Today's story is a personal one: a small family discovery that opens a window onto my Italian history, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Italian American immigrant experience.
How I Found My Grandma's Italian Passport
Several years ago I wrote about my first trip to find my family roots in the village of Gasperina (Calabria) where my grandmother was born.
I found a copy of the ship manifest from her 1934 journey from Naples to New York City: the trip that marked the beginning of a new life for her family in America.
On a recent trip home in the US, I made an even more special discovery: my grandmother's original passport from that journey to America! Nearly a century later, it is still beautifully preserved and offers a remarkable glimpse into the past.
The original passport from my family’s 1934 journey to America.
In 1934, Italy was still officially the Kingdom of Italy, long before becoming the republic we know today.
That is why the passport bears the words Regno d’Italia rather than “Republic of Italy.”
It was issued in the name of King Victor Emmanuel III, who ruled Italy back then.
The inside of the passport.
The passport was issued to my grandmother's brother, Domenico, who was 16 at the time.
My grandmother was only 13, and listed as the second person on the passport.
They were both traveling with their father.
My grandmother and her brother.
Such serious faces! As if they already knew that something was about to change forever with that journey.
Like so many other Italian families at the time, they were leaving for a completely new, distant, and unknown country in search of a better life.
They eventually made it to America and lived there for the rest of their lives.
Returning to Italy
Forty-six years later, my grandmother returned to Italy for the only time, this time traveling on a U.S. passport after having become an American citizen long time before that.
She was a proud American, but she kept many of her Italian food traditions from home.
These traditions were cherished within my family and continue to be celebrated today.
Why Calabria Still Feels Personal
It’s incredible to think that this woman I never had the chance to meet is one of the many reasons I still feel so connected to Italy today.
Perhaps that is also one of the reasons I eventually fell in love with an Italian, chose to live here, in Turin, and started organizing tours in this beautiful country.
It goes without saying that Calabria, the region my ancestors are from, is one I feel especially connected to.
I was there with my husband, Beppe, when the idea of bringing travelers there suddenly felt right.
Almost as if I owed it to my grandmother.
Until then, we had never seriously thought about designing a tour there.
There were obvious doubts: Calabria is not a well-known destination abroad.
It is not like Tuscany or Sicily. Many travelers simply don’t know this region, and we wondered whether it would be difficult to inspire people to come.
But then we thought: what if that is actually its greatest strength?
There are fewer tourists.
You do not have to fight for a place at the beach.
You can ride a bike without worrying about traffic.
It is wonderfully quiet.
And people in Calabria are genuinely happy to welcome travelers. Many feel their region is still not appreciated enough, so they are often curious to know what brought you there.
That is how it happened.
And now we have a Calabria Coast to Coast tour that celebrates this area.
It may not mean much to others, but to me it feels like something important came full circle.
As if, in some way, my grandmother and I both made our journeys.
She left for an unknown America, with no choice but to follow her family at such a young age.
And I came back to the country she left behind...
... And found a family, a home, and a purpose here.
