EdizioneII Decembre 2001

SOGNA
“Societa’ Organizzata per G ioiesi in Nord A merica”
Quarta Edizione
Inverno 2001
Dear Friends and Compaesani,
All the organizers of the October 27 celebration want to thank you all for participating and
making our Gioiesi reunion a magnificen t reality! If you grew up in Gioi, you must admit, it was a
very special feeling when you looked around you and saw your old friends and recognize those
faces that first became familiar to you as infants. If you grew up in the States, as many of you
did, I can only imagine what you felt when you saw your near and distance relatives who share
your roots and your genes. The SOGNA Gioi reunion, October 27, 2001 was a smashing success!
We enjoyed each other’s company and had a lot of fun. Spending a few hours in your company,
for me it was like awaking up from a dream and reliving my distant adolescent years.
The success of Sogna Reunion Celebration was due by large to the enthusiastic participation of
the 168 of us who came to the restaurant and to the 68 who came to the Holy Face Convent for
the mass. However, we all agree that much credit must go to my friends and organizers Alberto
and Luciano Infante, Antonio and Mario Torraca, Lou D’Angelo, Roberto Rizzo and Biagio Grasso.
These guys are professional at this stuff! Don’t you agree? They organized this reunion to near
perfection and they are ready to do it even better next year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.
SEVERINO D'ANGELO
LETTERS
I have read SOGNA already three times [today], and it
has gotten more enjoyable every time. Thanks for the
memories. It has been great hearing from friends that I
have not seen in ages, right Benito? It is just great to
hear from friends, from relatives, from the clergy, the
mayor and from the children of some of my old
friends.
Non credo come tu alludi che noi Gioiesi siamo di
origine tedesca, bensi di origine Greca. I nostri
antenati venivano dalla cittadina di Phocaea {Foca},
nell' Asia minore {Turchia}da una colonia greca,
forse rimasti dopo la guerra di Troia. La citta' fu
catturata dai Persiani durante le guerre con la Grecia. I
Focensi fuggirono sulle loro navi e si rifugiarono in
Corsica. Vi furono battaglie con i Cartaginesi e i
Tirreni e poi si stabilirono a Velia, tra Latini ed
Onotri. Dopo la distruzione di Velia la popolazione si
sposto' nei paesi vicini, Gioi tra questi. I Longobardi
occupavano il Cilento,ma credo che a Gioi
la maggioranza fosse di Velia. E' anche vero che Gioi
fu assediato, ma non occupato da Barbarossa noi
ricordiamo la leggenda del formaggio. Barbarossa era
un ammiraglio turco il cui vero nome era Khayr adDin , egli aveva conquistato la Tunisia e la citta' di
Algeria. Stuzzica a don Fernando di farci un po' di
storia.Sara'come una volta tutti i familiari attorno al
fuoco ed qualcuno faceva 'nu cunto.
MARIO GROMPONE
In the section written in Italian, Mario is explaining
how the Gioiesi came to be of Greek origin. I had
suggested we might be of German descent instead.
Actually, I meant it to be a joke since the Longobardi
from the Rhine Valley built the fortress, Castello that
later expanded into the town of Gioi. Mario has
researched the subject and discovered some
fascinating facts. Our ancestors came form Phocaea,
Asia Minor (present day Turkey). Phocaea was a
Greek colony, perhaps settled by the Greeks after the
war of Troy. During a subsequent war between
Greece and Persia, the Persians conquered Phocaea
and forced the Greek population to escape with their
ships to the island of Corsica. As a result of more
wars against the Carthaginians and the Tirreni, the
Greeks form Phocaea left Corsica and settle in Velia,
among the local Latin and Onotri populations. Velia
eventually was destroyed and its Greek inhabitants
moved to the nearby towns including Gioi. Velia is
about 10 miles from Gioi, in the Southern direction,
close to the sea. According to Mario, at this time, the
Longobardi were numerous in other Cilento towns but
Gioi was made mostly of refugees from Velia. Mario
is also discussing a Barbarossa episode. Barbarossa
besieged Gioi but was not able to conquer the town.
There is a legend narrated still today in Gioi,
describing how the people of Gioi convinced
Barbarossa to terminate the siege and leave. The
legend says the Gioiesi made an enormously large
piece of cheese using all the milk they had left. They
rolled the cheese down the mountain for Barbarossa
to see. Seeing all that cheese coming down from Gioi,
Barbarossa thought, if the Gioiesi can afford to
through away all that food, their supplies must be well
stocked and it would be useless to continue with the
siege. As the story goes, the trick worked and
Barbarossa went away. According to Mario,
Barbarossa was a Turkish admiral, whose real name
was Khayr ad-Din. He had already conquered Tunisia
and the city of Algiers. I am familiar with another
Barbarossa born in Sicily from a Sicilian mother and
a German father. His real name was Fredrick; called
Barbarossa (red beard) because of his light
complexion. I had no idea that there are two
Barbarossa in the history of Southern Italy. Mario
and I both would like to know more on the subject.
Don Fernando Scarpa has referred me to Mario
Garofalo, a history professor from Gioi, for further
information. I have tried repeatedly to reach Mario
Garofalo by phone but without success. Time is on our
side, we will get to the bottom of this.
SEVERINO D’ANGELO
Trovandovi tutti con perfetto stato di salute, di bene,
di gioia, allegria e armonia familiare. Da parte nostra,
ringraziamo il Buon Dio che ancora ci congeda l'
energia necessaria di salute per azionare con
efficienza tutti i nostri fabbisogni personali
giornaliermente. Io voglio farti le mie congratulazioni
per la bella festa il 27 Ottobre. Per noi e' stata una
giornata indimenticabile. Voglio anche ringraziarti di
vero cuore per avermi data l' opportunita' di salutare
con gioia e nervosismo tutti i partecipanti presenti
nella sala. Io veramente non sono abituato a parlare
davanti a tanta gente, L' emozione ha bloccato il
pensiero che volevo esprimere. Poi chiedo scusa e
perdono a quelli che avrebbero preferito che le parole
dette in lingua Inglese. Pero' dato che la Santa Messa
e' stata recitata in lingua Italiana, io volevo
solo mantenere vivo il nostro Italiano e il nostro bello
dialetto Gioiese che ho sempre parlato nella mia casa,
insegnandolo anche ai miei figli e nipotini; anche se
sono nati tutti qui negli Stati Uniti. Comunque tutta la
festa si e' svolta molto bene. Credo che tutti sono
rimasti soddisfatti e certamente tutti saranno presenti l'
anno prossimo. Ti raccomando di non perdere ls tua
vivacita', il tuo impegno e al tua energia. Grazie
ancora per averci data una bella giornata
indimenticabile. Per un' antichissima tradizione, il
mese di Dicembre ci porta un' altra bella festa, la
nascita del Bambino Gesu', una festa di allegria, di
pace, di perdono e la festa della famiglia e la festa per
scambiare i nostri sinceri auguri Natalizi. Voglia il
Bambino Gesu' riempire la vostra vita di salute, di
pace, amore, gioia e la grazia delle sue benedizioni. Io
unito con tutta la mia famiglia vi auguriamo Buon
Natale circondato con tutte le vostre persone piu' care
e un prospero anno nuovo. Auguri,
ANNA E B ENITO SCARPA
The following is a partial translation of Benito’s letter:
…I want to congratulate you for the beautiful
celebration of October 27. For us it was an
unforgettable day. In addition, I want to thank you
from the bottom of my heart, for giving me the
opportunity to speak and to express my happiness to
everyone present. I am not in the habit of speaking in
front of so many people. Consequently, I was nervous
and my emotions kept me from expressing what I
really felt. In addition, I apologize to those who wish
that I had spoken in English. However, since the Mass
was in Italian, I thought it be appropriate to continue
in Italian…The celebration went very well and I
CARISSIMO SEVERINO E FAMIGLIA ,
Eccomi che di nuovo vengo a bussare la porta della
vostra residenza con questa mia lettera augurando che
quando sara' udita non disturbera' troppo la vostra
lieta placida tranquillita' che regna nella vostra casa.
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believe everyone was pleased and ready to do it again
next year. Keep up your vitality, enthusiasm and
commitment to Sogna. Thank you, again for giving us
an unforgettable and beautiful day. By old tradition,
the month of December brings us another beautiful
celebration, the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a
celebration of happiness, peace and forgiveness. It is
also a family holiday and an opportunity to exchange
our love for one another. May Jesus bestow on you
His blessings and fill your life with health, peace, love
and happiness. My family and I wish you all, a Merry
Christmas surrounded by your loved ones and a
prosperous New Year. Best Wishes. ANNA AND
BENITO SCARPA
Gogliucci, the second oldest in Gioi. Carmelia will be
100 years old November 5, 2002. I promised her a big
party for her birthday next year. She and I are both
looking forward to it. Sitting on the left is Maria
Astore. Maria is young in comparison to the other
two. I do not know her exact age but she is almost 90.
The guy standing talking to the ladies is I, Severino.
Below center left is a picture of are two Norwegian
journalists interviewing Carmela Mastrogiovanni. The
journalists are in the foreground facing away from the
camera. Carmela is in the center next to Andrea Salati,
the major. Hidden on the left it is I interpreting for the
two gests. In the bottom left picture are six Gioiesi
sitting in the main Piazza, enjoying the warm sun in
the month of March. Yes, I am again in the middle of
the picture.
Dear Severino,
My name is Andrea (Andrew Santomauro). I was born
in Gioi, but when I was 5 years old, my parents,
Carmelo and Carmelina Santomauro emigrated to
Monte Video where I lived for 19 years. Then, thanks
to my uncle Joe Marmora, we immigrated to the US.
Now, I live in Madrid, Spain and every year, from
July to September, I go to Gioi. Thanks to my cousins
Gianni and Enzo, I get to stay at their house next to
the Piazza. I love Gioi, because, since I was a little
boy, my mother spoke to me constantly about Gioi,
San Nicola and Madonna del Rosario. Now when I go
to Gioi and I meet the people there, I can see that my
mother was right. The people of Gioi are the best in
the world. Also, I can see all the work that my
mother, father, and aunt had to do to give me and my
family a very good life….ANDREW SANTOMAURO
CONCLUSION
My ambitious plans, including the big December issue
and the poster on the walls of Gioi wishing all Merry
Christmas from all of us, did not quite materialize.
Please accept my apologies. The last four months, I
have been unusually busy with my work in the
automobile industry. To give you an idea, since
September, I have flown on 20 different planes and
19,000 flight-miles. On the bright side, with your help
and cooperation, we have accomplished a great deal
this year. The Sogna organization is strong and alive.
The success of the October reunion exceeded
everyone expectations. Many of you have told me you
have wanted an organization such as Sogna for a long
time. Now we have it! All of us organizers are more
enthusiastic than ever about Sogna. We are going
strong. For the future, we are contemplating a long list
of plans and activities that I am sure you are going to
love. With regard to the Christmas poster on the walls
of Gioi, we will do it next year. I promise! As far as
the bigger Sogna issues, we are on the right track. As
you can see, we have now our two correspondents
from Gioi, Gianpiero and Nicola. In the future, Doctor
Joe Bruno from Kalamazoo, Michigan, will be writing
the medical column. The next issue will resume the
recipes form Marila and we will continue with more
historical notes about Gioi and Gioies i in North
America. I hope that you all had a Glorious Christmas
and will have an exciting 2002. I know, I will! God
bless you all!
SEVERINO D’ANGELO
Thank you, Andrew for this beautiful and touching
letter. I hope to see you in Gioi in the summer of 2002.
SEVERINO D'ANGELO
PHOTOS
Nine of the pictures that you see in the center of the
issue are from the reunion October 27, 2001. The
three pictures on the left of the page are from Gioi.
Starting at the top left, these are three of the oldest
ladies living in Gioi. At the right is the oldest of them
all, Carmela Mastrogiovanni at the age of 101 is in
excellent shape; she remembers all the wars fought by
Italy in the 20th Century including the 1905 war when
Italy conquered Libya. In the center is Carmelia
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(presidio di emergenza territoriale) individuato e
realizzato nel comune di Gioi e finora non attivo.
Questo presidio è particolarmente sentito dalle
popolazioni interessate, a maggioranza anziani, perché
lo stato di invalidità richiede tempi lunghi per
raggiungere Vallo della Lucania con gravi disagi ed a
volte inutili corse nel tentativo di dare assistenza a chi
ne ha bisogno. Il sindaco di Gioi, Andrea Salati, ha
ricordato che questo presidio è importante, perché il
“Cilento interno merita certamente più rispetto e
servizi adeguati al quotidiano, che già pone di molte
difficoltà”. Infine si è inaugurato il Centro Locale del
Parco, punto di riferimento sul territorio dell’Ente,
con collegamento in rete per una azione
d’informazione e di commercializzazione dei prodotti
tipici anche a livello internazionale. Si è avuta la
partecipazione del presidente dell’Ente Parco,
Giuseppe Tarallo, del presidente della Comunità del
Parco, Gino Marotta, dei membri del direttivo,
Natalino Barbato e Pierino Lia, del delegato di Gioi al
Parco, Generoso Mastrogiovanni, del presidente della
Pro Loco di Gioi Carlino Scarpa, dell’assessore
Franco Grompone, del sindaco di Gioi Andrea Salati,
e dell’esponente nazionale dei Verdi Grazia
Francescato. E’ sicuramente per Gioi un momento di
particolare importanza, in quanto l’occasione
dell’inaugurazione del Centro Locale dà la possibilità
di ospitare i vertici dell’Ente. Si ritorna così nel cuore
del Cilento per raccogliere le istanze, le ansie e le
aspirazioni dei cittadini che hanno visto nel Parco
l’ultima, vera, grande occasione di sviluppo possible.
GIANPIERO V ECCHIO E NICOLA SALATI
PAESE IN FORTE MOVIMENTO
Tante le iniziative che si sono svolte a Gioi in questi
ultimi mesi e che hanno fatto del paese uno dei primi
del Cilento. Il piano della ricerca sul DNA, che vede
Gioi paese capo fila di altri nove, si è avuto il 10
settembre il gemellaggio con Felitto, per il rilancio del
comune prodotto tipico “fusilli”.
Le delegazioni composte dal sindaco di Gioi, Andrea
Salati, e di Felitto, Donato Di Stasi, hanno iniziato i
lavori durante la sagra del Fusillo di Gioi e li hanno
proseguiti durante la Festa del Fusillo di Felitto. C’è
stato lo scambio di fusilli e l’accordo di portare il
fusillo del Cilento e della Val Calore non solo sulla
tavola dei gioiesi e felittesi o degli occasionali ospiti
delle rispettive sagre, ma dei tantissimi buongustai
nazionali ed internazionali. E’ stato ripristinato anche
il Premio “Città di Gioi “ vinto da Fulvio Tessitore,
professore-scrittore, senatore della Repubblica e già
Rettore dell’Università di Napoli, con il libro “La mia
Napoli”.Premio “Città di Gioi” giunto alla sedicesima
edizione ed organizzato dal Comune di Gioi con le
associazioni locali e della provincia di Salerno.Il
premio è stato consegnato dal presidente della giuria,
Michele Cataudella, composta da Nicola Bianco,
Ermanno Corsi, Antonio La Gloria, Luigi Maria
Lombardi Satriani e da Vincenzino Scarpa. Per la
sezione “Cilento–Ebner” è stato premiato Diomede
Ivone con il libro “Terra di Cilento” e per quella
“Guido Scarpa” Domenico Chieffallo con il libro
“Novecento Cilento”. Si è tenuta poi nella prima
Domenica di Ottobre la ormai celebre e tradizionale
festa del Rosario, che sotto la attenta regia del parroco
Don Guglielmo Manna ha riproposto il Volo
dell’Angelo, perpetuazione di una rappresentazione
secolare di buon auspicio per Gioi e per il Cilento.
L’Angelo impersonificato da due bambini gioiesi, è
stato fatto correre lungo una fune di acciaio nella
piazza principale durante la processione della
Madonna, giunti all’altezza della statua hanno recitato
una preghiera, che ha emozionato il numerosissimo
pubblico presente .Dopo c’è stato l’incendio della
torre Campanaria, quale suggestiva e particolare
visione pirotecnica. La domenica di festa è stata
preceduta da un concerto di organo antico svoltasi
nella chiesa di S.Eustachio, quindi un concerto di
musica classica eseguito dalla banda musicale “Città
di Noci” e la tradizionale chiusura affidata ai fuochi
d’artificio. Forte mobilitazione si è avuta a metà
ottobre con la “Conferenza dei Sindaci” del Cilento
collinare avente per oggetto l’apertura del SAUT
Below, is the English translation of this article with
added comments for those who are not very familiar
with the traditional customs of Gioi. Actually and to
be completely honest, I tried to do a literary
translation of the article but without success.
Paraphrasing it and adding comments is much easier.
So why is it so hard for me to translate Italian into
English? Those who were not raised in Italy may find
this interesting. Italian can be written in a colloquial
style, similar to the style that I am using now in
English. However, most Italians including Gianpiero
and Nicola, prefer writing in the classical style. It is
poetic, musical and beautifull, but sometimes hard to
understand and translate. I used to write like that 38
years ago! But having been in the States since 1963, I
have lost that magic touch. I must add, Italian has a
beautiful sound in any style. SEVERINO D’ANGELO
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along a steel cable stretched high above the town
square from one end to the other. To the crowd
underneath, in procession with the statue of the
Madonna del Rosario, the child dressed with wings
appears like an angel flying in the sky. This year, two
children participated in the event. Once the “Angel” is
pulled above the statue of the Madonna, he stops and
recites an emotional prayer. Fire works in the
campanile came next. These fire works envelop the
entire bell tower (campanile), giving it the appearance
of being on fire. It must be quite spectacular! Earlier
events included a concert played on the ancient organ
inside the Church. Then in the evening, an out of town
band layed classical music in the main square and
additional traditional fireworks closed the festa as it is
traditions in all of Southern Italy. If you want to
participate in these events in person, Gioi celebrates
the Festa del Rosario every year on the first Sunday of
October. It is a great time to go to Italy; the tourists
are gone; the weather is pleasant and the airfares are
low.
GIOI-A TOWN ON THE GO
Ganpiero Vecchio and Nicola Salati, two university
students from Gioi, summarize in the previous article,
the main events occurred in Gioi the second half of
this year. For the past tree years, Gioi, among nine
other surrounding towns, has taken the lead in a
special DNA study of the inhabitants of the Cilento. If
successful, this research may help in finding the cure
for some common diseases, not including the common
cold, I am afraid! On the other hand, this type of
research can be long, tedius and without major results.
Perhaps in the near future, Gianpiero and Nicola will
give us an update on any preliminary findings that
may have been reached by the researchers.
The 10th of September, Gioi and the neighboring town
of Felitto celebrated the resumption of the Fusilli Fest.
For those who may not know, fusilli are home-made
noodles unique to the Cilento region of Italy. They
make a salivating delicious dish! Maybe, we can make
fusilli our main dish at the next Gioiesi reunion. What
do you think? Infact, Gianpiero and Nicola tell us, the
respective mayors of Gioi and Felitto, Andrea Salati
and Donato Di Stasi, agreed to promote the fusilli dish
nationally and internationally.
A conference of the mayors of the town in the Cilento
was held in Gioi late in October to address the issues
of emergency medical assistance for the elderly. The
Cilento is a mountainous region and difficult to travel
from place to place. For many towns, the only hospital
in Vallo della Lucania is hard to reach in an
emergency especially by the older population. This
issue is particularly important to Andrea Salati since
he is a medical doctor in addition to mayor of Gioi.
In addition to the fusilli fest, a second summer event,
interrupted a couple of years back, made its return in
2001. Now in its 16th season, the “Premio Citta’ di
Gioi”, “Cilento Ebner” and “Guido Scarpa” consist of
three awards for literature. This year’s judges,
Michele Cataudella, Nicola Bianco, Ermanno Corsi,
Antonio La Gloria, Luigi Maria Lombardi Satriani
and Vincenzino Scarpa awarded the main prize to the
senator Fulvio Tessitore, formerly president of the
University of Naples. Senator Tessitore won the
award for his book “My Naples”. Other awards were
given to Diomede Ivone for his book “Land of
Cilento” and to Domenico Chieffallo for his book
“Nineteen Century Cilento”. The town of Gioi and
other organizations in the province of Salerno sponsor
these awards.
The last event reported by Gianpiero and Nicola is the
grand opening of the local park center. Many of you
may not know that Gioi is in the Italian national park
system. Many see the park as an opportunity for local
development, tourism and other commercial activities
that may revitalize the local economy. I should add,
others, especially the hunters, do not like the
restrictions that the park system requires. For
example, hunting a favorite past time of many Gioiesi,
is now prohibited.
SEVERINO D’ANGELO
VIVA GIOI!
The traditional “Festa del Rosario” was celebrated as
customary the first Sunday in October. This year,
festivities included the resumption of the “Flight of
the Angel”. For those who may not be familiar with
this event, it consists of pulling a small child traveling
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