I decided I wanted to visit the little town where my maternal grandparents came from. I knew a little and had some nearly 100 year old documents.
on Maryann’s family
I was having difficulty trying to trace anything and I came upon Italianside.com. This site is chock full of information and I sent them an inquiry.
Shortly thereafter they told me they could arrange for research and day in the town. Italianside.com was simply spectacular.
With short notice, the genealogist did the research in the little town of Monteleone di Puglia.
When I arrived in Italy, I was staying in Naples and a car picked me up early in the morning with a driver of course and the genealogist.
He handed me a huge packet and kept up the suspense by telling me not to look at anything until he told me.
He had done an extensive family tree, provided me with information about the area and located family members. I could not believe it.
When we arrived in Monteleone di Puglia, we went to the Municipal Records office where my cousin was in charge and I got to see my grandmother’s and grandfather’s birth certificates as well as marriage documents among other things.
| From there we met another cousin who filled us in on more information and she was with another person who turned out to be a cousin as well. And while in the town square, another cousin drove by; he was so excited he called all his children and later in the date gave me a beautiful basket of delicacies from the region. We visited the cemetery where I found out who my great grandfather was. I actually had a photo of him but didn’t know who the man was. I saw the house my grandmother grew up in, the street where my grandfather lived, the house that my grandmother turned over to her family and saw this beautiful, pristine mountain town. |
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We ate lunch in an Agriturismo location where fresh grown food is served which was great, but they also had me kneading dough and making the pasta.
I was with a friend who loved it as much as I did and plans on working with Italianside.com.
Shortly after I returned home, I was sent an extensive updated family tree, videos, photos, important documents, and annotations about my family.
The value of this experience is priceless.
Italianside.com is the real deal.
If you want a once in a lifetime experience to find out where you came from, find relatives, visit a town, learn about your history, and more I highly recommend the professional and thoughtful services of ItalianSide.com.
Bravo ItalianSide!
Maryann Palumbo
This sounds like just what my sister and I are looking for! Maryann – how long was your trip to your ancestor’s hometown?
Nancy sorry for the previous mail as I was saying I was born ,raised in Bovino. There are several
Magnatta. We’re do you live I live in nj
What a wonderful adventure. You inspire me to do the same and give this amazing gift of our family tree to my children
How wonderful. I got tearry eyed just reading your lovely story. My grandparents were from Puglio, foggio, Bovino. Does the site say what the cost is for this beautiful service?