Ciao, this is Giuseppe (or as I’m known in America, Joe) jumping in for a post!

On Monday (7/1) we rented 2 large vans and traversed the Northern Italian countryside, all 15 of us. Our destination: the two towns in the subject which were the hometowns of my Nonna (grandmother) and Nonno (grandfather) respectively . They’re just across the river from each other about an hour Northwest of Milan.

Our first stop was the cemetery in Romagnano where my Nonno’s parents and sister are buried. It also happened to be the 20th anniversary of the day my Nonno died, so a bit emotional but super cool to be there on that day. We then drove through town (it’s very small) trying to find the place where my Nonno lived – I’m not sure we saw it. Then across the river to Gattinara we went to meet up with my mom’s old family friend (and daughter of my Nonna’s friend), Maria Paola who would be our tour guide for the day.

I visited these towns in 1993 with my family and as my mom and Maria Paola sat conversing in Italian in her house, my brother and I grew very bored. Eventually my mom looked at Maria Paola and asked simply “Do ya have a ball?” It’s become one of the most quoted lines in my family history. My mom knew her teenage boys just needed a ball to keep them occupied. So this time, our boys planned accordingly and did bring a ball which all the kids played catch with in her spacious yard, it was perfect!

Maria Paola led us on a walking tour of the old part of town including the street where my Nonna lived. The town is growing, making an effort to become more of a tourist destination- it’s know in Italy as a place that makes great vino rosso (red wine, duh). The walking tour ended just in time as we stopped for lunch and it started pouring. After a tasty lunch we drove up the hill where there is an old tower and an amazing view of the region.

Overall, it was a great day. Very cool to share 31 years later with my wife and kids, showing them where some of their ancestors came from.