Craco in
the News
The story and fantastic
images of Craco continue to generate interest
worldwide. Gustosamente, an online publication,
recently published and article about the town
and also included a 5 minute video called,
"Craco città fantasima." The video has scenes
and music that conveys the feeling of Craco.
Member,
Francesco Rinaldi, from Castronno, Italy
contributed an old news article (shown below)
that was recently reprinted in "La Stampa."
Originally published in November 2003, the
article tells the history and story of Craco and
the area called "La Rotunda Maris" that served
as a gateway for cultures to enter Italy during
the period before the Middle Ages. The locale,
which is also called Magna Grecia covers the
coastal region of Basilicata that are on the
Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas and includes Sicily.
The new cultures influenced the region through
assimilation rather than by con-quest. The
article also mentions the explorations around
Craco during that period for oil holding out
hope that the finding of the resource might
promote a new
prosperity.
Mondo Basilicata
Basilicata
publishes a semi-annual magazine,
Mondo Basilicata
featuring history and stories of
migration in a bright colorful format.
The current edition is
available online and includes an audio version.
The articles, which relate to
Basilicata, include topics on plant science and
farming, the Lucani in Bologna, human interest
stories on selected individuals and a story
about the role of Italian banks in New York
during the 1920s.
There are English
translations of the articles making it
accessible to non-Italian speakers and the audio
version of each article enables those who are
interested in speaking and hearing Italian to
follow along.
The website also has an
archive of the magazine and several publications
which include notebooks, pamphlets, catalogues
and brochures all related to Basilicata.
110th
Anniversary of San Vincenzo in New York
San Vincenzo
Martire di Craco has been playing a role in the
life of the people in Craco since 1792. He
become so closely ingrained in their being that,
when they began immigrating to the US in the
1880's, they carried woodcut images of his relic
as a way to fulfill their need to venerate him
in their new homeland.
By 1900 the
400 Cracotans in New York City were able to
organize the Societá S. Vincenzo Martire di
Craco and held their first feast for San
Vincenzo in 1901.
That began
the 100 year tradition of celebrating San
Vincenzo in New York City.
Meanwhile, in
Craco the tradition started in 1793 had evolved
into a 9 day long event. It included a novena,
the processing of the statue of San Vincenzo
through the town, a fair on the day before the
feast day, a solemn Mass and fireworks at the
end of the day. This same celebration was
conducted in New York by the Cracotans after
1901.
Allying themselves with St.
Joachim’s Church in Lower Manhattan (founded by
the Scalabrini Brothers to help Italian
immigrants) the Societá S. Vincenzo Martire di
Craco placed a statue of the patron saint there
along with a small bone relic that was brought
from Craco.
The feast was
celebrated in New York through 1941 when WWII
brought a halt to it. Afterwards the
organization dissolved and St. Joachim’s Church
was demolished in 1959 for an urban renewal
project.
The statue of San
Vincenzo was saved by the Gallo family and
placed at St. Joseph’s Church about 1960. This
location at 5 Monroe Street is just a few short
blocks from the site of the demolished church.
Meanwhile, in
Craco the impact of the frana at the monastery
chapel that held San Vincenzo required that it
be moved to a new location, also.
Many people
besides the Gallo family contributed to saving
the San Vincenzo tradition in New York. These
included Mrs. Anna Zafferese LoCicero who had a
restoration of the statue done in 1990, Stephen
LaRocca who continued the feast day Mass and the
members of the Craco Society who contributed to
the 2010-2011 restoration of the statue. These
contributions are recognized on the plaque that
was dedicated on Sunday October 23, 2011 at the
end of the special Mass and now identifies the
statue of San Vincenzo at St. Joseph’s Church
for the first time.
Next year will be
just as significant as it will be the 220th
anniversary of San Vincenzo in Craco.
110th San Vincenzo
Anniversary Mass
— shown above is a
scene of the Oct. 23 Mass at St. Joseph’s Church
with the Society’s statue decorated with gifts,
the restored statue of San Vincenzo in the case
(lower right) and the banner of the Societá
S. Vincenzo Martire di Craco (far right).
The flowers adorning the statue and alter were
gifts of Stephen & Lucy LaRocca. The three
celebrants (seated left to right) are Msgr.
Nicholas Grieco, Fr. Lino Gonsalves, Pastor of
St. Joseph’s Church, and Fr. Nicholas Mormando.
Msgr. Grieco and Fr. Momando traveled from out
of state to participate, and it believed to be
the first time there were two priests with
Cracotan connections celebrating the mass in New
York.
Other unique
elements about this Mass were; the playing of
the chant Inno a San Vincenzo Martire by
Gemma Barbaro from Craco, live music played on
the original organ from St. Joachim's Church,
the placing of a name plaque on the statue for
the first time which is mounted on wood from
Craco, and the distribution of a specially
created mass program and pamphlet.
We must also
recognize the contributions made to the luncheon
feast which made it special and added a Cracotan
touch. These included: Ean Camperlengo-Bancroft’s
lamb and spaghetti with clams, Rosa
Francavilla’s cartellate & secchi peperoni,
Maria DeCesare’s cakes, Sal Francavilla’s
limoncello, and Ted Muzio’s music. Our
sincerest thanks to all who helped make this
such a memorable event.
Click
here to view
A Year in Craco. Events in Craco for
every month are listed. Thank you to Joe Rinaldi
in Canada for his contribution to this page.
