San Vincenzo
Restoration Project
A Priceless Relic - While examining the
statue at St. Joseph’s Church, Mr. Anthony D’Ambrosio,
president of D’Ambrosio Ecclesiastical Studios, examined
what is thought to be the 1769 relic of San Vincenzo that
was sent to Craco before his body was brought there in 1792.
The Craco Society continues to
collect donations to restore the statue of San Vincenzo in
St. Joseph’s Church in New York. This
project represents a significant step in preserving one of
the unique relics connected to our roots in Craco and Lower
Manhattan. The history of the saint, the statue, and
the Cracotan devotion to the saint is available in the the
Craco Society's publication, San Vincenzo Martire and the
Crachesi in Two Worlds.
Please consider making a contribution to preserve your
heritage and history.
Contributions can be made to the San Vincenzo Fund by check
or online.
Checks:
"The Craco Society San
Vincenzo Fund"
The Craco Society
14 Earl Road
East Sandwich, MA 02537 USA
Contribute on-line
Click on the
contribute on-line box above and enter the Society’s email
address in the “To” email box:
memberservices@thecracosociety.org.
Then fill in the remaining information.
Feast
of San Rocco
The 121st Feast of San Rocco will be celebrated
in New York City on August 22nd. This
historic event sponsored by the San Rocco
Society of Potenza has developed wide support
and is one of the few Italian feasts that
continues to be celebrated in the traditional
fashion.
Starting at St. Joseph’s Church on Monroe
Street, with a special noontime Mass, the San
Rocco’s veneration continues with a procession
through the historic streets of Manhattan's
Little Italy.
The original statue of San Rocco (pictured right
) was made in Italy and sent to New York in
1899. It was carried in the first feast
that year and continued to be used until about
25 years ago when it was decided it might be
more prudent to use a duplicate to protect the
historic original from possible damage. It
is the oldest Italian-American religious society
statue in New York. And it is a movie
star, making an appearance in Francis Ford
Coppola’s Godfather II during the Festa di San
Rocco scene.
The San Rocco Society and statue share a similar
history with the San Vincenzo statue. Both were
originally housed in St. Joachim’s Church until
it was demolished.
Although the San Rocco Feast was always very
popular, changes in the Italian American
population of Lower New York after WWII impacted
it.
In 2000, Stephen LaRocca. Esq. assumed the
presidency of the San Rocco Society and revived
the feast bringing back the excitement and joy
of this historic celebration. Stephen can be
reached via email at:
Stephen@strocco.com
Consider putting this event into your plans for
later this month and bring your family—nothing
could be more insightful to children and
grandchildren than to participate in this
experience and see the area that first housed
their ancestors.
Society Summer
This summer marks an active season for the
Society with events that bring us closer to our
roots and our group.
At the beginning of the summer we returned to
Craco for a second time. While there, the group
experienced unmatched hospitality at many places
while exploring Basilicata. Society
members who returned from the trip were filled
with amazing stories of events like the visit to
Ferrandina where a resident, recognizing
visitors to the town, took them on a
personalized tour. Then there was the
visit to Tursi, where an old man aside a donkey
appeared and offered to take people for rides or
have photos taken astride the animal.
An immediate reaction would be to expect these
individual were looking for some compensation.
But in the true spirit of Southern Italian
hospitality they refused anything offered. Their
compensation came from sharing their pride in
their towns, heritage and culture with us.
The group’s excursion to Matera was marked by
the excitement and preparations for the
celebration of the feast of the Madonna della
Bruna. Caught up in the joy of the moment
and the wonders of this UNESCO site they stayed
late into the night enjoying the wonders that
Matera provided.
They left Italy filled with rave reviews for
Torre Fiore Hotel Masseria the facility in
Pisticci they used. The owners and staff
went out of their way to make everyone feel at
home and paid great attention to details such as
serving local dishes for meals. This
trend-setting luxury hotel offers affordable
rates with fantastic food and amenities and is a
great recommendation for anyone traveling to the
area.
Among the feedback from the trip was a note from
one of the travelers that says, “… Having just
returned from our trip to Craco, I want to thank
all of you who had a part in organizing and
following through on what was a perfect,
satisfying and enjoyable trip with old and new
friends and family.”
The “family and friends” connection continues
for the Society this month with the Reunion in
the Catskills. Designed to have a relaxing
atmosphere and a private hospitality room, the
Reunion allows members to spend time with each
other exchanging stories and warm memories.
Events this Month in Craco:
Agosto
•
Ferragosto
•
San Rocco
Then and now, harvest is the culmination of an entire year's work
and its completion is cause for celebration. In Craco this
culminates on August 15th with the celebration of
Ferragosto,
which is celebrated throughout Italy and
coincides with the Roman Catholic holy day of the Assumption.
After Ferragosto, many
people from Craco will walk to the neighboring town of Pisticci to
celebrate the feast of San Rocco.
August is a busy month for preserving bottles and bottles of
tomatoes that will be used throughout the winter months (these are
preserved as a paste, as tomato pieces, or as peeled tomatoes).
People will also sift the fave and ceci to select the best and put
them into sacs for the winter.
The not-so-good legumes are used as
food for the animals.
Ceci al tufo
are made.
Ceci, fave, and lupini become snack foods for the rest of the year.
Click
here
to view
A Year in Craco. Events
in Craco for every month are listed.
Thank you to Joe Rinaldi in Canada for this
contribution.
With
immigration to America, Frascella goes on to say, "Many of
those who arrived at the port of New York settled, at least
for a time, in the Lower East Side.... The area consisted of
crowded largely
substandard housing and poor sanitation even for the norms
of its day. As a result, there were unusual levels of
disease. As an example, during this period the child
mortality rate among the Italian population in the area was
about fifty per cent, twice the rate of the rest of the
city…With the above as
background it is not surprising that the oldest Italian
American religious 'street' festival is the St Rocco
festival of Little Italy which began in the late 1880’s and
continues to be celebrated to this day."
The
Society’s newest project to save the history, culture and
traditions of Craco is the release of the English language
translation of Ommagio alla Stella. This beautiful little
book provides the background and history of the Madonna
della Stella and her chapel in Craco.