Every once in
awhile a story comes along that is so good, it
must be shared, and this is certainly one of
them. On April 16th, the following message was
posted to our message board:
Hi. I just learned about your organization and
visited your website. The whole idea of a
'Craco Society' is fantastic. I couldn't help
but become choked up when I took your guided
tour and found family names among your
documents. Thank you for helping to connect me
with my past!
I am a descendant of Prospero Tuzio who came to
the US from Craco and settled in Brooklyn, NY.
He and his wife had 3 children: Rose, Dominick,
and Frank (my father). Over the past year, I
embarked on a mission to find my relatives in
Italy, and recently made plans to travel to
Craco and to Peschiera.
I'm leaving in 5 days, but I am still totally
lost as to the best way to get there!!
At this point, I plan to travel by train to
Metaponto and to stay in the Nuovo San Teodoro
agritourismo in Matera - it was the closest
place I could find, yet it is still about 30
miles away. I suspect I will have to hire a car
to get from there to Craco - is that the case?
ANY suggestions for getting there would be very
much appreciated.
Thank you - both for your help and for forming
such a phenomenal organization! You'll be
receiving my membership application shortly. :)
Sincerely,
Helen Tuzio
NYC
We
contacted Anna Lucia Nuzzo, the town historian
in Craco, and less than one week later Anna
Lucia had found
all of Helen Tuzio's relatives. As it turns
out, Helen's father and Rosa Francavilla's
father are first cousins!! Anna notified Rosa's
brother Riccardo, who still lives in Craco,
about Helen's visit. Riccardo immediately
contacted San Teodoro and left a message that he
would pick up his "cousin" the very next morning
and drive her to Craco to meet the rest of her
family. If there's any question about how
connected we remain, no matter where live, this
wonderful story leaves absolutely no doubt.
As part of
the Craco Society's inaugural trip to Craco next
month, Father Franco
Laviola
has graciously agreed to say a special Mass for
us in the Madonna Della Stella chapel, located
on the outskirts of Craco Vecchio. This
Church was founded by Leonardo Antonio Lanziano
(or Cantiano) and Giulia Barberio and was built
in the first half of the 1700s.The
site of the chapel is the location where the
statue of the Virgin and Child was miraculously
discovered in a body of water by a shepherd. The
statue of the Virgin is still housed there,
although the original infant was stolen and
replaced.
It was restored in 1904 and 1951 with the aid of
funds from Cracotans living in America. A
portion of the fees collected from those
attending Society sponsored events during our
visit will be used to make a donation to the
Church. If you would like
to make a personal gift, perhaps in memory
ancestors, it can be presented along with the
other contributions. Donations can be sent to
the Society and they will be carried to Craco
for presentation at this event. The Society
will send an acknowledgement of your gift for
your tax records.
To view a
close-up image of the Madonna Della Stella statue,
move the
cursor over the above image.
So, if your are
still looking for a reason to join the June trip
consider this – The List Universe, a website
with a unbelievable assembly of lists includes
one that contains the “10 Most Interesting
Abandoned Places.” The list contains a
tabulation of ghost towns around the world that
have an appeal and interest and topping the list
was…you guessed it: CRACO! You can see the list
by clicking on the link below. But why not take
the opportunity to join the group for the trip
and see “Numero Uno” in person!
Added to this recent surge of news and interest
in Craco, perhaps stemming from the Italian
National Geographic article or RAI television
show, are two articles about the “last
inhabitant” of the old town appeared that
appeared in the past month.
You can view the original article from La Gazzetta Del
Mezzogiorno (in Italian) by clicking on the logo
below.
To view the article from La Stampa.it,
click on the logo below.
When you first
signed
onto our "Welcome" page, you may have noticed a new addition to the tool
bar in the left hand margin. Located between the buttons for our main
pages and the link to Alta Vista (for the Italian translation of the website),
is our newest feature, a search engine. As our site continues to grow, it
was suggested that a method of quickly locating information contained in our
website might be beneficial. We couldn't agree more, and thanks to the
good folks at
freefind.com,
we can now provide this useful service to our
members and visitors alike. You can give it a
try below!
First weekend in May will celebrate San Nicola and Madonna
della Stella, starting with a processione for San Nicola on
the Saturday.
On Sunday, the entire day is dedicated to celebrating
Madonna della Stella, starting with a mass in the morning
followed by a procession throughout the town.
To receive special favours from the Madonna, people will
decorate a cirio (wooden frame structure) with
candles, the cirio will be carried by the devotee
along with the procession until the procession reaches their
home. A small alter will be prepared at the house, prayers
will be said – and this will complete the act of devotion.
In the afternoon, everyone gathers by the Madonna della
Stella church for potato sac races, horse races, and bicycle
races. In the evening, people gather and eat fave, lupini,
and ceci. In the late 50s and 60s some amusement park rides
were added for kids. The day’s festivities always end with
a display of fireworks.
For all Festas, a committee will be formed consisting of
5-10 people and overseen by the priest. Their role is to
raise funds and organize the entire festa.
Throughout the month of May there will be daily visits to
the church of the Madonna della Stella to celebrate mass or
to say the rosary.
May is also a busy month in the fields: all of the fave and
ceci will be picked and left in a large pile to dry.
The people will also start preparing for the arrival of
hired farm hands that will come from as far away as Lecce to
assist with the grain harvest.
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.
