2014 - Meeting my Cousins on Sicily

One of the better highlights of my time in Italy was going to Sicily and meeting several of my cousins! Cousin Tom Schober found that our grandfather Thomas Gregory Blando came from Chiusa Sclafani on Sicily, making my task of finding our relatives much easier. In Italy, his last name was Blanda. This changed to Blando when he immigrated to the USA in 1912.

In January 2012, I wrote 5 letters to all of the Blandas I could find in an internet-based phone book. I actually got two replies, one of which was from Vincenza Blanda Canzoneri, and she confirmed that we indeed are cousins! We've been emailing back and forth since then and when I told her that I was coming to Italy, she invited me to her home in Chiusa Sclafani.

Over the long weekend of April 25-27, I made the trip of a lifetime! Vincenza and her husband Giorgio picked me up at the airport in Palermo, and after a 3-hour ride in the car, we made it to Chiusa Sclafani. Here are some photos of this latest adventure.

Part of the reason for being on the road for 3 hours was the traffic in and around Palermo. We were stop and go for about 1 hour. (We did not stop to gamble!)

I understand this is the (prison) home of several members of the Mafia.

I did not remember Sicily having so many mountains. Very beautiful!

The rock formations in the next two pictures reminded me of the Wisconsin Dells.

Ah, err, Giorgio! Must we pass through Corleone?!?!

Not to worry... We made it just fine.

Giorgio and Vincenza have a beautiful home, just outside of the city.

Their house is almost completely surrounded by olive, orange and lemon trees. The olive trees are to the left of the palms in the picture below.

Ciao Giorgio!

In the back, Vincenza is checking out my Italian dictionary. (I would have been completely lost without it. With it, I was only about 75% lost!) It was lovely to have breakfast out here.

After breakfast, we went into Chiusa Sclafani. This is Piazza Castello. Vincenza works in this area.

 

This is Piazza Santa Rosolia. It looks much better in person than it did from Google Earth!

Typical street scene...

I didn't know it at the time, but we were heading towards the childhood residence of Grampa Blando (Thomas Gregory Blanda. Blanda became Blando at immigration.)

And there it is, on the right!!

Another view...

From the back. I can just imagine him playing with the neighborhood kids here. 

Back at Vincenza's, we pour over the photo albums. Vincenza and I created diagrams of our family trees and they proved  to be invaluable when trying to understand who's who. 

Pictured below from left, are Mimma (Vincenza's niece), Giorgio, Vincenza's Mom Maria, and Mimma's son Lorenzo (5).

Here we have daughter Rita (26), Vincenza's sister Carmela, Giorgio & Vincenza, and me, all surrounding Vincenza's mother Maria. Maria gave me the sweetest welcome and we held hands for several minutes. No problem with a language barrier!

I found this picture in Vincenza & Giorgio's wedding album. Wow!

Vincenza and Giorgio have a beautiful home! Here is the living room.

Another view of the living room. It took several attempts to get this shot as Carmela kept giggling!

The stairway to the bedrooms upstairs.

Here's a panorama of the bedroom where I slept.

I was impressed with the detail of this rug!

Definitely not machine-made!

I had a nice view of Chiusa Sclafani from my bedroom.

Here's the hallway and the bath.

Time to meet some more relatives! From left are Vincenza, Carmela (Vincenza's cousin), Vincenza (Vincenza's aunt and sister to Maria), me, Giuseppina  (Vincenza's cousin and Carmela's sister) and her husband Gino. (They also got my letter, but were reluctant to respond.) I have much to add to our family tree diagram!

A little later, Giorgio took me to meet Gaetano Blanda. (Gaetano also responded to my letter.) He owns a beautiful restaurant and was busy cooking when we stopped in.

Here are a couple videos of us driving around Chiusa Sclafani. The second video is at Piazza Rosolia.

On Saturday, we took a side trip to Sciacca, which is about 50km away and on the sea. Very, very busy there with tourists and we couldn't even find a place to park.

Sciacca is an ancient fishing port.

Back on the road, we had to stop to see this!

And they sounded like this!

I had to buy some meds for nausea, for this reason!

Back home, we made a toast to a wonderful weekend.

The next morning, it's back to the airport and eventually Florence. One last view of the Mediterranean...

I cannot thank Vincenza and Giorgio enough for their hospitality and kindness. I am very grateful that I was able to meet them and our relatives on Sicily. Most definitely a Buon Viaggio!

2014 - Piazzale Michelangelo

I thought it would be interesting to check out the Piazzale Michelangelo. I was there a long time ago and remembered the view to be molto bellissimo! It wasn't until I was about 3/4 of the way there that I realized this would be more than a casual stroll. A map is included below to put things into perspective. Round trip was about 3.2 miles, but the view was worth every step.

The lilacs are blooming on Museo Bellini.

Yet another picture of Ponte Vecchio. Afternoon light is the best!

Mmmm - an idea for dinner?

La Biblioteca Nationale Centrale (National Central Library)

A couple ways to enjoy the fiume Arno...

Still more lilacs...

I've arrived to find the larger-than-life copy of Michelangelo's David, in the center of the piazzale.

There are many vendors up here, all seeking tourist Euros. This one was tempting but at about $150 for 20 minutes, it was out of my reach. 

I did touch it, though...

A panoramic view of Florence (the city center, anyway).

Coming down, there is a nice view of the Piazza Poggi, named after the architect Giuseppe Poggi who created it. A native of Florence, he received numerous commissions for renovations of palaces and gardens.

From 1864, he designed the city's urban renovation, which included the demolition of the walls, the creation of alleys in place of them and of several scenographic squares.

The tower, better known as as the Torre di San Niccolo was the only tower not to be cut down during the siege of Florence in 1529. It is 55 meters (180 ft) high and was one of the very important 'doors to the city': closed at night and re-opened in the mornings.

Most likely one of Poggi's alleys.

I noticed this vintage Mini Cooper on the way home.

Ciao!