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Two Americans in Sicily
Serradifalco: Frank and Charles of Buffalo
in the land of their grandfathers
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The brothers Guzzetta have
finally met their Sicilian uncles, aunts and
cousins |
She introduced the relatives. The meeting held
between the two American brothers and their
Serradifalco relatives took place in the
boardroom of the Town Hall, where the civil
servants Michela Licata, Floriana Galletti,
Giuseppe Benfante Picogna, Giuseppe Pace and
Anna Maria Trapani helped the two American
brothers view the Reords of Birth of their
ancestors, and also the record of the marriage
contracted by their grandfather with Ida Umile
after the death of his first wife, the proxy for
which their grandfather had given his nephew
Angelo Licalsi. Then, Frank and Charles were
accompanied to the Mount Calvary neighborhood
where the two brothers were able to see with
their very eyes the places their grandparents
had described. Then they visited: the Chiesa
Madre (Main Church), where the proxy wedding was
celebrated; the nature preserve at Lake Soprano;
and the permanent exhibition for Cavalier Angelo
Licalsi at the band complex, from the plaza of
which they were able to see, eyes shining with
emotion, a panoramic view of the village of
their grandparents. Before they left the town
to return to Buffalo, their relatives gifted
them many memories in the form of ancient photos
of their ancestors, among them one showing Frank
and Charles in the arms of their mother Maria
Butera, one of the marriage of their second
grandmother Ida, and a portrait of her. |
The brothers Guzzetta with their Serradifalco
relatives
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Salvatore Benfante |
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SERRADIFALCO |
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Two Americans in Serradifalco to visit the
places where their grandparents had lived and to
meet their relatives. In researching their
roots, the brothers Frank and Charles Guzzetta,
of Buffalo, last Tuesday were in the town where
their grandparents Calogero Butera and Grazia
Asarese were born. They found themselves in
Sicily for some days, with an American tour
operator who had organized a trip in Sicili and
the Amalfi Coast. Rosa Burgio had them meet
with their Butera and Licalsi relatives, who
still live in Serradifalco, and took them to the
Mount Calvary neighborhood, where their
grandparents had lived. Burgio, who had
previously been contacted by a tour operator for
Campobello di Licata and Favara, to whom the
American operator had turned prior to the
arrival of the two brothers in the town, had
started researching the Registry Office
documents of their grandparents. From which she
managed to determine the addresses in Via
Bonvegna and Via Baldi where they had lived from
infancy until they emigrated to America. Burgio
contacted families among whom still lived the
memory of Calogero Butera and Grazia Asarese.
So she was able to trace the relatives of Frank
and Charles, the Butera and Licalsi families.
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From the USA to the discovery of their roots, and a
marriage by proxy
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SERRADIFALCO:
An unforgettable day discovering historic roots
and the homes of their grandparents. The
experience of cousins of Serradifalco residents,
brothers Frank and Charles Guzzetta, of
Buffalo. Thanks to Rosa Burgio and the
availability of Giovanni Patti of Patti Tour,
and Valeria Cicotta of Ibla Europe.
Rosa Burgio, knowing that the brothers Guzzetta
were coming to discover their historic roots,
began her research. Going to the Town, from the
records of their ancestors Calogero Butera and
Grazia Asarese, she found that they were born at
Via Bonvegna and Via Baldi. Further
reconstructing the family tree, she knew that
the two American brothers had distant relatives
in Serradifalco, particularly the siblings Maria
Butera and Angelo Butera. Together, they
furnished information about their father’s
brothers Liborio and Calogero Butera, who
emigrated to Buffalo. Liborio Butera had been in
contact with the relatives of Rosario Butera.
And then came another great surprise.
Giuseppe Licalsi, whose grandfather was the very
Rosario Butera, revealed some background. Their
grandfather Calogero Butera’s wife Grazia
Asarese had died and |
Calogero had told his nephew Angelo Licalsi
(father of Giuseppe and founder of the band
complex) that he wished to remarry. Angelo
Licalsi had advised him to marry Ida Umile,
daughter of a roadworker. She had given her
consent, but Calogero was in America. So it
happened that Angelo Licalsi, in proxy of his
uncle stood in for his marriage to Ida in 1948,
after which Calogero himself returned to
Serradifalco to take home the bride who he had
‘met’ from some photos and from descriptions in
letters. The same Giuseppe Licalsi had Frank
and Charles visit the permanent exhibit at the
band complex “Cavalier Angelo Licalsi”, giving
them a copy of a book written about it in
2006. All the gifts excited the two brothers,
sons of Maria Butera and Louis Guzzetta, more
than a little. Then they went as before to Via
Bonvegna and Via Baldi, where their grandparents
lived, and then to the Town Hall. There, thanks
to the staff Michela Licata, Floriana Galletti,
Giuseppe Benfante Picogna, Giuseppe Pace and
Anna Maria Trapani,they were able to view and
photograph some of the Records of Matrimony,
including that of 1948 of Angelo Licalsi acting
for Calogero Butera.
Carmelo Locurto |
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