Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Yummy picture from Jim Epolito


Jim recently visited Sonnino and had lunch with his relatives. According to Jim, this is a picture of the best lasagna ever, made at Teodoro Ippoliti's home. I can't vouch that it's the best lasagna ever but I will try to find out the next time I'm in Sonnino!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Sonninese Expression of the Week

I made good use of my digital recorder on my last trip to Sonnino. Here is recording I made of an expression I heard many youngish people using. They said it's Romano. I magine it's spelled something like "A-ou" and it's used to get a person's attention. Have a listen:

Friday, December 12, 2008

Sonninese recipes from Candido's website

I recently noticed that on Candido Paglia's Sonnino website their is a hard to find section that has local recipes. This is something I've wanted to compile and put on the blog for a long time. He's done a fantastic job so please click on the link and check it out. And as always, please send me any Sonninese recipes that your family might make...I'd love to post them on the blog.


www.sonnino.info/ricette/past_mandorle.php

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Sonninese Sign Language: Part 1

I asked my Zio Nicola to demonstrate some of what I call "Sonninese sign language". These are the hand gestures you see all throughout Sonnino. This first one is a classic and maybe the most common. This is the gesture one uses when you like what you've just eaten. If somebody asks, "do you like the carchofi (artichokes)", this is how you respond.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Cannateglio -nod off

This is a very usefull work to know. With all the eating I do in Sonnino...this has word has come in handy. Click to listen.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Nommera (nicknames) in Sonnino

In Sonnino it seems that everyone has a nickname. Somtimes the nicknames are for an individual and other times they are for a whole family. With the number of Antonio's and Giacamo's in Sonnino, this makes sense.

My family is known as "the butcher". Place that at the end of any first name and you have a "nommera". Other people I meet had nicknames based on family history or family attributes. Do any Sonninese out there care to share what their "nomerra" or family nomerra is?

I'm hoping to get some more examples from my family that I can post.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

The newest Sonniese bambino



On September 7th, my wife Margie and I welcomed Rafael Corcoran into our lives. He is happy, healthy, and looks like a nice little Italian boy! Zia Annunziainta even made him a beautiful "Buona Notte" blanket. Pretty soon, his Italian will be better than mine!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Sonninese song...played on the accordian

When I was in Sonnino in May I was at the grandmother of a friends. We went outside and heard an accordion playing. It turns out their neighbor is well know around Sonnino for his accordion playing. He played us a Sonninese song and we did a little waltz. I recorded him playing on my digital recorder. Have a listen

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Sonninese Proverb

In my visits to Sonnino I've heard many Sonninese proverbs. Unfortunalty, I never write them down. Hopefully this will change. Fortunately I did write one down at a meal we had with some older relatives.

We were having dinner and talking about Le Torce the next day when the homemade wine made it to me. I was told "You should drink some...wine becomes blood". The Sonninese say that wine (not to much) fortifies the blood and gives you strength.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

The Lepini people

I took this picture on the grounds of the Fossanova Abbey, which is in Sonnino scalo. I've been seeing these signs around the Sonnino area for the past few years. I asked my cousins about about the structure on the sign.

The area around Sonnino is called the "Lepini Plain". The Lipini are the ancient people of the Sonnino area. This structure is a rendering of what their dwellings looked like. My cousins also mentioned that in the hills right behind Sonnino there are still ruins of ancient Lepini homes. Has anybody seen them?

Monday, August 18, 2008

The giving of the torches

This is a video I took in the church after the priest had blessed the torches for "Le Torce" and sprinkled them with holy water. They were then given to the four leaders of Le Torce to carry.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Song: Sonnino Bello


I was having dinner with some family in Sonnino in May and we began to talk about some songs I had heard people singing. Zia Lydia and my cousin Antonio were kind enough to lend their beautiful voices and sing me a few. They said this one is very old and is called "Sonnino Bello". Zia Lydia is in this photo on the bottom-right. Here are the words and the recording. Bonus points if you can translate it!:

"Sonnino e bello, Sonnino
e fatto a ferro, di cavallo
non te ne incarica.
Di cavallo cesta la giovenio col sangue bello, non tene
incarea."

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Friends from Sonnino


This is a picture of some friends from Sonnino. They took me on a fantastic trip to a little called Serrmoneta. It has a beautiful castle which I'll write more about in future posts. From left to right (Eliza, me, Roberto, Luca, Milcho(sp?). This is also a great way to get them to read the blog!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

"Le Torce" video...the first of many!

This is a video I took of the torches right after they were lit and folks we're starting to head down the mountain. This is the first point at which the people in Sonnino could see us. It was a pretty amazing moment! There were fireworks a few minutes later. If you have speakers, turn them on and listen to people singing and firing guns.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Back fromn Sonnino



Sorry for the lack of posts. I just returned from Sonnino and had an amazing time and have some great things to post about. I went to Sonnino for Le Torce, it was an incredible experience that I'll write more about.

IN the meantime, please enjoy the picture of My Zia Annunziatina and Zio Giovanni's fabulous produce. The have some of the greenest thumbs I have ever seen! The food is always fresh at their house. In this picture there are fava beans, which are season right now, as well as a leafy green that I forget the name of. There is also some frutta secca (dried figs with an almond in the middle) perched on the basket. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Soninese artichoke

This is a picture that my wife took of an artichoke in our relative's garden. Makes me hungry for "carchofi alla Romana"

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Matteo and Graziano

This is a picture of my cousins Matteo(San Francisco) and Graziano(Sonnino). Matteo visited Sonnino for the first time last spring. He hit it just right and was in town for Le Torce. I believe they're standing in front of the home where my great-grandmother grew up.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

SLEEPING VILLAGERS FROM SONNINO: An Unpublished Terracotta by Bartolomeo Pinelli.: Michael Preston Worley: Books

I'd like to thank Sandra, a reader whose family is from Sonnino, for forwarding this on. It looks like a book about Sonnino. It's one that I haven't seen before. Has anybody heard of it?

Amazon.com: SLEEPING VILLAGERS FROM SONNINO: An Unpublished Terracotta by Bartolomeo Pinelli.: Michael Preston Worley: Books

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Sonnino olive oil for sale on Amazon.com

Apparently you can buy olive oil made in Sonnino on Amazon.com. Each time I go my family is kind enough to send me back with liters of amazing oil. A little taste of the home country in Boston. Has anybody triewd this brand?

Click on the link to view the Amazon.com web page.

Amazon.com: Cetrone Aromatic Orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 8.8oz.: Gourmet Food

Monday, March 10, 2008

Donna di Sonnino print


I found this print online. It's called "Donna di Sonnino" and it's from Italy. Anybody know where it's from? Here's what the website that is selling says:

Donna di Sonnino.
ITALY)
US$65.00

Rome. No date. Ca. 1830?

Engraving, handcolored, image platemark approximately 11 x 7 1/2 inches on sheet 14 x 10 inches. Overall light toning to paper, a small tear in upper left and middle right margins (well outside of image area), a bright and clean image on light cream colored paper.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Sonnino - Outlaw Capital

A fellow countryman from Sonnino, David, sent this interesting link along about Sonnino. He wrote:

"Thought you might find interesting this account of Sonnino’s most famous son, Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli.From all historic accounts, in the 18th and 19th Century, Sonnino was the outlaw capital of Italy."

David is doing some very interesting writing about the history of the Italian community, including Sonninese, in Syracuse. Hopefully we can get him to post some of this finds! Click on the link below to read the article.

http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/4/3/8/14381/14381.htm

Thursday, February 28, 2008

A little Sonnino History: Sonnio's boundry lands

Sonnino – Museum of the boundary lands

Founded in 2004 and started in 2005, its development is still in progress.
The Museum of the boundary lands collects the signs of the anthropologic deeds of the boundaries of Sonnino.

The whole history of Sonnino is, in fact, impregnated of “boundaries”: from the century old conflicts with Priverno, to the brigands in the free zone between the Papal State and the Kingdom of Naples. And each year, the boundaries are passed along by the night procession, the Feast of the Torches, which has become the symbol of the community.

Sonnino, a small town castled on the Musoni mounts, is placed on the southern extreme pieces of land of the Ciociaria, which, up to the ‘30ties, belonged to Frosinone and that once was the extreme limit of the State of the Church (the “Marittima”).

Finally, the boundary in the exhibition is represented as the arrival point of the community process and, at the same time, point of escape in order to get in relation with the external world.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Dinner at Nicola and Adele's

This is a photo my cousin Matteo from San Francisco who visited Sonnino with his wife Kai took. They were having dinner at our great-uncle/aunt Nicola and Adele's home. Anybody want to guess what was on the menu? Maybe I'll give a prize for the person who guesses correctly.

Market day in Sonnino



Every Saturday these big trucks role into Sonnino for a movable market. You can buy clothes, housewares, fruits, vegetables and pretty much anything else you can think of. It's quite a sight on the narrow main street in town.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Reggae a Sonnino

Here's a link to a video of a couple of kids playing Bob Marley on piazza in Sonnino. I found it when I was looking around Youtube. It's funny more than anything. Click on the link below to watch the video.

reggae a sonnino

Monday, January 14, 2008

Sonnino's own Robin Hood?



Sonnino’s Robin Hood

Sonnino is a small town in the province of Latina. It can be reached in different ways, from Rome or Naples: it is enough to get on the Appia or the Mediana, the SS 148. Also by means of the highway A1, exit Frosinone, direction Priverno. It is 40 km far from Latina and 25 from Terracina and Sabaudia.

Built on the peak of the St. Angelo hill, Sonnino, in Latin Sumninum, was founded probably towards the end of the IX century by the people of Priverno, who escaped from the destruction of their town.

Towards the end of the XVIII century, Sonnino had a bad reputation owing to smuggling, to brigandage and to brigands.

Among these latter, there was Antonio Gasbarrone: our Robin Hood!

Beyond its real history, the reputation of Gasbarone overcame the boundaries of Italy even before his death and a lasting myth arose his figure and made him become one of most famous bandits of history.

The ability to run away and avoid being caught and to aim the criminal action often in defence of the poorer fuelled the legend on this “gentleman bandit”, whose figure was in synchrony with the social rebel spirit of Sonnino.


*I found this on an Italian website about the Latina region

Sunday, January 13, 2008

The impact of mining on Sonnino?


This is a picture I took from the back side of Sonnino. It's the area you reach if you continue up the mountain past the village. Though you can't see them, to the left if Terracina and to the right is Rocca Gorga. I'm not sure what is being mined across the valley but I have seen larger chunks of the mountain disappear each time. The tan sections are are areas being mined. Hopefully, this sort of mining won't effect Sonnino.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

The D'Angelis Butchers of Sonnino!

Here is a picture of my family taken this past April. From left to right we have my great uncle Italo, my aunt Susan from California, my great uncle Nicola and my cousin Alberto. They run three butcher shops in Sonnino!

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Book about Sonnino...Including dialect

This is a great book that my Uncle Nicole and Aunt Adele gave to me the last time I was in Sonnino. It has poetry written about Sonnino, and most importantly, it has a glossary in the back that has Italian/Sonnino dialect translations. It was written by a man named Gaspare Ventre. If anybody would like more information please email me at caseyc@gmail.com

Sounds of Sonnino: Jone

Here is audio of my great uncle Nicola saying "Jone". Jone is Sonninese for "Oh God" or "Oy Vey". I recorded him saying a number of Sonninese words and hopefully I'll get to posting them soon.

Double-click the play button and enjoy...it takes a few moments before the talking starts.