By
almost any measure, the 2nd
Annual Cracheshi del Nord
America Reunion was an
overwhelming success. With 119
individuals participating in
events over the three days from
August 15-17 the turnout alone,
more than doubling the initial
meeting held last year, would be
an outstanding achievement but
even more awe-inspiring events
developed over the weekend.
An
enormous and highly energized
turnout of 91 people for the
opening dinner at Forlini’s
Restaurant set the tone for the
weekend. Although 80
people originally registered to
attend the dinner there was no
stopping the Crachesi as they
kept coming to join their
“paesani” for this festive
event. A celebration of our
ancestry of these proportions
has not been seen in
New York since the early part of
the last century and repeated
stories of long lost family
members finding each other
emerged throughout the night.
Over the course of the evening
not only were many old
relationships found but even
more new ones were developed.
The following day opened with a
tour of the
Lower East Side Tenement Museum
giving attendees a “hands on”
experience of the life that
early immigrants faced. That
was followed by a grand luncheon
at Il Cortile Restaurant on
Mulberry Street, the heart of
the old neighborhood that the
Cracotan immigrants inhabited.
The incredible meal was followed
by two educational presentations
about immigrant life and the
research resources available
through the Society. Then a
member-driven session provided
recommendations for the future
direction of the organization.
In
a kind and heartwarming gesture,
Camille & Vincent Niceforo
presented a gift to the Society
of the statue of San Vincenzo
that had been in their family
since the dissolution of the San
Vincenzo Society of
New York in the 1940’s.
This group held an annual feast
for San Vincenzo, as was done in
Craco, and maintained a large processional statue that was carried through the streets of Lower New York. When the group dissolved, Frank
Paul Collabella,
Camille’s father had a
half-sized copy of the large
statue made for his home as a
way to express his deep devotion
to San Vincenzo. It then passed
to Camille and Vincent until
they guided San Vincenzo to
again join the Cracotans
assembled in New York.
Later that evening the group saw
a screening of a preliminary
version of “The Craco Society
Project,” the documentary being
developed by Antonello Faretta
and Noletan Film Studios.
Afterwards a tasting of
Basilicata food specialties was
sampled at Max Restaurant.
Sunday morning opened with a
breakfast at the historic 116
year old
Ferrara’s Café which served
coffee and pastries to our
ancestors. Joining the
gathering was Tom Frascella &
Frank Bruno the president and
treasurer of the San Felese
Society of New Jersey, an
organization sharing similar
goals.
Then at noon the group
participated in a special Mass
for San Rocco at St. Joseph
Church on Monroe Street. Before
the Mass many were able to see
the San Vincenzo statue and
relic that is housed there.
After the Mass the hand of
Providence came into play. An
individual sought us out after
hearing the Society was
attending the Mass to share a
photo of the San Vincenzo
Society Meeting of New York from
1938! While we were
examining this amazing item, the
San Felese group made an
unexpected discovery. They
had been wondering what had
become to the New York City copy
of the Madonna Di Pierno statue,
the San Fele patron. A
statue they located in St.
Joseph’s Church, called the
Madonna of the Stars is what
they believe to be the first and
original copy of their patron,
which although slightly altered,
is otherwise the same as the
1,000 year old original in San
Fele!
Considering the connections that
were made between long lost
relationships and the appearance
of long lost traditional and
cultural relics it was a weekend
of grand miracles!!
To view more photographs from
the
second
Annual Cracheshi del Nord
America Reunion,
click
The 1830
Catasti Onciari, a census type document that
was presented to the Society by the town of
Craco, was indexed and identifies 705 names
of individuals that owned property in
Craco. This additional resource for
genealogical and family history research now
has an alphabetical list of names of the
individuals listed in the original book. A
copy of the list, in PDF format, can
be viewed by clicking
here.
A link
can also be found on the "Genealogy"
page. Copies of the page containing
information on any individual listed in it
can be ordered by contacting
memberservices@thecracosociety.org
In an effort to reach out to our young adult members, we have established a
Craco Society group on facebook. This internet resource allows our younger
members to meet and communicate with each other. You can drop in and see
what our young cousins are up to by clicking
here
or on the logo above. A link has also been
added to our home page.
Elexa Camperlengo's striking
panorama of Craco Vecchio.
During the Craco Society's
Inaugural trip to Craco, June 14- 21, 2008, our
enthusiastic members took literally thousands of
photos! This month we proudly feature the
photographs of Elexa Camperlengo. Elexa utilized
Kodak Gallery software to make her photos
available on-line. You can link directly
to her gallery by clicking
Any new member joining
the Society from August 2008 through December 31,
2008 and paying the full annual membership dues will
be immediately enrolled as a Society member through
December 31, 2009. Members who were enrolled
through full participation in the August Reunion
will also acquire this same status. In essence, by
enrolling immediately a new member will be getting
over 15 months of status for the annual dues rate.
You can download an application by clicking
here
.
To comply with
European Union and Italian regulations all
requests for vital records made to the Comune di
Craco need to be submitted via postal mail or by
fax. Once the requests are received they will
be officiated with a date stamp and processed
according to their existing policy. Requests
should not be channeled through The Craco
Society.
Regulations
require a charge for each name that is located
through their search. Currently the charge is
€0.52 per name (for example, if 10 ancestor
names are searched, the cost will be €5.20 to
the requester).
To submit a
request you must provide the name and
approximate dates for births and death
searches. For marriage searches you should also
provide the maiden name if available. The
result of the search will be sent to you via
return mail and will include photocopies of the
actual records if any are found, and an invoice
for the searches. Payment for the search should
be made in Euros via international money order
sent to the address below.
Here is the postal
address for future requests and for payments:
a.c. della Signora
Angela LoPorchio
Responsabile
dell'Archivio
Comune di Craco
Via Monsignor
Mastronardi, 2
75010 CRACO
MATERA
ITALIA
Telephone:
+39-0835-459-005
Fax:
+39-0835-459-243
Telephone inquiries can be made between the
hours of 8 AM and 2 PM Central European
Time
(2 AM to 8 AM
EST ).
Events this Month in Craco:
Settembre
•
Madonna del Monserrato
•
Prepare fields for planting
Burn the hay in the fields; start to prepare the soil for next
year’s crops.
The third Sunday in September everyone will celebrate the “Madonna
del Monserrato” in the usual manner with a mass, procession,
marching band, and fireworks!
Very
few people have vineyards – if they do, wine will be made in September.
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.
