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News and
Events ~
September 2010
4th Annual
Crachesi del Nord America Reunion
The 4th Annual Crachesi del Nord America Reunion was held
August 6th - 8th at the Villa Roma Resort and Conference
Center. Attended by 61 enthusiastic members and their
families, this event highlighted the joys of family
vacationing in the Catskill Mountains.
This Society event continued the thematic journey undertaken
in 2008. It began in Craco, then gathering in Lower
Manhattan where our immigrant ancestors first settled.
In 2009 the Craco Society reunion moved to Brooklyn,
just as those immigrants did during their assimilation in
the American culture.
This event, suggested by members last year, recreated what
was a common vacation among many Crachesi after WWII:
vacationing at an Italian guest house in the Catskill
Mountains. With the density of Cracotan in the Greater
New York area in the early 1950’s and the availability of
some disposable income, it was easy for them to visit the
Catskills. Although the Catskills are more lush than the
area around Craco, perhaps in some way the country reminded
those who came from Italy of their homeland. Their American
born children, who by this time were adults with children of
their own may have imagined the scenery as what it was like
in the old country.
At the Reunion’s Friday night opening reception and dinner,
members were able to spend time together again after almost
a year’s separation. Adding to the joyousness of this event
was the inclusion of extended family of many members. This
replicated the experiences many had as children traveling to
the Catskills with their parents.
On Saturday morning the informational session provided an
overview of the history of Craco, along with an update
from the Society’s June trip to Italy. This was
followed by an introduction of the latest Society project,
the publication of Ommagio alla Stella. The session ended
with members sharing experiences of their remembrance of
Catskill trips and those who lived in Craco during the
1950’s told about life there.
After lunch, attendees spent time enjoying the many
amenities offered before dinner. During the event, a private
hospitably room was maintained for the Society. It
served as a gathering place for attendees along with a place
to share conversation, family trees, old photographs, and
limoncello.
On Sunday, Msgr. Grieco said a Mass for the us and that was
followed by a closing group breakfast.
San Vincenzo Feast
The feast day for San Vincenzo
falls on October 24th this year. Mark your calendars
for another opportunity to gather with your Cracotan cousins
in Lower New York for a celebration.
On Sunday the 24th we will gather at St. Joseph's
Church, 5 Monroe Street, Manhattan for a noon Mass in
celebration of San Vincenzo, Martire. Following the
Mass, we will gather for a group dinner at a restaurant in
Little Italy. This will allow us to share time and
conversation together during the afternoon.
Although no other formal events are planned, many
members will be arriving early to celebrate a weekend of
exploring the wonders of New York City and Little Italy.
More details about the Society’s celebration of the
feast of San Vincenzo will be announced and sent directly to
members.
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
here and enter the Society’s email
address in the “To” email box:
memberservices@thecracosociety.org.
Then fill in the remaining information.
A Gift for San Vincenzo
During the 4th Annual Crachesi del Nord America
Reunion, a silent auction was held to benefit
the San Vincenzo Restoration Project. Ed
Sconzo kindly donated a painting he had done of
Craco, and the proceeds were given to the to San
Vincenzo Fund.
Society in the News
-
Jeffrey Becom, the photo journalist who
first visted and videoed Craco in the PBS
series, For The Colors sent a link to a
photographer Enea Antonicelli who has a
portfolio of Craco pictures on the web.
Craco
Family History
In the Society’s survey of members, a major
priority was to collect stories of the
generations that immigrated from Craco. For our
group this may mean providing stories that were
given to us by grandparents who came here in the
early 1900’s or as grandparents today providing
stories to our grandchildren.
A unique aspect of the Craco migration to North America
is that it occurred in two waves. We
explored the first wave of immigration that
arrived here between the 1880’s-1924 from Craco
during the past three years at reunions and in
publications. For the most part, stories from
grandparents of current members will be the
basis for preserving the experiences from this
first wave of immigrants.
However, the second wave of Crachesi, those who came
during the mid-20th century represent the
greatest opportunity for first hand accounts of
both life in Craco and the assimilation into
life in a new country. They bring
with them the story of Craco after the first
wave of immigrants left and have firsthand
knowledge of the town up to the current day.
This group of members will be the basis for the
Society’s next reunion in our continuing efforts
to maintain our mission to preserve the history,
culture and traditions of Craco.
September 12th is Grandparents’ Day and might be a good
time for members to record the stories they have
either from direct experiences or from others
about Craco, their immigration experience, or
adjusting to life in a new country.
Meanwhile, the Society is organizing the resources and
material it holds to support genealogy and
family history for members interested in
researching their background. One of the first
projects will be to introduce a family history
template for families that immigrated from Craco
at the turn of the 20th century. More
information can be obtained by contacting:
memberservices@thecracosociety.org
A Place of Note
If you are planning a trip to Italy and will be in the
Basilicata Region, the Torre Fiore Hotel
Masseria in Pisticci should be a
consideration.
The Society used this trend-setting luxury
facility for the trip to Craco this year.
Torre Fiore offers affordable rates with
fantastic food and amenities. It is
a great location for anyone traveling the area!
Click on the Torre Fiore logo to access their
web site.
Events this Month in Craco Vecchio
Settembre
The month of
September continues with the annual
pattern in Craco: combining the
demands of agrarian life and church
calendar events.
Those tied to the
land ended the growing season by burning
hay stubble in the fields to prepare the
soil for next year’s crops. This
was also a time for wine making.
Very few people had vineyards but those
who did were busy turning the harvest
into wine.
 On
the third Sunday in September, the town
celebrated the “Madonna del Monserrato”
in the usual manner with a mass,
procession, marching band, and
fireworks! The image on the right
(c. 1965)is the procession for the feast
of the Madonna del Monserrato in the
piazza where the chapel dedicated to
this Madonna was located. This
unique photograph is the only one known
to exist of the chapel and the event.
The chapel, according
to Note Storiche sul Commune di Craco
originated in the early 16th century as
a private chapel subsidized by the
DeSimeone family. Located in the center
of Craco, the chapel had a small
cemetery adjoining it and it housed many
religious antiquities. The chapel was
restored at the beginning of the 20th
century with donations from Crachesi who
had immigrated to America.
The Madonna del
Monserrato, sometimes referred to “Santa
Maria del Monserrato” or “Our Lady of
Montserrat” originated in Spain and is a
statue of the Virgin Mary and infant
Christ venerated at the Santa Maria de
Montserrat monastery on the Montserrat
mountain in Catalonia, Spain. It
is one of the black Madonna's of Europe.
Believed by some to have been carved in
Jerusalem in the early days of the
church, it is a Romanesque sculpture in
wood from the late 12th century.
Upon his recovery from battle wounds,
Ignatius of Loyola visited the
Benedictine monastery of Montserrat
where he hung his military accoutrements
before the image. Then he led a period
of asceticism before later founding the
Society of Jesus. On September 11, 1844,
Pope Leo XIII declared the Virgin of
Montserrat patroness of Catalonia.
The Crachese devotion to this Madonna
probably stems from the period when
Spanish influence dominated this region
of Italy.
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.
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