Project Description
August, 2015
It was delightful to work with Mirella and Southern Italy Travel! She was prompt, easy to work with and extremely professional in every aspect. Mirella assisted with our travel plans and accommodations. We traveled to Rogliano (with children ages 17, 14 and 12) to learn about my husband’s family. His relatives immigrated to New York in the mid 1800’s and through out the years, all communication has been lost.
Mirella re-arranged her schedule so she could spend two half days with us. She translated almost every conversation for the two days. Mirella secured an expert local guide, Alessia, and they both guided us in a walking tour where we learned the history of the town, saw churches and homes of noblemen.
They located the one remaining relative and with Mirella’s help we shared information about the family. We were overwhelmed to walk through the family homestead, passed down throughout the generations and to see old family photos. Mirella and Alessia arranged for the family’s church to be opened, allowing us to walk the pews and areas where relatives received baptisms and other sacraments.
That evening they surprised us with a private, local wine, cheese and bread tasting. On the second day after touring other parts of the town, Mirella and Alessia coordinated an unbelievable siesta, prepared by a local chef. We savored the courses, which featured local foods and flavors, home made deserts and local wines. The chef even worked around our food preferences.
Not only were we given genealogical family charts, birth, marriage and death records for his family, but Mirella uncovered that my husbands family was part of a political uprising, something we never expected. We were given copies of trial records and she explained the political background at that time so we had a clear understanding of the circumstances.
Our time with Mirella and Alessia was beyond anything we anticipated! My children were engaged the entire time and she discovered fascinating information about his family. Mirella created memories that will last a lifetime! We highly recommend Mirella and Southern Italy Travel!!
Julie
Wisconsin
