ANGLO-ITALIAN-L Archives

Archiver > ANGLO-ITALIAN > 2002-03 > 1016363880


From: Elaine Collins <>
Subject: Re: [Anglo-Italian] Immigration patterns
Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 11:18:00 +0000
In-Reply-To: <3C946A84.1119BE27@xtra.co.nz>


Daphne,

many thanks. As ever you replies were really helpful and suggestive of new
areas to investigate.

>> Is Val di Taro a region rather than a specific place, and, if so, is Borgo a
>> place in
>> Val di Taro rather a single place called Borgo Val di Taro (like saying
>> Camberwell, Lambeth rather than Ashby de la Zouche)?
>
> The Taro is a river, so it's the valley I guess. Borgotaro or Borgo Val di
> Taro is a town/ commune as far as I know. Have a look at
> http://mappe.virgilio.it/mappe/index.html for maps of the area. Italy is
> organised into village within commune within province within
> region.

The map was really useful, though I'm still struggling with my communes
provinces and regions!
>
>> Secondly, does the book give any indication of which ports the people from
>> this region came from and to when they arrived in Britain? This information
>> would be helpful for checking passenger lists and immigration records, such
>> as they are.
>
> I haven't seen an indication of ports yet. However, it will depend on when
> your ancestor migrated. When was it?

Giuseppe ALZAPIEDI and Luisa (OSTACCHINI - may not be her maiden name as she
had been married before) came here with their young son Luigi Giuseppe
around 1887, though as they all came together that may mean that Giuseppe
had already been before. As a family group, I'm guessing that they came by
boat, particularly as I think Luisa already had family here who may have
helped with their passage, but talking to someone with family from the same
area about this issue, he suggested a very similar story to yours for many
of the immigrants: working, walking, playing music, via France.
>
> Mine travelled in a typical way for the middle of the 19th century. I always
> thought our family legend sounded rather fanciful but Colpi's
> book confirms it as normal for the peasants from the Tuscan and Emilian
> Appenines.
>
> My gg grandfather, Joseph GHIRARDANI, walked over the Alps playing a piano
> accordion to earn his living. (Sounds like a barrel organ was
> more typical but our family is musical). He also later walked back again to
> his village with a teenage son and then returned to London by
> the same route.

How long would that have taken? The mind boggles!
>
> Colpi says that they usually crossed at Chambery into France and then on to
> Paris before crossing the Channel.

At Calais or some other port do you think?
>
>> My g.grandfather was also an asphalter and as he lived in Back Hill in the
>> heart of "Little Italy" in Clerkenwell, which is a stones throw from Goswell
>> Road.
>
I'll try to get my hands on a trade directory. What period were your lot in
the trade?

Frustratingly the Colpi is out of print (though the picture book is still
available from Amazon), so I'm going to have to try to get it from a
library. Tried the SoG library yesterday, but their collection shows very
little of interest to Ai research.

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