Memories of Salina ~ we find the family home

INSPIRATION

Poetry doesn’t belong to those who write it; it belongs to those who need it.

‘Il Postino’

When thinking of Italian houses I’d love to restore the number one for me is the childhood home of my husbands grandfather Guiseppe. He grew up in the village of Leni on the island of Salina with his parents Maria and Franceso and two sisters.

Now many years later we returned to the island of Salina, with the idea of finding his home just a dream as we had no address. We asked in every shop until we were lucky enough to find a lead. The girl in the tabacchi shop knew the family, it was her mother who had given Maria her insulin injections. They knew the house well in fact they still lived across the road.

So we not only found the house but also part of a living history, my mother in law (on the left) just beamed the entire day.

So four generations later our “mezza italiana” children stood in the home of their great great Grandparents on the island of Salina, a magical moment in time.

Sadly although we were able to find the house it had recently been sold, the new owners had plans to restore it.

One day we’ll return to see the transformation.

Have you traced your heritage? Anyone from Salina?

I’d especially love to hear if you traced it to Sicily or Calabria x

‘My favorite scent memory is the scent of the Sicilian sea’….domenico dolce

love to read

The Stone Boudoir: Travels Through the Hidden Villages of Sicily one of my favorite journeys and a wonderful book.

Coming Home to Sicily: Seasonal Harvests and Cooking from Case Vecchie for all those creative in the kitchen

and one on my reading wish list The Leopard: A Novel

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and the gang x

25 replies

Aleshia P says:
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Absolutely love this and so glad I’ve come across this.

I hope to retrace my families history in Leni amd experience the same. My great-great grandfather Diego Lamaro lived in Leni before moving to Australia in the late 1800s.
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Erin says:
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Hi Lisa – I came across your blog during a genealogy search. My family was from Salina and moved to Boston and Perth around the early 1900s (I think). I think Salina only had a population of around 5k then so likely everyone knew each other in some aspect or another. Our family name is Re. My great grandfather’s brother opened a grocery story in Perth called “The Re Store” which appears to still be open today. My great grandfather settled in Boston, MA where my family still lives. I hope to one day visit Salina and locate some other Re’s but have been finding it tough online.
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Rosemarie mair says:
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Hi, my name is Rosemarie, my maiden name is Lopes. My father’s parents moved to Perth Australia from Salina in the early 1920s. I would love to hear from anyone that knows or has heard of that family name. My grandparents were margarita and Giuseppe Lopes. My grandmother had a twin sister, her married name was locator. If anyone has any information, I would love to hear from them.
Kind regards, Rosemarie Mair
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- Carol says:
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  Hi I saw your post as I am researching my great great grandparents..caterina lopes ( née mazzitello) and guiseppe lopes, I believe lived in Rinella on island of Salina. Some of my great grandpa siblings also migrated to Australia during the same time as yours. Thank goodness for the internet..connect to so many people.
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- Toni Truda says:
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  Hello Rosemarie,
  My grandfather was also Giuseppe Lopes- named after his father of the same name. Drop me an email and we can try connect the dots.
  Am currently in Salina and have been trying to find other Lopes here- it is such an unusual name. Ciao
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Beth O'Shea says:
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Hi Lisa,
I wonder if we might be related? I am tracing my great grandfather’s journey to Melbourne. His name was Giuseppe Reina and his parents were Francesco Paolo and Emmanuele Maria, all of Leni, Salina. I notice the first names are the same as your husbands grandfather and his parents. Was Reina their surname?
Would love to chat!
Beth
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Ciao Beth, send us an email to admin@renovatingitaly.com and we can chat there. I am very interested in tracing the family tree as well. We visited Salina and it’s very beautiful, we found the cemetary where my MIL’s family are buried. I can put you in touch with others doing the same thing xx
  look forward to hearing from you again ciao ciao Lisa x
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Frank Basile says:
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I came across this site .My grandfather Francesco Basile was born in Leni 2Jul 1896 .He arrived in Melbourne Australia in Nov 1910 apparently on his own and with his age on he passenger list as “19” . His parents arrived in 1913 bringing his future wife with them .Her surname was Palamara . My grand dad had sibblings I believe , location unknown . Story was that they may have ended up in the USA and Argentina ? . His father was born in Lipari circa 1840 and died here in Melbourne 1929
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Christine V says:
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Hello. My grandmother was from Salina. Nunziata Zaia. I am currently trying to piece together my family tree with little information. I believe she was born in Valdichiesca or Rinella? Her parents names were: Giacomo and mother Caterina (Tumminello) I believe she had brothers Jack, Basilio and sisters Rosa, Antionetta and Maria. She came to Australia in the early 1900’s where she married Bartolo Merlino, originally from Lipari. They had 8 children, my father Angelo their first born! I am seeking any information I can find. Thank you Christine
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- Trudy M says:
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  Hi Christine, you’ve found family!
  Your grandmother’s sister Rosa was my great-grandmother (I believe). She was born in Leni in 1896 and came to Australia as a 17yr old in 1914. She married Tommaso Merlino from Lipari in 1916 and had two children, my grandfather Angelo born in 1917 and his sister Nancy. Nancy never had any children, but my grandfather had three; my father Jeffrey, his brother Paul and my aunty Roslyn.
  Would love to get in touch and see what more we can work out.
  Wonderful to discover you 🙂
  Trudy
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- Trudy Moloney says:
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  Hi Christine, it seems that we are related 🙂
  Your grandmother Nunziata was my great-grandmother’s (Rosalia) sister.
  I have Rosalia’s passport from when she came to Australia in 1913 as a 17yr old.
  She married Tommaso Merlino (also from Lipari) and had two children, Angelo (my grandfather) and Nancy. Nancy never had children, but Angelo had my father Jeffrey, Paul and Roslyn.
  Would love to get in touch and see what we can find out together.
  Regards,
  Trudy
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Antono MERLINO says:
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My dream was to visit Salina,with my wife Rosalie we were able to go in September 2014 ,it was a dream come true,my perents and brother we born in Leni,I was hopping to find my grandparents home but i could not as a number of records we lost,we had a wonderful time,i met my second cousins Gerardo and Isabella Podetti,my grandmothers name was Marie Grazia Fumularo and my great grabdmother was Maria Rosa Rando, they were all married in the local church St Giuseppie the thip was wonderful i would love to go again and look for more information.
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- Salvatore Chiodo says:
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  Hi, Antono,
  
  Its Sam (Salvatore) @renovatingitaly My mums side of the family was also born in Leni and we did find the house, which we found by asking around. the lady in the photos told us which one it was and she used to give my great grandmother her medication injections. you just need to ask people in Leni like we did and you will find lots of info from the locals. i know that you may need what the Italians call the Soprenomo (nickname) of the person. When i went to search my dads family in Calabria no body know him from his name but by his soprenomo which was ” TIC TIC” after asking him what that meant he said it was the sound the donkey made on the cobbled streets because he had one missing show on his hoof. funny
  If he hadn’t remembered that nickname we wouldn’t have found any info..
  
  is this you great grandmother.
  Rosaria Rando
  Birth: 1888
  Death: 1962
  Burial:
  Leni Cemetery
  Provincia di Messina
  Sicilia, Italy
  
  Concetta Maria.Defina, great grandmother (dads side)… .Rosina Taranto my grandmother.. who was born in Leni but her mum (great grandmother, which we don’t even know her name on mum side) hung herself because of the gossip in the town, that her husband was sleeping around…those days were tough
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ML says:
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the beaming smile of your mother in law is priceless, thank you for sharing your story.
love,
ML
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  It was so beautiful to be there with her as she rediscovered her heritage and homeland. Especially having our children with us, such a wonderful journey of family, and I learned so much about our children’s history. It really was wonderful to be able to return to my Mother in Law and Father in laws homes. ciao lisa x
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LindyLouMac in Italy says:
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It will indeed be interesting to return again one day to see the renovations.
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Yes I have a very vivid picture in my head of how it turned out. ciao lisa
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Lisa DeNunzio says:
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How wonderful to go back and discover the home of an ancestor. My husband’s grandmother owned a home near Aguilla but when the time came to sell, many years ago, she sold to her tenant as she had already moved stateside. Peccato. My husband and I were too young at the time to even think of making a purchase. Now all we have is the lovely photo to remind us of what could have been. A presto, Lisa
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  I found a card in a frame hidden under an old image and Connie took it back to Australia with her. We like to think it may have once belonged to the family. Maybe one day you’ll be able to trace the house, it’s a great feeling to stand where your ancestors stood. x
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Janine says:
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O Lisa! A beautiful story as ever. It has given me goosebumps. It may never be yours again but that your children saw their great great nonno’s home – come si dice? – is still a wonderful thing. And a beaming suocera is always a bonus… Like Toni, this gives me inspiration to go back to Sicily on a mission of my own. My nonni were from little villages not far from Catania. I didn’t realise your husband’s family were islanders too! Jxx
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  It was really nice for my mother in law to trace her roots and find a part of her heritage and to do it with her own grandchildren made it even more special. Maybe we’ll all go one day and discover the past lives of our ancestors xx
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Toni DeBella says:
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Lisa, Oh, that made me sad that someone else had bought that house, but I hope that they will put all the love and care into it that you would have. Wonderful story. When I go back to my grandfather’s village in Sicily, I hope I can find people who might have known my family. A very powerful experience to stand in the room with so much history. Hugs. toni
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  The island is expensive to buy into now so we might not have been able to afford the house. I’d love to go back next year if my in-laws come to see if any progress has been made. It was wonderful to stand on the little balcony that our children’s great great grandmother stood on and look out over the same view. xx
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Lisa Wood says:
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Oh that would be such a fantastic house to renovate – Love that your Mother-in-Law was able to see the house and was so happy! Wonder what the new owners have done to make the house into a new home?
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Lisa I’d love to see it again and I’m sure we’ll go back to Salina and spend more time exploring. I have some wonderful photos of the island and the donkey trail that leads to the village down by the beach. We walked it a few times while we were visiting. I hope to hear some more stories about life here from Connie’s Dad’s sisters who are still alive. x
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