FIL

FIL
A Quarterly for Tyrolean Americans
A Quarterly for Tyrolean Americans
Winter 2011/2012
Winter 2011/2012


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In some way, some how, through parents or grandparents, we share common roots
with a wonderful people from an enchanted part of the world. While we are not
immigrants, we are descendants and heirs of an extraordinary culture. While we
remain and revel in being Americans, you are being addressed as Tyrolean
Americans without a hyphen or division. Our roots and our ancestry do not
separate us but enriches our very American identity. Who we are is who we
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With this understanding, you are being contacted to join us as we explore, re-
discover and enrich our understanding of the Trentino---its history, its people, its
culture, its cuisine, music, art, its spirituality, its extraordinary mountains,
valleys anGODNHVDQGWKHH[SHULHQFHVRIRXULPPLJUDQWUHODWLYHVThe plan is to
send you the Fil on a quarterly basis for you to enjoy and for you to promote to
others that we will be missing in our data bases. Fil has a special significance
since it was the nightly gathering of the villagers in their stables to tell stories and
HQMR\HDFKRWKHUVFRPSDQ\+HQFHWKLVFil will attempt to do that very thing in
DYLUWXDOZD\JDWKHUWKH$PHULFDQ7UHQWLQRIDPLO\WRVKDUHDQGHQMR\RXU
FRPSOHWHLGHQWLW\

I wish you WKHEHVWDQGDFLDR

Lou

The Fil is to be published and distributed on a quarterly basis and is targeted to the children of
our immigrant parents. The Fil (pronounced fee-lo) was the daily gathering in the stables of
the Trentino where the villagers met and socialized. (See page 7 for a description of this
ancient custom)The intent is to provide a summary of our culture, history, and customs in plain
English to inform and provide you with the background of your roots and ancestry. You are
urged to participate by submitting questions, provide articles, and relate experiences to be
shared with our readership. If you wish to contact us, call Lou Brunelli at 914-402-5248.
Attention: Your help is needed to expand our outreach to fellow Tyrolean Americans. Help us
identify them, be they your children, relatives or acquaitances. Go to filo.tiroles.com and
register on line to receive the magazine free of charge. You may also send your data to Filo`
Magazine, PO Box 90, Crompond, NY 10517 or fax them to 914-734-9644 submit them by
email to filo.tiroles@att.net.
3
:KHUHDUHZH
The Trentino-Aldo Adige is an area that was considered part of the
7\UROSouthern Tyrol or to the Germans Weschtirol. It was annexed to Italy less
than 100 years ago after World War I. It had been part of the Austrian Hungarian
Empire and prior to that it was for 800 years feudal states of the Bishops of Trent
and Bolzano.. To the South, there is the magnificent Lake of Garda and mountains
to the East and West. The region is bordered by Tyrol (Austria) to the north, by
Graubnden (Switzerland) to the north-west and by the Italian regions of
Lombardy and Veneto to the west and south, respectively. It covers 13,607 km
(5,253 sq mi). It is extremely mountainous, covering a major part of the Dolomites and the Southern Alps.
While we will return in future editions to exploration of
spectacular beauty of the Trentino geography, there is a special
and distinquishable difference regarding the mountains of the
Trentino. In 2009, UNESCO declared the Dolomites as a
World Heritage Site panel praising the Alpine range as ''one of
the most beautiful mountain landscapes anywhere.'' This
spectacular designation and its affirmation indicated that they
are among the most attractive mountain landscapes in the
world. Their intrinsic beauty derives from a variety of
spectacular vertical forms such as pinnacles, spires and towers,
with contrasting horizontal surfaces including ledges, crags and
plateaus, all of which rise abruptly above extensive talus
deposits and more gentle foothills. A great diversity of colors is
provided by the contrasts between the bare pale-colored rock
surfaces and the forests and meadows below. The mountains rise
as peaks with intervening ravines, in some places standing isolated
but in others forming sweeping panoramas. Some of the rock
cliffs here rise more than 3000 m and are among the highest
limestone walls found anywhere in the world. The distinctive
scenery of the Dolomites has become the archetype of a
GRORPLWLFODQGVFDSH*HRORJLVWSLRQHHUVZHUHWKHILUVWWREH
captured by the beauty of the mountains, and their writing and
subsequent painting and photography further underline the
esthetic appeal of the property.


4
Our Origins
When the glaciers receded and the Trentino geography was established, this very geography established our
history. The effect of the glaciers left in the Trentino inviting passages, corridors, portals that invited more and
more people to come, gather and stay.1he Val D`Adige ,the alley o the Adige Rier, is one such alley or
corridor flanked by mountains that was a natural passageway to and through the Trentino either from the
Southern plains or the Brenner pass, the lowest of the Alpine passes that served as a portal for the north. The
Valsugana and the Lake of Garda were yet other convenient and inviting entrances for peoples who came or
passed through or stayed. The first inhabitants came up along the rivers from the south from Vallagarina and the
Lake of Garda and the southeast from the Val Sugana and the Brenta River. These people
were the Veneto-Illyric, the Ligurians, the Gauls and the Iberians. All these groups
belonged to the great family of Indo-Europeans which form the largest family of languages
in the world comprising most of the languages in India and South West of Asia. The
principal sub families are the Indo-Iranian, Armenian, Albanian, Balto-Slavic, Thracian,
Phrigian, Ligurian, Illyrian, Messapian and Venetic. The Illyrians or the people of Illyria
were bording the East Coast of the Adriatic while the Iberians were from the
Southwestern part of Europe comprising Spain, Portugal, and
modern day Georgia. The Ligurians were members of ancient
people who inhabited northern and central Italy and the adjoining
regions. The Galli or Gauls were yet another ancient people south
west of the Rhine River, west of the Alps and north of the
Pyrannees i.e. modern day France and northern Italy, Cisalpine Gauls. All these
populations, except or the Cimbri, ormed a melting pot called the Rhaetics.1his
nomenclature became our very first true identity so that the Trentino region was called
Raetia in the third century. The first settlers, the Ligurians and the Iberians, lived on piles
above Alpine lakes as did the lake dwellers of the Bronze Age (2000-1200 BC). These early
settlers left behind many remnants, including large canoes carved from blocks of pine;
pieces in stone, horns, bones, wood and granules of amber; pins, axes, and daggers. These
objects give us some idea of their burial rites, customs and agricultural practices. The
Gauls-Cenomani from the Valsugana took possession of the Doss Trento and together
with other people formed the nucleus of Trento on the left back of the river Adige.
The archeological history of the Trentino region gives us an idea of the physical, social and cultural development
of these people as well as their geographic distribution, customs beliefs and folkways.

At the beginning of the first century BC, the Cimbri poured down from the north of
central Europe through the Brenner Pass. They were defeated by the Romans but
stayed and integrated further with our origins. It should be noted that we have a
remnant of the oldest mummies in Europe and the best preserved mummies in the
world. \ould you beliee it.he was un de nossi.one o ours.an ancient 1rentino
found in the Ortzal Alps and now resting in the museum in Bolzano. He lived 5000
years ago. He was found in a glacier and his clothes and artifacts are providing yet
further clues of our origins. They call him Otzi since in was found in the Trentino
Alps of Otzal.

It should be noted that our real history has given us an identity of being Middle
Europeans rather than Mediterranean since we have more commonalties with the
mountain people of Bavaria and the Austrian Tyrol. We will continue exploring our
origins in future editions.
Paleofitti of Fiav
Bronze receptacle 4-5 BC
Otzi
5

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Just above Trento (17 km north of Trento), there is a
village named San Michele all`Adige. It happens to be the
place where Pinot Grigio Santa Margarita originates, one
of the most popular wines in the USA. San Michele has
the Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina, the
Museum of the Customs and Costumes of the Trentino
People. It is a museum that has a history and is full of
history, the history of our people. The building that
houses this wonderful museum was once one of the many
fortresses and palaces of the Counts of the Tyrol. The Trentino was the
Tyrol both under the feudal bishoprics of Trento and Bressanone as well as
under the Austrian Hungarian Empire and there were these Counts that
served as the military arm of the bishoprics and protectors of their individual
areas. 1he museum`s building became an Augustinian monastery and then
the site of the remnants and artifacts of our ancestors, covering every aspect
of the traditional culture of Trentino: agriculture, arts and crafts, folklore.
The Museum was ounded in 1968 by Giuseppe Bepo` Sebesta,
ethnographer, essayist, personality eclectic, considered father of the modern
museography. The Museum at Santo
Michele is the greatest regional Italian
museum of folk traditions. The museum is
the ideal place to discover memories and
traditions of the valleys of Trentino. In its
many rooms, there are displayed so many of the objects that created and
enhanced the culture and life style of the area. There are the agricultural
objects and practices, tools in all its shapes and styles, the use of animals.
The use of the mulino, the water mill that powered the grain mills, the
blacksmith, iron foundry. The kitchen with its artifacts and products. The
production of the cheeses, grappa, bread, the cultivation of bees, vines and
so many of the food stuffs that our emigrants remembered and attempted
to replicate as they settled in the states. There are displays of the Fil, the
wardrobes of the men and women, their religious practices, dialect and
music.

The Museo will become a collaborator in subsequent issues of the Fil and will attempt to explain and
illustrate the customs and activities of our people. covers every aspect of the traditional culture of Trentino:
agriculture, arts and crafts, folklore. The website of the Museum is www.museosanmichele.it.

6
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A common, popular and even daily activity
in the villages of the Trentino was the Fil.
It is pronounced fee l with the accent on
the last syllable. The expression far
ILOROLWHUDOO\PHDQWOHWV do Filo` or let us
gather. The Filo` was a daily gathering of
the villagers after their evening supper in
the stables that were situated in their very
homes. The stables being in their interior of
the houses were insulated and further
warmed by the body heat of their all
important cattle that not only provided
them with dairy products but served to
draw their carts and till their fields. It was a
welcomed conclusion of the day. The adults
engaged in their ciacerar, the chatter about
the activities of the villages and their
struggles as they pursued their farming to survive. Stories would be told. Often there would be a designated story
teller who entertained the children as well as the adults with wonderful and engaging yarns. The stories relayed
history, memories, as well as the morals and the expectations of the village community. There were poems and
sayings that expressed their sagezza and peasant wisdom. Songs would be sung. The songs were of the mountains,
the young lovers, the wars, and their struggle. They sang often with the formula oI'XH7UHQWLQL8QRFRUR7ZR
Trentini, one choir. The women knitted, shucked corn and multi-tasked their chores while enjoying the company.
7KHFKLOGUHQSOD\HGDQGWKHPHQZRXOGSOD\FDUGVRUPRUDDJDPHZLWKDJUHDWGHDORIJHVWLFXODWLQJ)LQDOO\WKH
Fil would conclude with the corona, the rosary in which they remembered their dead, their sick, and their
relatives traveling through Europe working or emigrants to far off lands. There was a commonality in that all had
the same limited means and the Fil was an engine of socialization.

Representation of a Filo-Bruno Faganello Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina

7
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When the migrations from the Tyrol ensued, the clergy, the bishops,
Don Guetti all expressed their disapproval and concern fearing that
our relaties would lose` their aith by irtue o their remoal rom
their traditions and their interactions with Protestants of the new
lands. 1he clergy always eared that the 1rentino`s geographical and
cultural interaction with the Protestant to the north of their borders
would be a threat to their religiosity. They could not have been more
wrong. While destiny took them out of their villages and lands, their
spirituality and attachment to their religious traditions remained and
even flourished. When they came to our country, this religious
cultural was distinguishably different and distinct from that of the majority Southern Italians. What were the
substance and the distinctiveness of this faith tradition? The Filo hopes to explore and detail the elements of their
religious cultural traditions that so nurtured our people. For now, let us take stock of some of the elements that
contributed to their religious culture.

The Sud Tirol, the Trentino Alto Adige was a iedom.eudal lands under the
governance of the Bishops of Trento and Bressanone.or 800 years. It was
called the Principato of Trento. Religious culture was the very heart and soul of
these domains. But unlike the Papal States where the Pope was a temporal
leader, governor, tax collector, war lord, the Bishops had a distance from these
matters through aocati` or the Counts of the Tyrol that took care of these
temporal matters. While so much of the rest of the Italian peninsula had for
centuries been absorbed by the politics of the state and the church, the Trentino
had a comfortable distance from these internecine struggles. The Trentino was
extremely loyal to the church without the Papal politics that engrossed the
peninsula and prompted the Reformation. Hence, it was understandable that the
great Charles Borromeo, the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, the promoter of the Ecumenical Council, came to the
Trentino and shrewdly selected Trento as the location for the Council in 1565. It was an acknowledgement of
1rentino`s centrality.not just geographically but its neutrality that provided a safe haven for both the
Mediterranean and Catholic` south and the Protestant north.

Religious orders flocked to the Trentino to situate their seminaries and convents since it was one of the most
fertile areas for vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. In my very own family, I can boast of one aunt
and 6 cousins who became nuns. Religious living and the priesthood were held in high esteem and its missionaries
went throughout the world to the very court of Kublai Khan (Father Martini) and explored our Southwest (Fr
Eusebio Chini). In the 1800`s, Rosmini, a religious philospher and theologian became the conidant and the
consultant to the popes. At the time of the migration from the Trentino and times of great hardships, a priest,
Don Guetti did some spectacular things with farming cooperatives to assist the struggling communities. When
Fascism and the Italian nation collapsed after World War II, it was Alcide De Gasperi, a profoundly religious man,
from the Valsugana, that literally created the modern Italian democracy. He would often say that he was lent to
Italy. Finally, our very own boast, our fellow Trentino, Cardinal Bernardin who rose to not only lead the
Archdioceses of Chicago, headed the National Council of Bishops but
became the most distinguished clergyman that the Church produced in
the United States church history.

We will explore in future editions the customs, practices and mentality
o this land.and people o aith rom its liturgies, processions,
shrines, village feasts, its communal prayer, and their world view.
Council of Trent
Way Side Show-Capitello
Duomo of Trento
8
Our dialecWQRVGLDOHW
The dialects of modern Italian all have their roots in the spoken form of
Latin (Vulgar Latin), in use throughout the Roman Empire. Vulgar Latin
had, no doubt, its own local peculiarities before the fall of the Empire.
The political instability that followed Roman rule kept Italy from re-
uniting as a nation until the nineteenth century. This long period of
fragmentation and the fact that Classical Latin was preferred as the
international language of study allowed the various modes of speech to
develop on their own until they could almost be called separate
languages. Many dialects are, in fact, unintelligible with each other. The
separate language of the Trentino or Tyrol had the effetto montagna, the
mountain effect. The communities of the Trentino developed as
separate entities by virtue of real divisions due to the mountains, the
valleys, rivers, and even streams. The dialect of the Val Adige (Trento) is distinguishably different from that of the
Val di Non or the Valsugana or the Val delle Giudicarie. (O GLDOHWWKH GLDOHFW FDSWXUHG DQG UHIOHFWed the
traditions, mannerisms, culture, and traditions. The dialect was a distinction for a particular community, area, or
valley. The vocabulary, the enunciation, the very intonation were a distinguishing trademark, an affirmation of
WKHLU H[FHSWLRQDOLVP IURP RQH DUHD WR WKH QH[W 7KHUH ZDV WKH DIIHFWLRQDWH UHIHUHQFH WR HO QRV GLDOHWRXU
GLDOHFWZLWK WKH XQGHUVWDQGLQJ WKDW WKH QRVZDV D possessive acknowledgement of who they were and what
they were like. Take for the example, the knife grinders from the Val Rendena who actually developed an almost
separate language, el Taron, which was a spin off from the dialet but a mechanism of separation and protection as
they traveled far a field DV IDr as Russia. to earn their living. Our Tyrolean relatives in our country relied and
maintained their distinguishing dialect WR OLWHUDOO\ VHSDUDWH WKHPVHOYHV IURP WKH LWDOLDQVNHSW DSDUW HYHQ
physically staying in colonies and types of work.

It is a challenge to present to our readers the dialect. Many of our readers do not speak or understand the dialect
and many might not have pursued language education. There will be an attempt to present the background and
history and styles of the distinctive dialects in the various valleys of the Trentino. But both for the interested and
the curious, there will be presented some grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. In doing so, the hope will be to do a
little a bit of teaching or simply to have our readers possibly connect to the memories of the sounds and phrases
that they might have heard in their homes or gatherings. In Trentino dialect, it's common to say, 'sa fente, nente
o stente? (cosa faciamo, andiamo da qualche parte o stiamo qui?) Translated, it means What should we do,
stay or go. Hence... a bit of grammar. Here is the present tense of the verb to beLQGLDOHFW (red), italian (blue),
and in the dialect LQWHUURJDWLYHPRGH

Mi son Io sono Mi sonte?
Ti te sei Tu sei Ti set?
Lu l` Egli Lu lo?
Noi sem Noi siamo Noi sente?
Voi s Voi siete Voi s?
Lori i Essi sono Lori i?

Some of our words....

Oci occhi eyes
Rece orechie ears
Nas naso nose
Cavei cavelli hair
Col collo neck
Ociai occhiali eye glasses
Capel capello hat Figure 2
Figure 1
9
A Foremost Tyrolean
If you want to beam with pride and joy, go to the rotunda of the US Capitol where you
will find the statues of theIRXQGHUVof individual states. Although Columbus discovered
this New World, you will not find an ,WDOLDQQDPH other than one that has a seemingly
,WDOLDQQDPH)DWKHU(XVHELR)UDQFLVFR&KLQRHe is.un de nossLRQHRIRXUVQRW
only ours but the very first Tyrolean American in our country who identified himself as
from the Tyrol. 5HDGLQJ WKH EDVH RI WKH VWDWXHLW GHFODUHV Founder of Arizona,
Agronomist, Explorer, and Cartographer His gigantic accomplishments matched and
probably exceeded those of Coronado, De Soto, Marquette, Junipero Serra, and others.
Volumes have been written about our fellow Tyrolean and it is difficult to affirm in
which field he was greater, as a missionary, an explorer, an agronomist, a diarist, a farmer,
a cartographer, a cattle raiser, a Native $PHULFDQFKDPSLRQRUDPDQRI*RG+HUHDUH
some sketchy introductory details regarding Father Chino in the expectation that we can
return in future issues to delineate him further.
Eusebio Kino was born in Segno, today frazione of Taio, a
village in the Val di Non in the Bishopric of Trent, which
after his death became the Austrian Hungarian Empire and in
1919 present-day Italy.The Trentino for 800 years had no nationality but resided in
these feudal states or provinces ruled by Bishops. He was born on Aug. 10, 1645. He
was educated in Innsbruck where distinguished himself in the study of mathematics,
cartography, and astronomy. From 1664 to 1669 he received his religious training at
Freiburg, Ingolstadt, and Landsberg, Bavaria and was ordained a Jesuit priest on June
12, 1677, at Eistady, Austria. Although he wanted to go to the Orient, he was ordered
to establish missions on the Baja California peninsula and Northern Mexican Sonora
and Southern U.S. Arizona). Kino arrived in Mexico City in the spring of
1681. He became famous in what is now northwestern Mexico and the
southwestern United States (primarily northern Sonora and southern
Arizona) in the region then known as the Pimaria Alta. He is known for
his exploration of the region and for his work to Christianize the
indigenous Native American population, Kino was a doer and the history
of his accomplishments staggers the inquiring mind. . During his 24 years
in Pimeria Alta, he traveled over 50,000 square miles to reach, to baptize
and to civilize the Indians helping to create a civilization. He founded 24
missions and established 19 rancherias. Cattle ranching and the
introduction of European cereals and fruits
owe Fr Chino their beginnings. He was well loved by the Indians He was their
spiritual director, their defender against the assaults of the Apaches and the
exploitation of the Conquistadores opposing Indian enslavement in the silver mines
of northern Mexico. His maps of the South West made him famous throughout
Europe. He is also said to have explored the sources of the Rio Grande, the
Colorado and Gila rivers. His explorations of the area around the mouth of the
Colorado River in 1701 convinced him that Baja California was a peninsula, not an
island. His 1705 map was the standard reference for the southwestern desert region
for more than a century. Kino was a prodigious letter writer; many of these letters,
relating his achievements and trials, have been preserved and published. He was also
the author of an autobiographic work, Favores celestiales. A movie was made about
Farther Chino or Kino starring Richard Pryor. One obtains it through Netflix. Fr
Chino is our pride, boast, and common Tyrolean American possession.
Statue in US Capitol
10
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1rentini are oten reerred to as polentoni`.more aectionately than derisiely. It is the ood that is the ery
symbol of the area. It is also one of the oldest foods eaten in Italy, dating back at least to 990 BCE. In its original
form, polenta-known to the ancient Romans as pulmentum-was a porridge made from spelt. In later ages other
grains such as barley and millet as well as pulses and even chestnuts were used to make various kinds of gruels
eaten generally by the poor. It is said to have originally been an Etruscan dish, which
the Romans adopted and spread throughout the Empire. It has a glorious history
helping Rome conquered its vast empire? Well, there are traditions that relate that the
Roman soldier was given each day a ration of grains called puls in which he made in
his very helmet a pulmentum. O course, it was not a corn or maize pulmentum.or
polenta since corn had not as yet arrived from the Americas. But indeed, polenta can
be said to have a glorious past. But did you know that it touched our very own
American history? George Washington, the Father of our Nation, the symbol of our
nation, got to savor his very first ethnic meal at Monticello at the hands of Thomas
Jefferson. George was served the one and only polenta that Jefferson had learned from
his mistress Maria (she was not a Trentina) when he served as the ambassador to France. Wow!
Let`s make polenta.It is easy to make but requires patience and care.
Ingredients: all you need is corn meal, salt and water. The corn meal
should be coarse or stone grown. If necessary, get to a health food
store to get the real things and not the flour like degerminated type in
so many of our supermarkets
Tools: Looking at the illustration, you will need a large
pot.preerably a copper pot ,transers the heat better,, a wisk, and a
large spoon or a polenta stick called a cana della polenta or a trisa.
You will also see the optional tabiel where the polenta is placed on completion.
Process: low much water Cannot say.I hae neer seen 1rentini measure the water or the corn meal. 1hey
filled the pot with water just below the brim and brought the water to a boil, added salt
and added the corn meal alla pioggia.like a rainall whisking all the time to avoid
lumps. The amount of corn meal is what needs the care..too little and it is soopy too
much and it hard to handle and hard to the taste. Once integrated, then you start the
turning with the trisa or the wooden spoon. Lower the heat just a bit and turn from
time to time. Many Trentini will insist that it takes 90 minutes. My mom would tell me
to cook it long enough so that it begins to detach itself from the parol.pot..so much
that when the polenta is ejected, the crosta..the crust comes out almost as a
shell (delicious to nibble on..truly corn chips!)

Whereas a pasta or a minestra are considered primi piatti, first dishes, polenta
is a combination and is both first and second dish. It partners with so many
things in the Trentino cuisine. It combines with Krauti(sauerkraut), luganega,
spezzatino (stew) of beef, veal, rabbit or chicken, cotegin (pork sausage), la
peverada (sauce made with bread crumbs and the water of the cotegin. We will
explore some of these combinations in future editions.

If you have a Trentino recipe that you wish to share or a recipe that you had enjoyed and wish us to describe,
do not hesitate to send it to us by email to louis.brunelli@att.net
Polenta with a boscaiola sauce
11
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13
:LVGRP6WRULHVRXU3URYHUEV
Deeply rooted in their rural world, our Tyrolean forbearers
developed an oral tradition of wise sayings..Wisdom stories that
were distilled from individual and group experiences. They were
handed down, repeated from one generation to the next generation
as a treasury of wisdom, common sense, and moral lessons. They
had so many of the features of the styles and modes of the oral
traditions of the Sacred Scriptures and in many ways these sayings
were a bible, a Tyrolean scripture of a sort. They were exchanged in
ordinary conversation, at the dinner table, exchanged with
SDVVHUE\V, repeated at the fontana, the village fountain , laundry and
gathering place, in the piazza, in the daily encounters and gatherings
in the villages. They were instilled in the young at the Fil. Brief,
often quite witty, wisdom stories that had a distinctive style of one
or two memorized sentences that always concluded with a sardonic
counterpoint that not only summed up the lesson but made clear the
moral of that lesson. They are the expressions of a popular culture which had coined them for a specific
communicative purpose. The proverb was an admonition handed down over the generations to the ingenuous
young from their forbearers. Some were simply common sense with a universal message. Dancing without a
woman is like eating polenta without salt. These proverbs served as a mental repertoire, a wisdom data base, a
treasury for these rural people of the mountains and valleys. It acted as a conclusion to a conversation or simply
as a way to elicit smiles and laughter in ways quite specific to their culture and traditions. There was an
improvisational skill to elicit or match the occasion and the moment to a particular proverb. They elicit a picture
or an image of the lives of our forbearers a hundred years ago that reflect their struggles and concerns for survival
and right living. Our immigrants brought these sayings to the coal fields of Pennsylvania and Colorado, the docks
of New York and the factories of Syracuse. They found their way to the dinner tables and parlors of their peasant.
They punctuated conversations with the ancestral wisdom, lessons and charm.

The Fil will bring to its readers these proverbs about a variety of topics. They will be presented first in the dialect
(red), then in Italian (blue) and finally in English as best as they can
be translated.

Women and Men
I omeni I fa la roba, le done le la mantegn
Gli uomini accumulano la sostanza, le donne lo conservano
Men accumulate things, women look after them

A balar senz HQJURPELDOOHCFRPHPDJQDUSolenta senza sal!
Ballare senza una donna come mangiare polenta senza sale
Dancing with a woman is like eating polenta without salt.

Animals
Asen ben vesti` no `le sconde le rece.
Asino ben vestito non nasconde gli orrechi
A well-dressed donkey cannot hide his ears.

Dal cantar se conos l`osel e l`om dal zervel
Dal canto si conosce l`uccello e l`uomo dal cervello.
The bird you know by its song, the man by his brain
Figure 5
14
Our Valleys9DOGL*LXGLFDULH(VWHULRUL
The Giudicarie are not one but a network of several valleys: Exterior, Interior, Valley
of Churches DQG WKH9DO5HQGHQD /HWV H[SORUH WKH 9DO de Giudicarie Exterior with
reference to the centerfold on the next pagH

There are several portals to this valley. Coming from the south, up from the Lake of
Garda, one passes through the Passo Ballino, passing through the village of Ballino
where the great patron of the Tyrol, Andreas Hofer, lived 7 years as a shepherd and
conceived of his peasant army, the Schutzen. Coming from Trento, one comes
through Limaro`, a deep gorge referred to as the Grand Canyon of the Trentino. One
arrives at Ponte Arche and Terme di Comano. Ponte Arche derives its history to
Roman times and the Terme are a well known Wellness Center famous for its thermal waters, hot springs of
health and wellness . Coming up from the Val D`Adige, just north of the city of Trento, one approaches the
valley from Fai della Paganella, Andalo, and Molveno and its magnificent lake, Lago di Molveno. Coming from
the North, one descends from the Passo Carlo Magno, named after Charlemagne who came through this pass and
the Passo Durone, through which armies of 50,000 soldiers passed through
led by the Condottiere, Gattamalata.

The Valley straddles the Parco Brenta Adamello, the park or a reserve that
boasts of the Brenta Dolomites and the Adamello, the highest mountain in
the Trentino. The Brenta Dolomites have the extraordinary designation of
the UNESCO World Heritage. There are several immediate accesses to the
park and the Dolomites: Val D`Algone, Molveno, and Val D`Ambiez. Each
of these accesses led by designated trails to refugi, hostels that are situated in
the magnificent Dolomites. Hovering over the valley is the Care Alto, with
its towering glacier. part of the Adamello Presanella group of glaciers. Towering over the Bleggio, is a ring of
mountain peaks referred to as Val Marcia. Those peaks provide a beautiful setback for the valley but were also the
encampments of the Austrian army. The entrenchments are still in evidence on the ridge of these mountains.

The valley has several castles: Castel Stenico, Restor, Spina and Campo. They served as
fortresses that protected the entrances of the valleys and as seats of governance for the
Castellani and the Bishop of Trento whose jurisdiction included the
entire valley. Proximate to Fiav, one finds the pre-history remains
of paleofitti, wood posts that supported lake houses dating back to
the Bronze Age of 4300 BC. Just above it, one finds the ancient and
picturesque village of Rango, designated as one of the most
beautiful villages in all of Italy. There are many
very notable art treasures throughout the valley
in their castles and churches. The church of
Santa Croce in Bleggio Superiore (right), is one
of the most important sanctuaries in the
Trentino. It has a crypt dating back to 1303 and
its interior is an example of early Renaissance
art. Several famous people originate or spent
time in the valley from Charlemagne, Cardinal
Charles Boromeo, Gattamalata,Andreas Hofer who organized a peasant army to defeat
the Napoleonic forces, to Giovanni Prati, a poet , to Fr Guetti who organized farm and
food cooperatives.

Val di Guidicarie Esteriori
15
7UHQWLQLQHO0RQGR
7KH$VVRFLDWLRQ7UHQWLQLQHOPRQGR (TNM) was founded in 1957
and aims to help Trentino nationals who live abroad maintain
strong ties with their motherland and their cultural and social roots,
whilst becoming citizen of their host country. The association
7UHQWLQLQHOPRQGRDLPVDWSURPRWLQJVROLGDULW\DPRQJVWWKH
different populations by providing information and coaching and by
promoting and supporting social diversity.

Their services include:


x Outreach to Trentini American Associations: Trentini nel Mondo stays actively involved with over
220 Circoli Trentini throughout the USA. There are 21 such associatons in the USA and 5 in Canada.
x Convention Collaborators TNM works closely with ITTONA (International Tyrolean Trentino
Organization of North America) in the bi-annual convention of the Circoli Trentini.
x Publications: TNM publishes a monthly magazine and a variety of studies regarding the Trentino
American community
x Trentino Resource Center: TNM provides access to an extensive library of literary sources regarding
Trentino emigration at their headquarters in Trento
x Advocacy for Trentini Americans TNM seeks to promote and advance iniatives to promote
communications and cultural development.



Magazine

Website

NExT


TNM publishes a monthly
magazine in Italian providing
information about the Trentino and
Italy and with articles regarding the
activities of the Circoli Trentini
throughout the world. One many
subscribe by enrolling on the web
site: www.trentininelmondo.it
TNM offers an informative and
enriched website offering
information about Trentino activies
throughout the world and well as
the those of the Circoli Trentini in
the USA. Go to
www.trentininelmondo.it
The TNM sponsored projectNExT,
(Nuove Energie per il Trentino)
seeks to create networks of Trentini
Americans who have achieved
positions of excellence in their
professional field. Go to:
http://next.trentininelmondo.it

18
3UHSDULQJWROHDYH
Preparing to leave was an enormous undertaking and
challenge for our Tyrolean relatives. The dream and
DVSLUDWLRQVRIDIDEXORXVFRXQWU\0HULFDZDVWKHLU
way to escape poverty and raise their standard of
living. Being wrenched from their villages and their
lovely environments, the pain of separation from
their relatives and friends WKH GLVWDQFH WR 0HULFD
the uncertainty of the future all combined to make
the departure a traumatic experience. These
traditional farmers, contadini, were headed to coal
mines with all their dangers and pitfalls. Facing
unknown difficulties ahead, many emigrants
prepared their wills even though very few were
considering permanent settlement. Many sold
everything including their houses. Others borrowed
from relatives and friends to pay for their travel expenses. Both the authorities and the clergy disapproved of their
departure making the emigrants feel ever more isolated.

After the first wave of emigration, 36 years passed before there was to be a focus on the emigrants. In 1904, there
was established the Office for the Mediation of Labor in Rovereto that attended to emigrants and by 1910, there
was published the Guida dell`Emigrante Italiano. The Guide contained all the information emigrants needed:
the economic situation in the USA, the physical conditions, steamboat fares, a timetable of trains from Trent, the
names of the naval companies, ports of embarkation, the documents needed, procedures for naturalization and
citizenship, location of the various consulates, facilities for medical inspection, various diseases and the agencies in
the Trentino. It detailed the dangers facing the emigrants such as the infamous Padroni or merlo that took
advantage of them. It further explained the information needed for the transoceanic trips as well as the names of
the ferry boats to Ellis Island the railroads leading from
New York to the mines in various states. The Guide
provided the names of St Raphael Society in New York for
moral and financial aid, US postal rates, insurance,
accidents, legal aid, currency, measures and the risks in the
mines.

Those who left the Trentino went to Trent by some jolting
cart. At the window of the Gottardi Agency at Via Lunga
(now Via Manci) they bought tickets for 500 crowns which
included boat fare and the first expenses in the United
States. The long trip began from Hamburg, Germany,
Antwerp, Belgium or through Voralberg via Switzerland to a
French port, Le Havre. Tickets for steerage from Le Havre
or Hamburg to New York City cost $15 in 1880 and $28 in
1900.

On the departing the village itself, often in the wee hours of
the morning, since they had to walk or journey down to
Trent, the whole village would gather at the church to pray
and send off one of their very own beloved brother or
sister, an image of solidarity and intimacy that kept our
immigrants connected and associated with their roots.
19
The Odyssey of a Tyrolean Immigrant

History and Nature combined to create an economic depression for the Trentino
that became the cause for emigration. Agriculture, practiced in the traditional was
the fundamental activity in 1850 for 70% of 314,770 inhabitants of the province.
Farmers were frustrated and without hope. Their children automatically followed
them into farming. Real estate was divided into small parcels and was owned by
few landlords. Commodities and food had to be imported from the Trentino`s
neighboring provinces, the Veneto and Lombardy. Their economic conditions
worsened when their traditional trading partners became part of Italy. The new
borders created custom barriers, taxation and duties on imports and exports. In
those years, nature further complicated the depression with deceases to their
vines, silkworms, and their potato crop. Rather than further detailing the
hardships of the Trentino, what follows is a profile of one such emigrant who
was certainly affected by the forces of nature.and by history both in the
Trentino and in the United States.

Angelo Berasi was born in 1870 in Marazzone, Bleggio Superiore in the Val di
Giudicarie. Following the typical and usual traditions, he worked as a paesant
farmer and while we have no recollection of his motivations, it can be presumed
that he followed the then current pattern of escaping poverty and raise his standard of living which diluted the
pain of departure. Like fellow emigrants, America acted as a magnet beckoning them as a real adventure with the
flavor of a mystery. In 1890, Angelo Berasi followed the pattern, left for Trento where he took a train to Le
Havre, France and embarked for New York, with its strange language, traditions and jobs. But Angelo did not stay
with the Trentino colony in New York but took a train and traveled for five days to Walsenburg, Colorado. There,
although a farmer, Angelo like his paesani, was forced to work in the coal mines. Mining was dangerous and
difficult work. Coal miners in Colorado were at constant risk for explosion, suffocation, and collapsing mine
walls. Between 1884 and 1912, mining accidents claimed the lives of more than 1,700 Coloradans. In 1913 alone,
"104 men would die in Colorado`s mines, and 6 in the mine workings on the surace, in accidents that widowed 51
and left 108 children fatherless. The high death was due in part to Colorado's unique geology, but also due to
poor enforcement of safety regulations. In 1914, the United States House Committee on Mines and Mining
attributed the high fatality rate to the management of its coal mines.Angelo worked in these mines for 15 years
adding prospecting for gold as well as he searched for alternatives to the mines. He came in contact with two
relatives of mine, Carlo and Giuseppe Brunelli who originated from Rango of the same Bleggio Superiore.
Giuseppe and Carlo, coming earlier than Angelo, had ventured
beyond the mines purchasing land, raising cattle and even
opening a hotel or boarding house for the miners of
Walsenberg .in 1902, Angelo is made a naturalized citizen. In
1905, he returns to the Trentino where he seeks out the
unmarried niece of Giuseppe and Carlo, Teresa. They are wed
and after a time, he returns to Colorado to follow yet another
pattern of those emigrants. He precedes Teresa who is now
with child and in September 1907 with her new born, Lino,
Teresa makes the long ocean voyage to New York and then the 5 day train ride to Wallsenberg, Colorado. Angelo,
properly inspired by the entepeneurship of Carlo and Giuseppe and possibly aided by some of their capital, opens
us the Star Saloon. Such an enterprise was singular for our Trentini emigrants but Angelo was a confident,
enterprising person and was not averse to taking risks. More children arrived in quick succession. Angelina in
1908, Rosa in 1909, Maria in 1911, Cora in 1913, and Adele in 1914.
History again touches the lives of the Berasi family. While they lived in the town of Walsenburg, the ensuing
turmoil with the mines would engulf everyone. In 1913-1914, there ensued the 14-month southern Colorado Coal
Angelo Berasi & Carlo Brunelli
Berasi Family 1912
20
Strikers in ront o 1ent City Armored Death Car` Atermath o Massacre Coins o the Massacre
Strike, itself the deadliest strike in the history of the United States. The strike was organized by the United Mine
Workers of America (UMWA) against coal mining companies in Colorado. The miners resided in company towns,
in which all land, real estate, and amenities were owned by the mine operator, and which were expressly designed
to inculcate loyalty and squelch dissent. When the miners go out on strike, their families were evicted and went to
live in a tent city.On April 20, 1914, the Colorado National Guard attacked the tent colony of 1,200 striking coal
miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado shooting through the tents with a machine gun mounted on an
armored car causing the violent deaths of 19 people. This was to be known as the Ludlow Massacre. In
response, the miners armed themselves and attacked dozens of mines, destroying property and engaging in several
skirmishes with the Colorado National Guard causing the death of yet another fifty.
Violence permeated Wallsenberg and Teresa Brunelli Berasi was so terrified for her family that she gave her
husband no peace saying in our dialect: Se stagho chi, mi moro..I I remain here, I will die.and so will the
children. So history again affects his life; this time American history. Angelo, despite his successful American
enterprise, packs up his American amily.all the children were now American citizens.moves them on the long
five day train trip across the country to New York and sets sail for La Havre, France retracing his original route
and arrives at the Austrian border to the consternation of the Austrian officials who ask him: Why are you
returning now, war is about to break out.and it did. Angelo, a successful American businessman had now
returned to his farming and the simple life of the village. He was conscripted into the Austrian army as were
hundreds of other Trentini. Many of which became the crack squad, Tiroler Kaiserjaegger, the Tyrolean hunters
of the Czar. They fought in Russia and then returned to the Trentino to combat the Italian forces Angelo served
as a cook strangely enough on the entrenchments on the peaks of mountains of Val Marcia, the mountain range
that stares down at his very own village. Two more children arrived: Amalia and Bruno. After the war, he returned
to Colorado alone in the hope of resuming his enterprise but his oldest son,
Lino, was simply too traumatized by the violence that he experienced in
Walsenburg and refused to return and this concluded his American odyssey. He
returned permanently to his village and like Giannini in San Francisco he
assisted his cash poor paesani offering them small loans to pay their taxes. Two
of his daughters, Maria and Adele returned to USA, their country of origins as
spouses to yet other emigrants. Angelo Berasi is truly a Tyrolean pioneer and a
genuine hero.
All these details of this family was compiled by Danny Caliari of Queens, NY, a
grandson of Angelo Berasi, who in 1980 was determined to discover his roots
and his family`s odyssey. Well before the Internet, he would go every day on his
lunch time to the Main Library on Fifth Ave and search what records he could
find. He wrote and made trips to the National Archives. He interviewed
whoever might provide information about his family. His work spanned 30
years. He is to be saluted for his passion and diligence. In subequent issues, we
hope to have him give us some tips and instruction of how to conduct family
research.
Attention: We would welcome submissions of the history, stories, and episodes of other Tyroleans
who made their passage from the Trentino to our United States. Contact Lou Brunelli by phone or
email. 914-739-2313 or www.louis.brunelli@att.net
Berasi Family 1921
21
7KH$UWRIWKH7\URO
When our Tyrolean relatives moved about their fields, when they lifted their eyes from
tilling their fields, when they looked to the distance of their valleys, what did they see and
behold? They saw church steeples and lovely churches embellished with frescoes and
artifacts contributed by many over the years. When they moved about their villages or led
WKHLU FDWWOH WKH\ ZRXOG PHHW ORYHO\ VKULQHVFDSLWHOOL RU D
crucifix. Looking up the mountainsides, they beheld ancient
castles replete with art from a variety of artists, castles where
feudal lords meted out justice and exacted tithes on behalf of
a higher authority. The Trentino countryside is marked by
architectural works complete with sculptures and paintings
by skillful artists. When the town dwellers moved about their
cities and towns, when the people from the countryside
came to these towns for services or to transact their affairs, they passed edifices and
monuments that boasted of charming art and sculpture and communicated a sense
of continuity and harmony. Poor as they were, they had the riches of so much art in
their ordinary and everyday environments

The art of the Trentino or the Tyrol was profoundly influenced by its history
and geography. It lies at the extreme southern edge of the Germanic empire,
the Tyrol or the Welsch Tirol so that it became a meeting place and a
sponge between the Nordic and the Latin cultures. While flanked by the
Lombardy and the Veneto, the Trentino or the Sud Tirol was never part of
Italy until 1919. For 800 years it was an empire or lands under the control of
feudal bishops many Germanic and then for the 200 years prior to its
annexation to Italy, it was the part of the Austrian Hungarian Empire. This
cultural and geographic combination makes its artistic expressions
heterogeneous and fascinating. This very geography and cultural mixture
prompted St Charles Borromeo to select the Tyrol as the logical and ideal
location for the Ecumenical Council of Trent which launched the Counter Reformation that fueled the
assertiveness of the Baroque.

These remarks are an introduction to how we will present in future editions of the multi-faceted aspects of the art
RI WKH 7UHQWLQRIURP LWV IUHVFRHG SDODFHV LWV FDWKHGUDOV DQG FKXUFKHV IURP GLIIHUHQW HUDs, its village churches
and shrines to its castles with its sculptures and paintings. We will attempt to move around the Trentino to
highlight and explain the history and the features of these expressions. We welcome your inquiries and/or
suggestions regarding specific examples of the art. Just below, we present the church of San Virgilio in the shadow
of the Brenta Dolomites. The church is illustrated by the famous Simone Baschenis.

Shrine of San Luigi
Larido Bleggio
Castel Toblino
Shrine of the Madonna & the Santi-
Cavrasto
Church of St Virgilio-Bascheni frescoes Pinzolo
22

23
Discovering your family.

With this issue of Fil we begin a journey to rediscover and to
reclaim a part of ourselves, a part that lives unconsciously in us.
Who we are as individuals is not just the product of what we are
explicitly taught, but of our history as well. It should be
important to us!

History is memory of the past, its best vehicle is the family. It is
found in our beliefs, abilities, genes, and gestures, but lacking
awareness of the link between past and present, these lack
color, depth, or even sense. Without it we are rudderless, with it
we have direction and the sure knowledge that we can do
anything.

We Trentini are blessed to have a long, relatively complete record
of our families, recorded for us by our parish priests. We can
retrieve our history. We can know the towns from which our
ancestors came and find our relatives who live there today -- we are
still of the same blood. One hundred years don't erase one
thousand!

Let's begin: gather all the information you can about your family.
Write it all down: dates, places, maternal and paternal ancestors,
their arrival here, the ship and port. You will quickly discover two
things: first, you may know more than you realize, and second,
what you don't know. Both are crucial in order to proceed.

One final task: once you discover what you do
know, communicate it to your children,
grandchildren, nieces and nephews. What are
you waiting for? It's their heritage, too. Failing
to pass it on to them is failing them, yourself
and your ancestors.

In the next issue, we'll explore tools you can
access to expand what you found. You'll be
surprised how much you can discover and how
much it will enrich your life.

Jim Caola will serve as our guide and mentor in learning how to research and
discover family roots. His paternal grandparents emigrated to Pennsylvania
from Pinzolo in 1905. In 1998 Jim began to investigate his family heritage,
and within the course of the intervening years he has created a database of
about 56,000 individuals, a project to index all births, marriages and deaths in
Val Rendena from the early 1600's through 1923, and the creation of a
photographic index of all 13 cemeteries of Val Rendena, soon to be available
in a set of DVDs. He hopes that his projects will one day be duplicated
throughout Trentino.
Atti di Matrimonio-S. Lorenzo-Pinzolo 1
Ship Manifest of Noordland 1
Albino Caola - Giovanna Collini 1904
Jim Caola
24
Fill out a data sheet for each person, beginning with your emigrant ancestor.
Personal Data Sheet
Subject Data:

Subject Number: _____

Surname: __________________________________________________________

First Name(s) ______________________________________________________

Date of Birth: ______________________________________________________

Town of Birth: _____________________________________________________

State or County of Birth: _____________________________________________

Date of Immigration: _______________________________________________

Port of Entry: ______________________________________________________

Name of Ship (if relevant) ___________________________________________

Date & Place of Naturalization: _______________________________________

Spouse:

Name of Spouse (use maiden surname):
___________________________________________________________________

Subject Number of Spouse: ___________________________________________
Date of Marriage: ___________________________________________________
Place of Marriage: ___________________________________________________

Parents of Subject:

Name of Father: ___________________________________________________
Name of Mother (Maiden name): ______________________________________

Children of Subject (w/subject numbers) :
___________________________________________________________________
_________________________________ __________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

25
Origins of Names of the Trentino

We wish to explore the origins of names of the Trentino. We will do so by examining their meaning, origins, and
derivates

BELLOTTI The name derives from the words Bello and Bella and refers to a attractive physical characteristics.
Many Trentini names derives from this root; 1147 a Bellotus in Trento; 1220 a Belottus in Tione.

BENINI derives from the word Beno (Benus) and means JRRG . The name is found in the Val di Giudicarie,
Arco and Riva as well as the Valle dell`Adige.

BRUNELLI The name originating from the high German and meaning armor. Mozus et Vivianus sons of Calvus
di Rango (1220); Manfredino Brunelli in 1316 from the Bleggio in the Valle di Giudicarie. Brunelli dictis Brunelli in
Lovato 1445. 1517 Nicol Brunelli notaio; 1527 Giacomo son of Nicol Brunelli of Rango, lived in Arco, Notary,
Vicar & Judge of the area of Arco until 1567 ; Giacomo Brunelli (XIX-XX century) born in Riva, a musician and
band leader.

FENICE means a phoenix eg. Opera House in Venice is La Fenice; this name seems to have a specific origin in
the Bleggio in the Val di Giudicarie; 1730, Alberto Fenice in Vezzano;1760 a Francesco Antonio Fenice in Canale.

FORADORI In dialect a forador refers to a large auger or drill. The sopranome or nickname is attributed to a
craftman or a vendor of augers. It derives from the Val di Giudicarie. In 1537, there are found Antoni Foradoris e
Antonium Foradoris in Seo of the Bleggio. In the nineteeth century, there is another Antonio Foradori, a
FRQVSLUDWRURI0D]]LQLDOVR(WWRUH Foradori 1889-1974, born in Mezzolombardo, a vernacular poet.



+HOSXVILQG7\UROHDQ$PHULFDQV
We wish to reach as many Tyrolean Americans as can be identified so that we might be able to bring them
information and resources regarding their roots and ancestry. Please provide us with names of friends, relatives,
family members so that we can begin sending them the Fil American on a regular basis. You can do this by
completing the coupons below or sending us an email with this data.

Name
Address
Email address
Trentino Valley of Origin
Send this to: Fil, PO Box 90, Crompond, NY 10567 or fax it to 914-734-9644.
For further information, call 914-402-5248


Name
Address
Email address
Trentino Valley of Origin
Send this to: Fil, PO Box 90, Crompond, NY 10567 or fax it to 914-734-9644.
For further information, call 914-402-5248
26
Acknowledgements

In the name of the thousands of Americans across our United States who long to embrace with pride the
treasured heritage of their land of origin and their courageous emigrant relatives and friends, we thank and
congratulate the Office of Emigration of the Autonomous Province of Trento for their support of this first
issue of the Fil magazine. The recognition of their advocacy of us is truly an acknowledgement of our
desire to hold on to this heritage with a greater knowledge and understanding since it gives us the gift of
RXUKLVWRULFLGHQWLW\UHDOL]LQJWKDWZKRZHDUHLVZKRZHZHUH

7KH)LOR6WDII
2XU3DUWQHUVDUH
Federazione Trentina delle Pro Loco e loro Consorzi is the association of 160 Pro Loco and 10 Consorzi Pro
Loco working in the Trentino. 'Pro Loco' is composed of volunteers working to enhance the understanding and
appreciation of their individual valley with its villages. The Federazione will focus on introducing and orienting our
readers to the valleys of the Trentino: their geography, history, art and culture. Our partner will be the Director Ivo
Povinelli
Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina gathers materials that refer to the history, economy and
dialects and folklore of the Trentino.The Museo will be providing us with information and accounts regarding the
customs of our people and the religious practices of the Trentino. Our partner will be Daniela Finardi,
Communications Department & WKH0XVHXPVSUHVLGHQW/RUHQ]R%DUDWWHU
Museo Storico collects , preserves and researches historical materials and collections of Trentino history. They
have carefully documented the emigration history of the Trentino. The Museo will be providing providing the Filo
with articles regarding our celebrated figures of our history, profiles on emigration and emigrants. Our partner will
be Dr. Patrizia Marchesoni, Museum's Deputy Director and Head of Research, Archives and Collections
Trentino Marketing S.p.A provides information, articulation and publicity for the promotion of tourism for the
Trentino. They will EHSUHVHQWLQJWRRXUUHDGHUVDQRULHQWDWLRQWRWKH7UHQWLQRVPRXQWDLQVODNHVDQGYDOOLHVDVZHOO
as glimpses in the Trentino of today. Their website is http://www.visittrentino.it/

Trentini nel Mondo Onlus is the principle advocacy agency of the Province of Trento offering outreach to
Trentini Americans, convention collaboration, a monthly newsletter, a Trentino resource center replete with library,
and advocacy for Trentini Americans. Their staff will serve as consultants and collaborators in the promotion of the
Filo` project.
University of Trento is one of the leading unviersities in Europe with a strong international character offering a
wide range of programs for international students. Our partner will be Paola Fusi, Head of Communications
University of Trento
Jim Caola has worked relentlessly for more than a decade to construct a genealogical database of all the towns
of Val Rendena. The database, about 50% complete, is being constructed from the baptism, marriage and death
records of parishes of the valley, records which extend from the late 1500s through 1923. His articles will
contribute guidance and insight to those who want to research their Tyrolean/Trentini origins.

Image Credits
Reproduced from Canti della montagna. Parole e musica, introduzione e commenti di Nora Gianmoena, Trento,
Panorama editore, 2003
Figures 1-5
27

Filo Magazine
PO Box 90
Crompond, NY 10517