16 October 2024–In Search of our Carzoli ancestors: Today was a rainy day. Nevertheless, we headed out to the mountains bordering Castelfranco, Emilia-Romagna, where we are currently staying. According to the genealogy I have already completed, my nonno’s parents and ancestors appeared to have originated in Emilia-Romagna. I knew the small towns within the province of Modena in which they were born, lived, worked, and died. Some emigrated from there to the United States, even, but many never did. So, off we went! The mountains and the scenery, i.e., the beautiful, bright green landscape along the Apennine mountainsides, were spectacular to see! These mountains, however, were taller than the ones in Tuscany from which I and my parents originated. These mountains got up to about 4,000 feet tall! That may not sound like a lot, but keep in mind that these roads were never meant for cars and present traffic (including trucks and buses). They are winding and narrow. The roads are two-way, so experienced drivers sort of know very quickly how/where to make space for oncoming traffic. I keep thinking, but what if…someone were recklessly driving, perhaps impaired in some way, under the influence,…? Oncoming traffic and pedestrians would have little to zero recourse! Anyway, once again, I prayed before, throughout, and after. So grateful that all worked out just fine! What were we looking for? Well, on the way to the mountain top, we saw a paving business named Carzoli Paving….Thus, the Carzoli name lives on. Are these relatives? There is a Via di Carzoli on the map in Pievepelago. Pievepelago is one of the small towns in which our ancestors lived. On Via di Carzoli, there is a Ca (Casa) Carzoli. We followed the arrows to the last one, there was a small cluster of houses opposite the sign, but there was no way to tell which one, if any, was THE Ca! There was also a continuation of the road beyond that last arrow and those houses, but that road was so very narrow, and we did not know where it would lead, if we could fit, and so on. Plus, it was raining quite hard, and mosquitoes were hungry. We decided not to go any farther. On Google Map, I could see that cluster of houses by the last sign, and what seems to be a brick/concrete remnant of an ancient foundation in-between two houses. I wonder if that was the foundation of Ca Carzoli at one time….The area around the site is composed of beautiful woodland. Our ancestors were predominately agrarian. Additionally, there was a large rocky mass in the vicinity of the houses. We took pictures of it, which ended up looking as if it was a huge rocky mountaintop. Need I mention just how spectacular the grassy mountainsides looked in rainy, autumn weather! The colors were tan, yellow, Kelly green, forest green, and so on. Just.gorgeous! We went to several different cemeteries to see if I could find graves, photos, (the graves here have photos, with few exceptions), and names/dates. Perhaps, I could even find other family members with whom ancestors had been buried (near their graves). We traveled to Fontanaluccia in search of the Fontanini clan. A Fontanini married a Carzoli. We searched Pievepelago cemetery, looking for the Carzoli clan. We were able to see the small Church in Pievepelago, including its baptismal font. Perhaps this is the same font in which our ancestors were baptized long, long ago. From there, we traveled to Riccovolto cemetery. We wanted to fine the Pietravolta cemetery, but could not find it. Google map suggested it would be down a very narrow, steep road, but there was a playground there from what we could see…. All in all,, we found a few Carzolis, lots of Adamis, Giannasis, Stefanis, some Gualtieris, Fontanini, Battanis,….All seemed to have been entwined in one way or another with the Carzoli ancestors and are likely members of our family. On the way down the mountains, fog moved in such that we could hardly see ahead of us. We continued down SLOWLY, fearing fog could become much worse as evening set in. Visibility was maybe 15 feet, but at 30 mph, it rendered the visibility much worse. This was SCARY, and thank God, we got down safe and sound! These small towns were very sleepy/small. No bathrooms to be had that we knew of. Just outside…in the rain…for me, an uncomfortable ride down the mountain. Dad could find relief in the forested area. We arrived back in Castelfranco for dinner. Restaurant Osteria da Beppe serves a dish with donkey meat! Come ON! Just WRONG!! Barbara, our Hostess, raises donkeys on site, loves them, and says they’re quite intelligent! (In Bologna, we found an “equine butcher”)! Anyway, dinner was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. We shared tortelloni and gnocchi—no meat. BUT…they served gnocchi fritto with cheeses and prosciutto, hot from the oven, as well as tigelle, still hot/. Gnocco fritto is like a fried dough, but it looks like a large puff of dough. Served hot, one puts cheese and/or whatever lunch meat one wants inside and folds the gnocco into two. Everything melts inside, and one eats it, enjoying every single bite! The tigelle are 3-4” in diameter, 1/2” tall hot dough rounds. One can slice them in half and insert whatever filling one wants inside, enjoying the melted cheese and/or lunch meat (here, they like prosciutto di Parma, of course), or…one can just enjoy them as they are. YUM!
Our Travels 