Buffalo Girls in Italy: The Mantione Family of Montedoro

DAY 10: Saturday Evening - Sunday, May 27th: We returned to Montedoro in time for dinner (was it really time to eat, again?) and they took us to a local pizzeria. We arrived and everyone was there including Lena and her husband. The restaurant had an indoor and outdoor area along with an arcade area for the teenagers and was a great place for families. The pizzas were delicious and it was so much fun being with this amazing family!

Afterwards they took us to our apartment in Via Margherita located directly across the street from the home where Jessie's grandfather lived. It was a very nice, clean apartment and I immediately noticed the tiled floors and wanted another foot picture, and then realized I had never taken one with barefeet. What better place to do it as we kicked off our shoes and got ready for bed!

The next day JoMarie and I got up early and took a walk around town. It was very beautiful and probably looked almost exactly the same as when her great-grandfather had lived there. We weren't gone long because Angelo was picking us up soon to take us to Filomena's for breakfast.

After breakfast, we all went to the beautiful old church in the center of town. We spent some time touring the church and the beautiful grounds, and it was all so old and fascinating. We saw the statue of Jesus that they use for their festas and the large ancient baptismal that was most likely used to baptise all the Mantiones, incuding Jessie's grandfather. Soon we had to leave because they told us we were meeting the Mayor so he could open the museum doors for us. The real Mayor? For us? We were shocked and touched at the same time that the Mayor would come out on a Sunday morning to open the doors for us! We arrived at the Mining Museum and there he was waiting for us with the keys! We took a few photos then got a tour of the museum. To me it was so interesting because I had just met up with Angelo Coniglio in Buffalo, NY prior to our trip to get a copy of his book, "The Lady of the Wheel" which was all about the miners from this town during the late 1800's so it was all so relevant and fascinating. I really enjoyed the tour.

Then the Mayor took us to a house that depicted life as it was in the early 1800's including all the furniture and the places for the animals to sleep to keep the family warm. We really enjoyed walking through the house and seeing exactly what life was like back then. The ancient floors were fascinating, so I of course took another foot photo and just before I took it the Mayor realized what I was doing and he joined in on the fun!

It was soon time to go back to Filomena's for lunch and to say good-bye because we would be heading back to Caccamo soon. On the way to Filomena's house Angelo showed us where he and his family lived and took us to his garage to show us his old Fiat and the loft area that he had made for their oldest son, both of which he was very proud of. Afterwards, we passed by a pastry shop that Angelo said was owned by one of the Mantione cousins, so we stopped to visit. There was a young girl sweeping the front walk and a husband and wife inside the shop. We went inside and Angelo introduced Jessie and JoMarie and everyone was hugging and kissing. Then he told them I was their friend, Gale - and immediately the husband turned to me with a big smile and said in his limited English, "You are Gale? The letter!" and once again one of my letters resurfaced as he ran behind the store counter and pulled out one of the copies that I had written to everyone named Mantione in that town. Then he said - "Take picture, take picture!" and put his arm around me and held up the letter while everyone snapped pictures of us. It was really cute and so much fun to meet them.

We arrived back at the house and more "cugini" were there and we had another great meal with everyone. I told Lena what just happened with the letter and she threw her arms up in the air and said - "Oh, those letters! - You can't even imagine what a commotion those letters caused! The day they came every Mantione ran out into the streets and into the piazza with their letters waving them around and showing everyone and all talking at once. Then everyone ran to town hall to look up records and see who you were all related to. Oh, those letters!!!" It was hysterical and sounded so much funnier the way that Lena translated it.

Too soon it was time to go and we all said our good-byes. Then they piled us up with gifts and lemons and wheat and homemade olive oil. I asked Lena if she would tell the family that there are not enough words to thank them for how much they had done for us, and that even though I am not Sicilian I was leaving a piece of my heart here. She translated it to the family and somehow it sounded so much more beautiful as she said it in Italian with so much emotion and the beautiful sing-song tone of her voice.