Cipollo Family History Part I: Italy

About this post
This is a living document started in 2012 and last updated April 14, 2018. Special thanks to Rob Petrone who has helped translate several Italian documents, yielding new insights that were otherwise locked away. Also, note that some related documents and photos can be found on flickr. 

FINDING FAMILY ROOTS IN MURO LUCANO ITALY 

As I started my family history research, my first significant discovery concerned my great grandfather, Felix Cipollo. I learned that Felix Cipollo wasn't his birth name. The first hint of that came from an 1893 passenger ship passenger list that identified him as Felice Cipolla from Muro Lucano, not Felix Cipollo as his decedents had come to know him. At first I questioned whether or not there was a mistake in the documentation. My family was clear that the surname Cipollo was ours, not Cipolla. It turned out we knew very little detail about Felix and his heritage pre-America and the beautiful town he came from. It was eye-opening to discover where we came from and that our family name had been changed. Discovering Felice Cipolla was just the beginning.
    
Felix Cipollo was born as Felice Cipolla on April 26, 1877 in Muro Lucano, Italy. The beautiful town in Italy's Apennines is perched over a steep ravine 2,000 ft above sea level. It is part of Mezzogiorno, the southern section of mainland Italy. 

Panorama of Muro Lucano 

The town sits within the province of Potenza, in the region of Basilicata, which makes up the arch of the "boot” of Italy. This is a land of natural beauty. It is about fifty geographic miles from Naples. The name "Muro" is the Italian word for “wall”, a reference to the historical walls that protected the town in ancient times. The word “Lucano” is a nod to the historical designation of region dubbed “Lucania” by the ancient Greeks and Romans who once ruled over the area. 

Historic Map of Muro Lucano

Felice (Felix) was born to Luigi Cipolla and Maria Vincenza Trotta, who were married in January 1871. Maria Vincenza was born on November 8, 1853 in Muro Lucano. Maria was the daughter of Pasquale Trotta and Maria Teresa DiCanio. Her birth record was annotated (not shown below) in 1871 to mention that she married Luigi Cipolla. 

Maria Vincenza Trotta's Birth Record from November 8, 1853

Maria's marriage record to Luigi Cipolla contains an intriguing detail.  Her parents are listed, consistent with her birth record, but his are identified as "uncertain." So, who is Luigi Cipolla and where did he come from?

FINDING LUIGI
A new foundling 

On May 2, 1842 a newborn child was abandoned in Muro Lucano, which at the time was part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Italy as we know it today, did not yet exist. Muro Lucano boasted a population of about 8,000 in those days.  

The abandoned child, known as a “foundling”, would come to be known as Luigi Cipolla. The specific circumstances leading to his abandonment in the town will likely never be known, but his situation was not uncommon. The extreme poverty that plagued Mezzogiorno and the severe social stigma attached to families of unwed mothers fostered significant abandonment. Investigations thus far indicate that there were at least eleven newborn children identified by Muro Lucano civil authorities as having two unknown parents in the year of Luigi's birth. The year prior, there were twenty-eight.

While we know Luigi was abandoned in Muro Lucano, we have to leave open the possibility that his parents were not from the town. The social stigma for families of unwed mothers had the effect that some children were not abandoned in the town of their mother, but rather at another nearby. So, it is possible that Luigi’s mother and father came from Muro Lucano or from one of the towns that bound it including Balvano, Bella, Castelgrande, Colliano, Laviano, Ricigliano, San Gregorio Magno and San Fele.

Muro Lucano is the birthplace of St. Gerard Majella, patron saint of the region and venerated as a protector of pregnant mothers and children. And so it might be that newborn Luigi was blessed to be found in Muro Lucano. For certain, the people of the town made sure he was baptized. We have a record that he was baptized on May 3, 1842 by a priest from the parish of San Nicola (Saint Nicolas Cathedral).

Luigi Cipolla's May 3, 1842 Baptism Record

A given name

Luigi's birth record (see page 1 and page 2) confirms that Luigi's parents were "uncertain". Knowing that he was an abandoned child immediately raises questions about the root of his name. The surname Cipolla is widespread throughout Italy, but not widely associated with Basilicata during that time. The name, meaning “onion,” attached to a newly abandoned male child in Muro Lucano could have come about in a number of ways. 

Those responsible for the rescue of abandoned children assigned surnames to the “foundlings.” So, it could have been a midwife, a wet nurse, catholic clergy, nun or civil authority that presented Luigi Cipolla with his name. 

Why name him after an onion? When you look at the civil records of other abandoned children in and around Luigi’s birth year you find names that are descriptive and colorful. This includes names like, Allegro (“cheerful”), Brunetta (“brunette”), Belfrutto (“nice fruit”), Luppolo (“hop”), Boccaperta (“mouth”), Radice (“root”), Salnitro (“saltpetre”), and Biancospino (“hawthorn”). Clearly there was an interest in names that captured natural qualities and mother nature generally. Maybe baby Luigi was abandoned with an onion or was found next to an onion garden. Maybe he just reminded someone of an onion. We’ll never know the true source of the name.

His given first name, Luigi, might have had special meaning to those who named him. It appears to be the most popular first name attached to the abandoned male children of his era in Muro Lucano. This might be because San Luigi Gonzaga was a popular saint. In fact a statute of him can be found in the church where Luigi Cipolla was married.  Whatever the inspiration, generations to come would be impacted. His descendants would assume the name Luigi and later Louis, no doubt tracing back to the decision of an unknown person or persons back in 1842.  

There would be no confusing Luigi Cipolla with members of a local family or another abandoned child, as his surname stands alone in the Muro Lucano records of that time. No doubt this would place a mark upon the child as abandoned. That would likely present its own challenges in later years.

There would have been official means for Luigi’s parents to claim him and reconcile the records, but that was not commonly done and it does not appear to have transpired for Luigi Cipolla. 

Surviving abandonment

It is unclear how Luigi was raised in Muro Lucano, but new clues emerged in 2018. At the time of Luigi's birth there was an orphanage and hospital in Muro Lucano's San Bernardino neighborhood that supported the poor, sick and abandoned. It was financed by a lay association known as the confraternity of the Most Holy Sacrament. It is reasonable to think this association was the primary source of support for baby Luigi. The accommodations would have been modest (straw bed, crowded conditions, meager rations.).   

But how did Luigi even get to such a place? There were practices in southern Italy more generally that might give us a window into the experience of baby Luigi. At the time of Luigi’s birth, a struggling Italian mother or midwife might place an abandoned child on a "wheel" (la ruota) located in the outside wall of a building known to care for newborns. The wheel typically included a cradle of sorts allowing someone on the outside to place the baby in it anonymously while it was turned to the interior for someone to receive the baby.

One research paper indicates that there were about 1,200 wheels in Italy by the mid-nineteenth century, and that they were especially popular in southern Italy. We don't yet know if such a thing existed in Muro Lucano. It is also possible that as Lugi grew older he was placed with a foster family who would receive a monthly stipend for years. We don't yet know if this was the experience for Luigi Cipolla. 

Clearly someone cared for the infant Luigi Cipolla and he proved to be a survivor when the odds were tough. With newly abandoned children being found each year, it had to be a strain on the resources of the community. Preliminary research suggests that the year prior to his birth almost 30% of those newly abandoned (28 identified so far) did not survive the year in Muro Lucano. It might be good fortune for Luigi and his descendants that he wasn’t born a year earlier. The odds improved dramatically when there were fewer mouths to feed. All eleven abandoned children of 1842 appear to have made it through the year.

Growing up as Luigi Cipolla

As Luigi grew up he would have gazed upon the castle that occupies the top of the Murese hill overlooking the Ripe chasm and steep cliffs that at one time protected the town from attack. He may have heard the infamous tale of the 1382 murder of the Giovanna I of Angio (Queen Joan), queen of the Kingdom of Naples inside the castle walls. He would have seen the tower that was build as a lookout for the territory. Maybe he wondered if King Ferdinand II, the reigning King of the Two Sicilies (1830-1859), would visit Muro Lucano’s castle. Possibly he found himself intrigued by tales of the legendary Numistro where the Roman forces of Marcus Claudius Marcellus battled the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal in 210 BC. 

The Roman Catholic Church would have held a lot of influence and visibility in the life of young Luigi. The magnificent Cathedral of St. Nicholas Camera (originally built in 1009 and known in Italian as La cattedrale di San Nicola ) adjoined the Castle and held amazing frescoes and other famed artistic works on the interior. It stood tall then as it does today in the landscape. A diocesan seminary and a residence for bishops for nine centuries were both prominent as well. While these structures stand today, a 1980 earthquake damaged them and forever altered the architectural landscape of the entire town. Earthquakes have a long history in the region.

In fact, the earth literally shook beneath 15-year old Luigi at around 10:00 AM on December 16, 1857 when an estimated 7.0 magnitude earthquake,known as the Great Neapolitan Earthquake,rocked the Potenza region's 124,000 inhabitants killing and injuring an estimated 10,000 (some suggest triple that) across numerous villages. The earth rolled for an estimated 25 seconds on that date. In subsequent days more deadly events followed. In the town of Montemurro, just 50 miles away, 5,000 inhabitants (70% of the population) perished.

Mercifully, Muro Lucano and nearby neighbors were spared the worst direct effects and no deaths were recorded, though some “fissures” were visible in Muro Lucano even from a distance. We know this because the magnitude of this seismic activity attracted the engineer Robert Mallet from England who was accompanied by Alphonse Bernoud, a French photographer. They extensively documented their travels and research throughout the region in a book. Alphonse Bernoud took a picture of the town from a distance in 1858. Luigi’s world was caught on film! You can see the photo (apparently enhanced for the book) immediately below and a second that appears untouched.  

Luigi Cipolla marries Maria Vincenza Trotta

In January 1871, in the heart of winter, Lugi Cipolla married Maria Vincenza Trotta. They were the second couple reported to marry in Muro Lucano that year. A snippet of their marriage record is captured below.

As previously established, the complete record lets us know that Maria Vincenza was the daughter of Pasquale Trotta and Maria Teresa DiCanio and that Luig's parent's were uncertain. This record also gives us a window into their lives. We find that Maria was a "filatrice" which is Italian for "spinner." This seems like an occupation that might have had a connection with Luigi's occupation at the time. He was a shepherd. Maybe she was spinning wool material from the animals Luigi tended! 

FIRST FAMILY: CIPOLLA'S IN MURO LUCANO

Records thus far indicate that it took four years for Lugi and Maria Vincenza to welcome their first child. Rosamaria arrived first (June 7, 1874) followed by Felice (April 26, 1877). Pasquale appears to have arrived next (about 1880).  Curiously, no official record for Pasquale's birth has been found, despite combing through birth records multiple times. We only know of him from his death record. Michele (Michael) was the third son when he arrived March 28,1883. A second daughter, and their last child, Lucia, was born in 1889. 

Rosamaria Cipolla (later Rosa Crusco) was born June 7, 1874

Felice Cipolla (later Felix Cipollo) was born April 26, 1877

Michele Cipolla (later Michael Cipollo) was born March 28, 1883

Birth records can yield interesting clues. The one for Michele, for instance, tells us that Strada Castello (Castle Street) was his home. The house number has not yet been deciphered! There is a Via Castello today that seems likely to be the same road.

Life was not easy for the Cipolla family. The hilltop town is beautifully situated in the mountains, but the region was not known for its prosperity in the 1800s. For sure there were wealthy landowners, but artisans, farmers and peasants generally would have populated the town during the days of Luigi. Any farming would have required a substantial effort as workable land for the residents of a town like Muro Lucano would have involved a substantial physical commitment. Winters in the mountains were cold (yes, it snows in Muro Lucano!) and summers could be hot.  

Political and economic instability

At the time of Felice's birth, a modern day united Italy was still in its infancy. Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia, was proclaimed the first King of Italy in 1861, just a little more than a decade earlier. The annexation of Venetia in 1866 and papal Rome in 1870 marked the complete unification of Italy during a period know, Risorgimento, just a few years prior to the birth of Felice Cipolla.

The unification of Italy had many challenges. Italy was not homogenous economically, culturally or even linguistically (most spoke local dialects). There were unintended and  disastrous impacts on southern Italian regions like Basilicata and towns like Muro Lucano. Southern peasants shouldered an increased tax burden and the towns faced a changing market for their goods and services. These burdens compounded existing problems such as generally poor soil and high rates of illiteracy. As a result, unification did not go smoothly. One consequence was that a time of heightened brigandage by outlaw bandits took hold in Basilicata, some violently opposing government troops while simultaneously threatening local populations (though many welcomed them).  

In the late 1800s the artisans, sharecroppers and farm laborers who comprised much of the population of southern Italian towns like Muro Lucano began to emigrate to other parts of Europe, the United States, South America, Australia and elsewhere, in significant numbers. 

The loss of family 

On 5 May 1889, the youngest child, thirteen month old Lucia Cipolla died. The documents reports that she died at Via Raia Superiore, number 13. Her parents are identified as farmers/peasants. 

The family suffered a major loss just 10 months after Lucia's death, when the family patron, Luigi Cipolla died. His death at age 48 on 7 July 1890 must have been devastating to his wife Maria Vincenza and their children. She was now responsible for raising Rosamaria (about age 15), Felice (age 13), Pasquale (about age 10) and Michele (age 7). 

Luigi Cipolla's death certificate pictured below yields new insight into his life. Most notably his profession is listed as a "vaccaro", which is Italian for cowboy. It also tells us that he lived at 19 Strada Torrine (19 Torrine Street). Unfortunately, houses in that area were destroyed in a 1980 earthquake. The document also provides contradictory information about his age, but we know from his birth certificate that he was 48, not 45 as reflected here. It seems understandable that an abandoned child and his family might not have been clear on his birthday. 

A local resident and historian for Muro Lucano has kindly shared that Luigi was a member of Sant’Andrea Apostolo (St. Andrew the Apostle), at the time of his death. The church, built in 1420, is regarded as the second most significant church in Muro Lucano after the cathedral and is still active today. 

A NEW BEGINNING 
The first of Luigi's children gets married and travels to America
A little more than two years after the death of her father, Rosamaria started an important new chapter for the family. On September 11, 1892, in the Muro Lucano municipal office before Lord Mayor Farenza Vincenzo, Esq, Rosamaria Cipolla, age 18, was united in matrimony with Vincenzo Crusco, age 21. They were both identified as peasants. Vincenzo was the son of Michele Crusco and Mariantiona Angelicchio.  

Within eight months of her marriage, Rosamaria Cipolla Crusco found herself standing on American soil with her new husband Vincenzo Crusco and her younger brother, Felice Cipolla. Their adventure would include more family coming from Muro Lucano in the years ahead. It would involve new triumphs and tragedies. That is the subject of two other blog posts that cover the journey to America and life in America. It is where Felice Cipolla becomes Felix Cipollo.