D'Angelis family home

This is a photo taken from the roof of the home where countless generations of D'Angelis family members lived. It is now owned by someone else, but when my family and I were in Sonnino in April, the current owners were nice enough to let us in and take a look around. We all got a little misty eyed thinking about the the history of this very old building. This is the view looking down the mountain.

My Grandfather's obituary

Bernardini, Angelo

August 29, 2007 Angelo Bernardini, 82, of East Syracuse, died peacefully Wednesday morning at home with his family. Angelo was a native of Syracuse. He worked at Estabrook Printing for 40 years, retiring in 1991. He is survived by his wife, Elsie (Chinchar) whom he married on January 31, 1948; predeceased by his sister, Jean LaRosa and survived by his brother, Nicholas Bernardini (Anne) and his sister, Lucy Potato. Angelo was the father of five children, Susan Bernardini (Howard Lamcke), Carol Bernardini (John Becker), Joseph Bernardini (Christine), Jeffrey Bernardini (Lisa DeSilva), and Angela Martino (David Simmons); also 10 grandchildren, Tracy (Dan), Matthew (Kai), Casey (Margie), Taisia (Ross), Corey, Leah, Lauren, Sarah, Jessica and Anthony; four stepgrandchildren, Craig, Chris, Nicole and Lisa; two great-grandchildren, Angelo and Declan. Funeral services will be held Saturday, 8:30 a.m. at Forani & Cline Funeral Home and 9 a.m. in St. Matthew's Church, East Syracuse, with burial in Woodlawn Cemetery. Calling hours on Friday, 4 to 8 p.m. at Forani & Cline, 206 Kinne St., East Syracuse. Contributions may be made to Hospice of Central New York.

A very sad passing

Last night my Grandfather and the patriarch of the D'Angelis/Bernardini , Angelo Marie Bernardini, passed away. He died at home and surrounded by family and loved ones. He was one month shy of his 83rd birthday. I will be posting pictures stories in the comming days and weeks that will try to do justice to greatness of this man.

Sonnino's "Festa della Madonna 2007"

Thanks to Mario for sending in a few pictures of the Festa della Madonna. I'll be posting more pictures from Mario soon.

Send me your stuff!!!

I am looking for stories, pictures, recipies, etc to post on the blog. Send them to me or email me with an idea and we'll work on it and post it. I would love to make this a place where we can share things as a community. Thanks! -Angelo

Sonnino note cards

I recently made note cards out of pictures I took in Sonnino. I have a couple beautiful note cards of old Sonnino and some of great pictures of olives, artichokes and lemons grown in Sonnino. I'll put up the pictures and if anybody would like to order note cards from Winkflash.com they can.

Sonninese word of the week: Mangia

My wife and I just returned from a great trip to Sonnino. I was lucky enough to record my uncle Nicola with my digital recorder. I had him say or pronounce Sonninese words so that I could post them on the blog. Enjoy!

Important archeological find close to Sonnino

News: Lost city of Amyclae discovered

News: Lost city of Amyclae discovered.

Sonnino's "Festa tricolore" article that mentions my cousin Luciano

Evangelici.net - Notizie: Sonnino, una "Festa tricolore" benefica

Grandma and Grandpa talking about making pasta

This is part of the oral history I recently did with my grandparents. In this clip they're talking about how my Great-Grandmother (Guessipina Bernardini) used to make pasta by hand. Just click on the play arrow to listen.

Is the Sonnino blog going to have sound soon?

The answer is yes. I’m looking for tools to add audio to the blog. My hope is that people will send me audio files as well as pictures. I recently did a bit of oral history with my grandfather and grandmother that I would love to post.

Additionally, I would like to add audio to my “Sonninese Word of the Week” posts. When I’m in Sonnino April, I plan to record my Sonninese relatives pronouncing the Sonninese words. Residents of Sonnino, beware of me approaching you with my digital recorder!

Places to stay around Sonnino

I'm keeping a list of placed to stay around Sonnino. Please add any that aren't mention on the blog. You can even leave reviews. Here are the first two. One in Fossanova and the other in Terracina.

www.albergoanticoborgo.it/index.htm

www.villaida.com/home.html

Olive di Sonnino

This picture makes me happy every time I look at it. It's a picture we took when we were in Sonnino in November. It makes me think of the all of the amazing Sonninese olive oil we had.

Boots in the Oven: Driving Lazio

This is link to a couples' travel log. They were driving down the Lazio coast and just picked Sonnino off a map and decided to stop. It's neat to see Sonnino thought the eyes of tourists. They even posted pictures. Enjoy.

Boots in the Oven: Driving Lazio

Jews in Italy (and what is has to do with Sonnino)

This is an interesting article about the history of the Jewish people in Italy. More interesting is the fact that "Sonnino" was one of the more common Jewish last names. You can find the reference about halfway down the article.

Tracing the Tribe: At the ICJG: Jews in Italy

Short video of chanting in the Fossanova Abbey (click twice to view)

This is a short video of the inside of Fossanova Abbey, a very famous abbey next to Sonnino. I found the video on Youtube.com. Enjoy.

Video of the view from Sonnino (click twice to play)

This is the view from the backside of Sonnino. You can see the sea and the town of Terracina in the distance.

My first batch of pasta

Inspired by Lydia and Annunciantina Bernardini, I tried my hand at making fresh pasta last week. I went on a website called Craigslist.org where people buy and sell things they don’t want or need. I was able to pick up an Atlas pasta machine for $25. The women who sold it to me even threw in a ravioli attachment. With help from my wife Margherita and friend James, we were able to make some delicious artichoke ravioli and tagliatelle. Margherita made a white wine sauce with butter and garlic that was fabulous. I’ve never had so much fun or had such fresh ravioli. On top of that, the pasta machine gave me quite a workout. I’m hoping that as I get better at making the pasta, I’ll be able to cut down on the time.

All this leads me to a request or a request for recipes. I would love to create a place on this blog where family recipes can be shared…so start sending them in. You can even take a picture of the dish! My next batch of pasta is this weekend, wish me luck.

Sonninese Word of the Week

Since I come from a family of butchers I figured this would be a good one to add to our Sonninese dictionary:

Butcher in standard Italian: Macellaio

Butcher in Sonninese: Maceglio