A Carunchio Visit from USA Relatives

By Eric Paglieri

Ally (my wife now) and I took a trip to Italy in the summer of 2018 to see Rome and the Abruzzo region.  When my father (Wayne) heard where we wanted to go, he quickly pulled out the marriage certificate of his grandfather (Giuseppe) and grandmother (Maria Viterito); showing Giuseppe was from Carunchio.  A quick Google search informed us that the drive from where we were staying to Carunchio was about 2.5 hours.  For a day trip to visit my roots, it was an easy call to say yes, even though when we told Italians of our plan, they thought we were crazy to make such a long trip in one day. 

We made the drive with no issues and made sure to take some pics along the way.

Our plan was simple - walk through the town, visit the cemetery and get some food.  The town was perched on a hill and was remarkably picturesque; the downside being that the town itself was very, very quiet.  There were really no opportunities to talk to anyone so we visited the church and walked around a bit. 

Towards the end, we did finally run into someone so we asked for a recommendation on food.  He mentioned a restaurant VERY far away but we came to find Italians just didn’t like to travel far because it was just outside of town.

We had a fabulous meal at Agriturismo Manzir and the owners were lovely.  Keep in mind, this is a very small town and not exactly a tourist hotspot.  So when the table next to us finally asked “What are you doing here?” Ally sprang into action (speaking Italian) and let them know I was a Paglieri and we were visiting.  “Finish your meal and we’ll take you the Paglieri’s.” 

We first arrived at the home of Donato Ranni and his wife, Giovanna.  Fresh from the beach with barely any notice, they were apologetic that they weren’t prepared to host us but still came out with espresso for us.

Donato then took us to see where my great-grandfather (Giuseppe) grew up.  We didn’t go inside, I think it may have been vacant/unlivable but still very cool.

Donato then proceeded to take us to the home of Maria Giuseppa Petta (Paglieri) where we were joined by her son (Giulio), her grandson (Luigi – our main point of contact in Italy), and Ettore Ritrivi (son of Amelia Paglieri and Domenico Ritrivi).  We were welcomed with open arms and sodas were brought out as well as photos from a Paglieri reunion in December of 1945. 

I can’t tell you much of what was said during this meeting because I didn’t speak any Italian, nor they any English, with the exception of Ally furiously trying to translate for everyone.  What I do remember was the warmth of the house, the reception and that I had “Paglieri hair” while Maria Giuseppa grabbed a fistful of it.

It was a remarkable and cherised visit that Ally and I will always treasure for its hospitality and connection to our family roots.