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Famiglia Musica-Petrella Da Basilicata
It wasn’t until
my best friend from Roma, Alessandro Sorge, came to visit me in New York City for the first time, that I gleaned several new
pieces of information, starting with my great-grandparent’s marriage certificate. I showed him their papers and
was pointing out with great certainty, how they came from Napoli, Italia. He said “no”, “look more
closely at the documents”. We discovered my great grandmother, Costanza Petrella, actually came from Noepoli,
(pronounced NO-eh-POH-lee) not from Napoli, as it looked at first glance. Modern-day Noepoli, a tiny farming village,
has only 1,351 people living there and sits quietly in the hills of the Basilicata region, just outside of the Capital City
of Potenza.
Although
my mother grew up spelling her maiden name, Musico with an “o’, all records appear to indicate it was originally
spelled ending with an “a”. The Musica & Petrella families came to the US around 1911. It is unclear
exactly how my great grandparents Antonio Musica & Costanza Petrella initially got together, whether it was in Italy at
the Port of Naples or once they landed in the Weirton-Steubenville area and also in Ontario Canada, to work on the railroads.
However, I do have a copy of their marriage certificate from St. Anthony’s Church in Steubenville, where they were married.
However, I do have a
copy of their marriage certificate from St. Anthony’s Church in Steubenville, where they were married. Here is
a copy I made from the marriage records book at St. Anthony’s in January, 1911.
I began researching and collecting these
records back in the mid-90’s while working at WTRF-TV7. I would finish doing the Noon news, then hop in my car
and head up to the courthouses in Jefferson & Hancock counties and found a wealth of information waiting there.
Many Italians were married at St. Anthony’s. The certificates were written in Italian on one side and in English
on the other. My great-grandfather Antonio is from Ausonia, which is a neighboring village in the same region, Caserta, where
my father’s family all came from, in Gallo Matese, Italia
However, Caserta &
Basilicata are not close to each other in any way. Costanza Petrella’s village, Noepoli is much further south
of Napoli, in the Basilicata region. All 6 of Costanza’s children, including my wonderful grandmother Betty,
were born in the US, in the Weirton & Steubenville areas. Times were tough and only four of those children survived.
The land we own in Brooke County today is, on-paper, still called “Musico Heights” for the four plots of land
dedicated to all four of the surviving children: Theresa, Cesare, Pietro & Betty.
Back to Basilicata, though! Another
amazing discovery came in learning about that region’s main cash crop: Peperoni peppers! Just like “Champagne”
sparkling wine or “Roquefort” cheese, this special kind of pepper grown in Basilicata, enjoys origin protection
issued by the European Union. Now the rest of the world can enjoy the quality of this specialty, guaranteed to be grown in
a certain area, with it’s typical soil and climate.
Harvest time for the peperoni, is in September.
Basilicata’s landscape resembles the outlay of our desert southwest in the US in many ways, which is also famous for
it’s own versions of hot, red peppers. I sampled a ton of spicy southwestern cuisine on a modeling shoot in Tucson,
AZ.
the Senise Mountains of the Basilicata landscape
are breathtaking. There's even a tiny bit of coastline on both sides. Various cultures left their traces here,
including Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Normans.
Basilicata is the only Italian region with
two names. Basilicata has been the official name since 1945, but the antique one, Lucania, is still popular, too. Most people
who live here consider themselves "Lucanians" rather than "Basilicatians". Also, the regional cuisine is still known as "Lucanian
Cuisine". And what a cuisine that is -- full of great dishes and unique culinary specialties - incredible sausage and cheese
specialties are the rule in Basilicata.
This is definitely not a tourist spot, and
you rarely see any cars. You will however, see many spectacularly colored drying houses for the peperonis. The
peppers are tied up as ristras, which are called fila (thread) in Italian, and hang in special buildings with open walls (yet
another regulation requires that peppers don't dry in direct sunlight) Hanging on hooks, the ristras get plenty of natural
ventilation. So the next time you sprinkle on those spicy red peppers wherever you enjoy good Italian cuisine, think
Basilicata!
My great-grandmother Costanza was well-known
for the ristras that she would hang out to dry around the back porch of their home in Hollidays Cove (Weirton). As with wine,
you can grow different varieties elsewhere, but it is hard or impossible to duplicate the effects of soil and climate on the
flavor found only in Basilicata. The aroma is fantastico!!!
The homes in Basilicata wind up into the cliffsides.
Streets are more like glorified staircases vaulting up cascading hills. The views from the top are spettacolare certamente!
I am always happy to
help people learn more about their ancestry and genealogy. I did all of my initial investigating in the Ohio Valley,
in courthouses, which are terrific places to start! The folks there are so helpful and will probably guide you in several
more directions you hadn’t even thought of before. I am proud of my Italian heritage and celebrate it every day in my
music.
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