Christmas gift from Sonnino

This is a picture of my grandfather, Angelo Bernardini, holding some soppressata that his cousin Tonino from Sonnino sent to him. It was his favorite Chistmas gift. I'm glad customs didn't check my bags on the way back!

 

Want to look at posts from past months?

It's easy. Just click on black arrows next to the months on right side of the page. This will show you all the posts for that month. Check them out!

Refurbished church in old Sonnino

This is the church right across from the Castle in old Sonnino. It was recently refurbished and looks great. I was told it was built in the 12th century. Anybody know the name? As we were leaving the church my cousin Graziano pointed to the man in the picture who takes care of the church and said "that's another one of your relatives. I seem to meet new relatives each time I visit!

Look up where your last name is found in Italy (or the USA)

This is such a great site. You can type in you last name and the the website will show you where people with you last name live and the concentration. You can run the same search for the US as well. Apparently there are on Bernardinis in and around Sonnino. Enjoy!

- L'Italia dei Cognomi

Photo of the castle taken from the piazza in Sonnino. The photo was taken by Bob Frateschi of Syracuse, NY

Pitcure of the "torre di Antonelli"

Sonninese Word of the Week

So I've started to keep a little Sonninese dictionary (the dialect of Sonnino) and add new words each time I visit. My relatives in Sonnino will often say "It's great that you're learning Italian, now when are you going to learn Sonninese!" Maybe they don't realize there are only 6,000 or so Sonninese speakers in the world. So here's the first word...please write me with any Sonninese words or sayings that you know:

Ihoni = Oh God!

"Ihoni" is very similar to the Jewish "Oye Vey!"

Video of Roccagorga (a small village across the valley from Sonnino)

Olive Festival in Sonnino coming up

Here's a link to the Olive Festival coming up in a couple of weeks. I saw big signs for it when I was in Sonnino last week. I used a translator on the page so it reads a little strange.

Translated version of http://www.eventiesagre.it/index.php?id=1425

This is a funny picture from my most recent trip to Sonnino. My wife and I got back two days ago! The picture was taken in my family's butcher school right off the piazza. 

Going to Sonnino!

My wife Margie and I are going to Sonnino in November for 4 or 5 days. Once again, if anyone submits something to the Blog I'll bring them back a present from Sonnino. Pictures, stories, recipies....they are all great. Look for more posts soon. I'm also willing to look for your relatives in Sonnino.

Giro di Lazio Bike Race

Daily Peloton - Pro Cycling News

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN IN ITALY, 'BOSS' SOLD OUT

Ok, so this isn't about Sonnino but I love Bruce and am glad to see that our fellow Italians do as well.

(AGI) - Rome, July 7 - Bruce Springsteen is on his way to Italy and all the tickets for his concerts have already been sold out. The public's response to the beginning of selling of tickets for the first four concerts of the boss's Italian tour was unbelievable, according to organizers. The Ticketone circuit, in 10 hours, has practically sold out all of the tickets at its disposal for the 4 concerts on sale at the moment (Bologna,Turin, Verona and Rome). Between Friday and Saturday sales will begin by way of the other circuits, in particular for Springsteen fans in Rome, and tickets will be found in Feltrinelli Libri e Musica, Messaggerie Musicali, The Ticket Net, Win alla Romanina and other centres specialized in concert ticket sales. (AGI) -
071817 LUG 06

Latina lessons

A nice article about the sights of Latina above and beyond Rome. I'm going to check some of the out when I visit Sonnino in November.
Scotsman.com Living - Latina lessons

Video of the backside of Sonnino (other side of the mountain)

Another video we took in January can see Terracina in the distance.

The Giro d' Italia...an amazing bike race

The Giro d'Italia bicycle race has just started up and this sight has some of the best coverage I have seen. The Giro is the second biggest race after the Tour de France. The link is below:
Cycling - Eurosport

Here's a short video I took of Sonnino this past January...just hit the play button to watch!

This is a picture of the piazza in Roccagorga, a small mountain village on the opposite side of the valley from Sonnino. At night in Sonnino you can see the lights of Roccagorga up on the mountain. Very beautiful. 

Search for news about Italy with Google Alerts

"Google Alerts" is a great resource for finding new stories about Italy (or anything else for that matter. You type in a key word or phrase and Google scours the internet for news stories that are related. Each day, Google sends you and email containing links to relevant stories. I have this set up for Sonnino and some of the surrounding towns and regions. This way, I never miss a story. The link is below:

Google Alerts

Picture of Mario Grenga sent in by Jim Grenga Sr. (son). Mario Grenga is on the bottom left. We was a P.O.W. in WWI. Jim tells me that he had a bullet in abdomen that was never removed. Thanks for the great picture!
 

Link to the 10 most common surnames in Sonnino

Latium Surnames Search Engine results

Was the movie "In the Name of the Rose" filmed at the Fossanova Abbey?

I recently read an Italian tour company's website that mentioned that scenes from Umberto Eco's "In the Name of the Rose" were filmed in and around the Fossanova Abbey. I would love to find out if this is true. Umberto Eco happens to be my favorite author.

Have you read "The Oddyssey"?

This is a link to a great edition of Homer's "The Odyssey" on Amazon.com.

The costal towns around Sonnino are often called the "Ulyssian Coast" because Ulysses had many adventures in and around them. I'll give a prize if anyonw knows what events in "The Odyssey" took place around Sonnino.

Amazon.com: The Odyssey: Books: Robert Fagles,Homer,Bernard Knox

The Saratogian - News - 03/03/2006 - Scene & Heard: Beyond Turin

An article that talks about the costal towns around Sonnino. Marherita and I were just in Gaeta and Sperlonga....que bella!

The Saratogian - News - 03/03/2006 - Scene & Heard: Beyond Turin

Priest who grew up in Priverno killed

Istanbul, 7 Feb. (AKI) - Turkish police have arrested a 16-year-old student suspected of killing an Italian Catholic priest in the port of Trabzon on Sunday. Public Prosecutor Burhan Cobanoglu identified the youngster only as O.A. and said he was arrested at a relative's home in Trabzon, private NTV television reported. Father Andrea Santoro, 60, was shot in the back twice as he knelt in his church on the Black Sea coast and witnesses say his killer yelled Allahu Akbar(Allah is Great) before firing. Reports say the suspect is being questioned and is expected to appear in court later in the day

Father Santoro's body is due to be flown back to Italy on Tuesday for his funeral later this week in Rome.

Police also seized a handgun during the raid, the semi-official Anatolia news agency said.

The police on Monday had distributed an identikit sketch of the suspect, a clean-shaven young man, wearing a woolen hat.

In the search for the killer, police have been looking at two possible motives; local crime groups irritated at Father Santoro's efforts to help women caught up in prostitution or some link with the wave of protests in Muslim countries regarding the Danish cartoons.

However, one Turkish news agency quotes a police official saying that the suspect may have been influenced by recent media coverage of the case of Ali Agca, the man who attempted to kill Pope John Paul II in 1981. He was briefly released from prison, amid much criticism, and later rejailed, because of an error in the calculation of his terms.

A woman who lives near the church told reporters Monday that Santoro had argued with teenagers in the church courtyard the day before he was killed. But church officials have denied this.

This is a picture of a wild horse that was up in the mountains behind Sonnino. First wild goast and now horses.Who knew.  

My wife Margherita and I looking over Sonnino vechio. My cousin Armando took the picture. 

The DeAngelis family in Sonnino 

Back from Sonnino (and London)

My wife and I have just returned from Sonnino. It's a good thing we packed light because we came home with 2 liters of olive oil, 2 liters of wine, a giant jar of baby artichokes, recipes, and more olives than you can shake a stick at. We spent lots of time with family and ate amazing food. Pictures of the trip will be coming soon.

Company organizes towns to boost tourism

Interesting article on how Sonnino and nearby towns are trying to boost tourism.

(ANSA) - LATINA, 26 NOV - The Compagnia dei Lepini is the first group set up to develop tourism in the Lepini area. The company represents the towns of Prossedi, Bassiano, Priverno, Norma, Sermoneta, Sezze, Roccasecca dei Volsci, Sonnino, Roccagorga, Roccamassima, Maenza e Cori (Latina); Gorga, Segni, Carpineto Romano, Montelanico and Artena (Rome); the provincial administrations of Latina and Rome, the XIII and XVIII mountain communities, Bic Lazio, Latina's Chamber of Commerce, and the Regional Agency for Development. The general objective is to develop a state-funded programme to help increase tourism in the entire area. The first part of the public funds will be allocated by the end of 2004 and the programme will take off after an initial phase dedicated to planning. ''The major innovation of the Stile project - explained the director of the Compagnia dei Lepini, Fabrizio di Sauro - is a strategy of development based on the valorisation of an area with common historic roots, which has now decided to invest in a common objective''. The projects are different. They range from 'Welcome area' project, aimed at setting up information offices to welcome tourists in every town of the Lepinis, to the 'Excursion ring 111', aimed at setting up a route for cars, motorcycles and bicycles\connecting all towns in the area. Moreover, the 'New Hospitality' project will renovate a number of public buildings that are today unused, and the 'Notoriety' will work on communications and marketing programme. Finally, the 'Wine and gourmet circuits' offers visitors the opportunity to discover local food and wines and the 'Sports vacation' organizes and promotes sport activities that can be carried out in the Lepini area. (ANSA).