti/mète ti te gh`hai/gh`e è ti te séi/sé ti te sènti/sènte lu/elo magna lu/elo `l mète lu/elo `l gh`ha lu/elo `l si/l`e ela la sènto noi magnan/magnam ela la mète ela la gh`ha ela la e` noi sentin/sentìm/ magnen/magnem/ noi sèn/sèm/sémo/ magnémo/magnón noi mètèn, mètèm sentìmo/sentìo Noi gh`aven/gh`avem/ son voi/voemagnè/magná/ metèmo/metón voi/voe sentì/sentìo gh’avèmo/gh`avon voi/voe sé/séo magnáo voi/voe gh`avéeo lori i é lori i magna voi/voe metè/metèo lori i sènte/sènte lori i gh`ha lore le é lore le magna lore le sènte/sénte lore le gh`ha In the second and third person singular and in the third person plural, next to the pronoun (often not expressed) there is a particle: ti te; lu / el / elo 'l, ela la; lori i, lore le. Often the particle is placed between the pronoun and the declined verb, or if not expressed before the declined verb (eg ti te magni or te magni; el 'l magna or' l magna). However, in the questions it is also possible to place it at the end of the declined verb (eg Ti te magni?

Or Magnet ?; Elo 'l magna? Or Magnel ?; Lori i léze? O Lézéi?). Below is an example with an irregular verb like èser: Ti te sei? / Set ?; El is it? / Is it ?; Lori i è / èi?

DIALECT SHOW & TELL #3 La Tavola #4-Kitchen Let’s look to the illustrations on the opposite page, observe their labels of the items. Starting from the top and going left to right…We will cite the dialectal word in the illustration and literally translate it into English. The Italian equivalent will not be cited.

Lampadari Lamp Vedrina China closet Coltrina Window curtain Piat dala luce Reflector Caset Drawer Arloi a pendol Pendulum clock Fil dalla luce Electric cord Portela Door Arloi Watch Pirlet Light switch Portafior Flower stand Raza Clock hand Lampadina Light bulb Portasugaman Towel rack Arloi Pendulum clock Canton/Spigol Corner Taola/tagola Piac a coste Chichera Pegol/Gamba Minella Stropa Cestin Balanza

Table Soup Dish with sides small offee cup Table leg Measure for grains Willow/brach Basket Scale

Bicerin/bicerot Small glass Tolin Small table Scanela/bancheta Stool Spasegio Child walker Piat dala balanza Scale pan Rampin Hook March/pes/peso 28

Carega de paia Carega de legn Caregon Pestarol Brac

Straw chair Wooden chair High Chair Meat pounder Arm

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The illustrations opposite this page are those of Helene Lageder; they appear in the Dizionario del Dialetto di Montagne di Trento of Corrado Grassi, produced and distributed by the Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina, San Michele all`Adige

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The Emigrants’ Inn...

There is a fascination to reflect how the peasant contadini so habituated to their villages, valleys and way of life decided to leave these havens and find a new place to live and work in a new World. Would that we had a time machine to be able to interview them and hear their narratives of how in the world they accomplish this unbelievable transition.

For 36 years of the Great Migration, there was no guidance, no support or manual of how to negotiate this movement. At best, some emigrants had a relative or a paesano from their valley in the USA and there developed a virtual mutual aid society of a sort that provided some guidance. In 1904, there was established the Office for the Mediation of Labor in Rovereto that attended to the . emigrants and by 1910, there was published a guide mostly for the Italian population which would not have included our people then citizens of Austrian Hungarian Empire. Occasionally, the clergy provided some guidance e.g. Don Guetti who tried to persuade his flock to avoid the work in the coal mines and suggesting even a different emigration target e.g.

Argentina.

Well, I did not have a time machine but in 1948, at the age of six and about to turn seven, I sat with my Nono Silvio eating our lunch of pan e formai, bread and cheese on a pasture above our village in the Bleggio of the Val delle Giudicarie. Nono who had worked for years in the USA in the late 1800’s and always spoke to me in dialect suddenly to my surprise spoke to me in English. Louis, he said, do you know the Mills Hotel on Bleecker St in Greenwich Village, NY?...Nono, we live on Bleecker and the Mills Hotel is one block up the street! He then explained how in his many trip back and forth from the Tyrol, he would arrive in the NY harbor and find lodging for the night at the Mills Hotel and in the morning he would go to either Pennsylvania Station or Grand Central Station to head to the coal fields of Western Pennsylvania, or Yatesboro Pa, or Colorado or Northern Minnesota or Wyoming…the places where he had worked mining coal or iron or silver like so many of his paesani. Returning to his valley, he would follow the way in reverse arriving in NY by train, spend the night at the Mills and take the ship in the morning to return to Europe. His chat with me gave me…and now the Filo` an insight of how our emigrants came back and forth in those years gone by. Let me explain…

built as a hotel for poor men. It was funded by banker and designed by and opened in 1897.

Mills House No. 1 is one of two survivors of three men's hotels built by banker Darius Ogden Mills in New York City.

It originally contained 1,554 tiny rooms (7 and The Mills Hotel a half by 6 feet or 5 by 8 feet) that rented at the affordable rate of 20 cents a night, with meals costing 15 cents. The rooms contained only a bed with a mattress and two pillows, one stuffed with hair, the other with feathers, a chair and a clothes rack, and their walls stopped about a foot short of the ceiling.

There were four toilets and six washbasins on each floor (for 162 rooms) and bathrooms on the ground floor.

The building extends along Bleecker Street from to streets, occupying four city lots. It was constructed on the site of a row of formerly fashionable houses called Depauw Row, which had become . It cost $1.25 million to build and has eleven stories; two 100-foot (30 m) or , 50 feet (15 m) square, capped by skylights, enabled each room to have a window and correspond to the provisions of the 1879 Tenement House Law known as the ""; the architect, Ernest Flagg, was an advocate for housing reform who had urged these requirements. The layout of the building may have been inspired by the layout of (1884), or by apartment buildings he had seen in Paris. Certainly, emigrants like my Nono Silvio, fit the bill of being poor and in transition…

The Mills Hotel-Bleecker Street Greenwich Village, NYC

There were many hotels in NYC but none like the Mills.

Mills House No. 1 or the Mills Hotel at 160 in , , was 30

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Yes... a Tyrolean American Saint!

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everal weeks ago, Pope Francis declared his fellow Jesuit and truly our brother, Eusebio Chini to be “venerable” indicating officially that he is targeted according to Church protocol to be declared a saint after the manifestation of two miracles…The reaction is joy…and WOW! Yet, we have to ask the church…What took you so long???

Forest Gump would say that a saint is as a saint does!!! Well, our brother Eusebio led a life of extraordinary virtue and service but his life has an extraordinary significance in our history and in these very days in which we examine and scrutinize our past history. In that history, Eusebio is the ultimate champion and advocate of the indigenous people of the Southwest and Mexico. He is a Tyrolean…our very first prototypical emigrant from the Tyrol…from Segno of the Val di Non, a fellow polentone where he was born and reared to become the person he became. He is an American who not only shaped our country but its people as well so that the United States of America declared him the Father and Founder of Arizona while his statue proudly stands in the Capitol of our country.

Again…WOW…and read the attached article with pride.

As the bureaucracy of the Church hunts for another miracle, permit me to offer the phenomenon of the Filo` itself whose growth and development was truly amazing….and even miraculous. Permit me to speculate that our beloved Eusebio Chini…and all our loved ones that left us….simply do not want us to forget. Eusebio, pray for us! Here is a summary of his heroic work and service.

Editor’s note: The following article is a combination of expressions from Chini’s biographer and fellow Jesuit Rev Bolton, Fr. Nealy and excerpts from the remarks presented at the installation of Chini’s statue in the Capitol in Washington DC

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no was born Eusebius Chinus (the name Kino was the version for use in Spanishspeaking domains) in the village of Segno of the Val di Non, then in the sovereign Prince-bishopric of Trent, a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Other sources cite his name as Eusebio Francesco Chini. His parents were Franciscus Chinus and Margherita Luchi. The exact date of his birth is unknown but he was baptized on August 10, 1645 in

the parish church, located in Segno. Kino was educated in Innsbruck, Austria, and after recuperating from a serious illness, he joined the Society of Jesus on 20 November 1665. From 1664-69, he received religious training as a member of the Society at Freiburg, Ingolstadt, and Landsberg, Bavaria. After completing a final stage of training in the Society, during which he taught mathematics in Ingolstadt, he received Holy Orders as a priest on 12 June 1677. His desire was to travel to the Far East and convert souls to Christianity. In his considerable academic preparations he was aware that the Chinese people valued mathematics and astronomy. He studied these areas, also other physical sciences. He developed into a skilled linguist, eventually speaking several languages & many Indian dialects. His accomplishments indicate a finely

Segno-Val di Non-Birthplace of Eusebio Chini disciplined character. His scientific exploits are known throughout the Spanish - English speaking world.

Although Kino wanted to go to the Orient, he was sent to New Spain (Mexico). Due to travel delays while crossing Europe, he missed the ship on which he was to travel and had to wait a year for another ship. While waiting in Cádiz, Spain, he wrote some observations during late 1680 and early 1681, about his study of a comet (later known as Kirch's comet), which he published as the Exposición astronómica de el cometa. Later this would be known as Halley's Comet, as redescribed by Halley before the next periodic orbit.

He arrived in Mexico in 1861. Six years later, in 1687, he was stationed in Pimería Alta, and then considered the northernmost outpost or rim of Christianity, where he established his first mission, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores. (continued on next page) 31

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. For 24 years it served as the center from which he carried out his work of evangelization and scientific study and exploration. In addition to founding missions, stations and farming communities, he led 50 expeditions, covering more than 19,000 miles on horseback or mule or on foot, conducting surveys that enabled him to draw up 32 maps of the region that became widely used. Subsequently Kino traveled across northern Mexico, and to present day California and Arizona.

He followed ancient trading routes established millennia prior by the natives. These trails were later expanded into roads. His many expeditions on horseback covered over 50,000 square miles, during which he mapped an area 200 miles long and 250 miles wide. Kino was the first to bring the Gospel to this region and quickly became convinced of the need to improve the living conditions of the Indigenous people.

Kino was important in the economic growth of the area, working with the already agricultural indigenous native peoples and introducing them to European seed, fruits, herbs and grains. He also taught them to raise cattle, sheep and goats. Kino's initial mission herd of twenty cattle imported to Pimería Alta grew during his period to 70,000. Historian Herbert Bolton referred to Kino as Arizona's first rancher. Kino constructed nineteen rancherías (villages), which supplied cattle to new settlements. He built missions extending from the present day states of Mexican Sonora, northeast for 150 miles , into present-day Arizona, where the San Xavier del Bac mission, near Tucson, a popular National Historic Landmark, is still a functioning parish church.

He is remembered as a defender of the Indigenous people of what would become the United States of America and Mexico and the first European to discover the penisularity of the Baja. During his considerable travels, he disproved the commonly held idea that California was

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an island, separated from the North American continent by water. All maps of the period did show California as an island, until the publishing of his landmark map. He presided over a number of first encounters with the region’s Indigenous people and baptized thousands. He founded the San Xavier del Bac mission on the Santa Cruz River, near what is now Tucson, Arizona., in 1692, as part of a network of missions connecting Sonora, Arizona and California. He was known as the padre on horseback and is remembered as a peacemaker among Indigenous communities and between Indigenous people and Spanish colonizers and the military who served them. He protected his people from the invasions of the fierce Apaches. Kino was”a classic example of the 17th-century philosopher-scientist, where faith meets science,” remembered as a defender of the Indigenous people of what would become the United States of America and Mexico. In his travels in the Pimería Alta, Father Kino interacted with 16 different tribes. Some of these had land that bordered on the Pimería Alta, but there are many cases where tribal representatives crossed into the Piman lands to meet Kino. In other cases, Father Kino traveled into their lands to meet with them. The tribes Kino met with are the Cocopa, Eudeve, Hia C-ed O'odham (called Yumans

by Kino), Kamia, Kavelchadon, Kiliwa, Maricopa, Mountain Pima, Opata, Quechan, Gila River Pima, Seri (Comcaac), Tohono O'odham, Sobaipuri, Western Apache, Yavapai, and the Yaqui (Yoeme).

Kino was the first to bring the Gospel to this region and quickly became convinced of the need to improve the living conditions of the Indigenous people. He taught cattle breeding, agricultural methods and iron work and promoted the economic development of the Pima people in the state of Sonora in northern Mexico.

“On the social level, he promoted the dignity of the Indigenous people, and he opposed the compulsory labor in the silver mines—carried out under almost impossible conditions—that the Spanish monarchy imposed on the ‘Indians,’” according to his biography.

This also caused great controversy among his co-missionaries, many of whom acted according to the laws imposed by Spain on their territory.

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astronomer authoring books on religion, astronomy and cartography. Kino practiced other crafts and was reportedly an expert astronomer, mathematician and cartographer, who drew the first accurate maps of Pimería Alta, the Gulf of California, and Baja California. Father Kino enjoyed making model ships out of wood. His knowledge of maps and ships led him to believe that Mexican Indians could easily access California by sea, a view taken with skepticism by missionaries in Mexico City. When Kino proposed and began making a boat that would be pushed across the Sonoran Desert to the Mexican west coast, a controversy arose, as many of his co-missionaries began to question Kino's faculties.

of Hermosillo, Sonora, México. The towns of Bahía Kino, and Magdalena de Kino in Sonora and Ejido Padre Kino in Baja California are named in his honor. A park with a statue of Kino resides in the city of Nogales, AZ. The largest statue of Kino is located along the US-Mexico border in Tijuana, Baja California. Also a wine is named after him (Padre Kino), produced by Pernod Ricard Mexico in Hermosillo, Sonora. Regrettably, it was not until 1930 that Italy erected a tiny monument to Kino while there remains little understanding of his tremendous accomplishments. In contrast, in the same area of Piazza Kino had an unusual amount of wealth for his vocation, Dante, there is an enormous statue and pedestal of which he used primarily to fund his missionary activities. Dante Alighieri, a remnant and symbol of Italy’s Kino remained among his missions until his death in Irredentist past.

1711. He died at 65 years old from fever on March 15, “The history of the Catholic Church in Arizona is syn1711 in what are present-day Magdalena de Kino, onymous with the growth and Sonora, and Mexico. history of the State of Arizona, His skeletal remains can and Padre Kino is one of the be viewed in his crypt foundational figures in that great which is a national history. As a faithful member of monument of Mexico. the Society of Jesus and a misJust after saying Sunday sionary priest, Padre Kino was a mass, he passed this life tireless advocate for the native suddenly. He was buried peoples of the Southwest. He in Magdalena, Sonora. devoted tremendous energy to Over the years his grave meeting their spiritual and temHerbert Bolton’s book Padre was lost and not until poral needs, founding 21 missions on Horseback available at 1965 was it rediscov- and Amazon numerous native-run ered. His grave location rancheros, and willingly sharing in the poverty and hardis now known and tend- ships of those he served.” (Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted, ed. It is a place of pil- bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix) Chini statue in the Capitol: Astronomer, Cartagraphor, Agronomist, Founder and grimage for many.

Father of Arizona

Kino has been honored both in Mexico and the United States, with various towns, streets, schools, monuments, and geographic features named after him. The copper silicate mineral Kinoite is named in his honor. In 1965, a statue of Kino was donated to the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall collection, one of two statues representing Arizona. Another statue of him stands above Kino Parkway, a major thoroughfare in Tucson. An equestrian statue featuring Kino stands in Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza across from the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix.

A time capsule is encapsuled in the base. Another equestrian statue also stands next to the Cathedral in the city 33

On July 20, 2020,Pope Francis declared Eusebio Chini “venerable, Patron of the Borderland”

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Our Partners are . . .

Alberto Chini, Presidente of Father Eusebio Chini Museum, Segno Italy Alberto Folgheraiter- Author, journalist and specialist in Trentino culture, Trento Christian Brunelli. Teacher & Technical Consultant, Cornwall, NY Alexander DeBiasi, Trentino Marketing Riccardo Decarli Biblioteca della Montagna-SAT- Trento Verena dePaoli, author, Terlago Vicenzo Fiore-Auriga Tomaso Iori, Museo della Scuola, Rango, Val delle Giudicarie Giorgio Crosina-Director-Luca Faoro- Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina. San Michele Daniela Finardi, Communications Dept.- Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina. San Michele Antonella Montanarella-Aurigaauriga David Tomasi, University of Vermont

Our Contributors are . . .

Roberta Agosti-Azienda di Soggiorno e Turismo Bolzano Leo Andergassen- South Tyrolean Museum of Culture & Provincial History Thomas Auschöll-IDM Suditirol Patrizia Ciechi Crapaz-VP Associazione Costumi Gardenesi Sandra Comploj-President- Associazione Costumi Gardenesi Riccardo Decarli-Biblioteca della Montagna-SAT, Trento Alberto Folgheraiter-Author, Journalist Francesco Gubert- Agronomist, Agricultural Consultant, Author Alessio Leone-Azienda di Soggiorno di Merano Rebecca Maestri, Arlington, VA Molly Pellegrini, Vulcan, Michigan Tiziano Rosani, Palais Mamming Museum Lynn Serafinn- Author, marketing consultant, and geneiologist Martina Spinell- Azienda di Soggiorno e Turismo Bolzano Daniela Zadra-Azienda di Soggiorno di Merano

Photo Credits

Page 1-Cover- Tirolo Alto-Adige Trentino Euregio Pages 4-5 Azienda di Soggiorno di Merano; Wikipedia Pages 6-7 Museo storico-culturale della Provincia di Bolzano Castel Tirolo;Wikipedia; Angelika Schwartz; South Tyrolean Museum of Culture and Provincial History Pages 8-9 Museo storico-culturale della Provincia di Bolzano Castel Tirolo;Angelika Schwartz; South Tyrolean Museum of Culture and Provincial History Pages 10-11 Wikipedia Page 12- Merano’s Civic Museum-Palais Mamming Museum Page 13- Wikipedia Page 18-19 Alex Filz;Tommy Hetzel Page 20-21 Francisco Guber; Wikipedia Page 25Collana di Monografie:La Patria d`Orgini; Canti e Racconti-Provincia Autonoma di Trento;Assessorato All’Emigrazione Page 26 Patrizia Ciechi Crapaz & Sandra Sandra Comploj -VP Associazione Costumi Gardenesi Page 29- Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina Page 30 Wikipedia Page 31-32-33 Museo Eusebio Chini-Segno; Wikipedia Page 34 Martina Spinell-Bozen APT Page 36 Alex Fitz;Simon Koy; Hanes Nieder Kofler; Tommy Hetzel; Azienda di Soggiorno di Merano

Attention Readers:Be aware of our website filo.tiroles.com where you will find 23 editions of the past editions of the Filo` detailing the history, culture and customs of our valleys and people. It is our virtual library and resource for both new and old readers.Remember to recruit and prompt family members, relatives and paesani who are not yet registered to register for the Filo`. Direct them to the website to register so that they can discover who they are by learning who they were.

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