100th Birthday

100th Birthday in Salinas: Kathy Ammann with granddaughter Erica, Genuina’s great nephew-in-law and great niece Lorie, Genuina, great nieces visiting from Pieve di Bono in Trentino
100th Birthday in Salinas: Kathy Ammann with granddaughter Erica, Genuina’s great nephew-in-law and great niece Lorie, Genuina, great nieces visiting from Pieve di Bono in Trentino

Genuina (Genny) Franceschetti, nee Corradi, from Daone in the Valli
Giudicarie, celebrated her 100th birthday on November 17th in Salinas. She was married to Marino Franceschetti from Cologna, a hamlet of Pieve di Bono.
They settled in Solvay, New York, which hosted many immigrants from the Valli Giudicarie. In the late 40s they moved to Palo Alto, and Marino worked as a painter at Moffett Field. Niece Kathy Ammann kindly sent us a photo of the event, which included relatives from Trentino. Happy 100th to Genuina!

Trentini in Space

CristoforettiSamantha Cristoforetti
On November 23rd Samantha Cristoforetti, a Trentina from Malè in the Val di Sole, became
the first Italian woman, and only the third European, to go to space. She left with two other astronauts from Kazakhstan on a Soyuz rocket. She is currently coming to the end of her long-term mission on the International Space Station. Click here for a feature story by
ABC News on this Trentina luminary.
According to a posting on the ITTONA Facebook page, the night skies of Malè offered the young Samantha an unfettered view of the stars and motivated her to become an astronaut.
Go to Samantha’s European Space Agency page for photos and postings from her adventure in space.
Club member Father Alberto Mengon is from the Val di Rabbi, very near Malè. He has met
Samantha’s grandfather and uncle on more than one occasion in Malè; naturally, he says they are very proud of her. Samantha’s family operates the Hotel Liberty in Malè.
One thing Samantha has truly missed in space has been her Italian espresso. NASA recently approved use of a machine designed in Italy. It was supposed to arrive in January, but a launch explosion quashed that plan. The machine dubbed the ISSpresso (International Space Station) finally arrived this month (April).
NPR reports Samantha will probably be awarded the first cup, but she will have to share with her colleagues 🙂

Aerospace Industry in Trentino
Trentino has become a bustling high-tech center, thanks in part to the assistance provided by Trentino Sviluppo. Fly S.p.a., a company supplying components for the new Airbus 350, is located in Grigno, 25 miles east of Trento in the Valsugana.
Fly’s products are also found in space launchers, chemical and nuclear reactors, gas and steam turbines, and in deep-water equipment.

Italian Citizenships

Jim Boin & Sons

Jim Boin with Italian passport in hand, Consul General Mauro Battocchi, Michael Job !
Jim Boin with Italian passport in hand, Consul General Mauro
Battocchi, Michael Job

Trentino belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire until it collapsed in 1918. If your grandparent or great-grandparent emigrated during that time period, they were Austro-Hungarian rather than Italian. You are not entitled to Italian citizenship unless you applied under a special open period that ended in 2010. Four of our members did so, and we are delighted to note that Jim Boin, plus his sons Chris in Alaska and Matt in Chicago, were granted their citizenship in January. Kate Disney, Michael Job, Beth Bonora and her son, Owen Laine, are still awaiting a response. Kate has waited over 10 years! Good news is that our club is in regular communication with both the Consulate and the Ministry of Interior in Rome, and we are optimistic Kate, Michael, Beth and Owen will soon have
Italian passports in hand. In the meantime: Congratulazioni Jim!

 

Grant & Kathy Rauzi
Grant & Kathy Rauzi live in Seattle and are members of the Seattle Trentino Club. Grant’s parents, Frank and Marilyn, are active members of our Circolo. Grant’s grandfather, Francesco Rauzi, was born in Cloz, Val di Non, in 1900. He immigrated to the US in 1921 with an Italian passport. Grant recently obtained his Italian citizenship via jure sanguinis, i.e., direct descendancy.
Kathy got her citizenship by virtue of the fact that she is married to an Italian. They celebrated the news with a bottle of spumante and are preparing for their trip to Italy with passports in hand.
Congratulazioni, Grant & Kathy!