Canederli di Spinaci (Spinach Canederli)

Canederli di Spinaci (Spinach Canederli)

300 grams (10.5 ounces) of dried bread cut into cubes, 2 eggs, 50 grams (1/3 cup) of flour,  1/8 liter (1/2 cup) of milk, 1 onion, a little bit of butter, 400 grams (14 ounces) of
chopped, cooked spinach, salt, pepper, nutmeg, 50 grams (1/3 cup) of grated parmesan

Put the bread in a bowl, and pour the milk over the bread. While the bread is absorbing the milk, sauté the onion in butter. Then mix in the spinach and add a bit of nutmeg and pepper. Cover with a lid and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Beat the eggs and add them to the bowl with the bread, along with the spinach, flour, salt and cheese. Use your hands
to mix all the ingredients together as though you were kneading bread. Form small canederli balls. Place them in boiling, salted water and cook them lightly for 15 minutes. Top them with with a bit of melted butter and grated parmesan. Note these are
not served in broth as traditional canederli. Also, Maria found that some were following
apart in boiling water and opted to place them in the oven rather than boil them. Either
boiled or baked, you’ll be in Trentino heaven with this recipe Maria shared with us.

By Maria Mortati

Luca Dorigatti

lucaIt is with immense pleasure and pride that we announce that our very own Luca Dorigatti was recently chosen as the US representative (“consultore”) to the Province of Trentino. Interestingly, Luca’s parents read the news in the Trentino newspaper before he received the official announcement. Luca was our club’s secretary in the past, and he is now one our trustees. He is always at the forefront of any initiative our club undertakes and is most deserving of this honor. The Province has a total of 10 representatives from abroad covering areas of high Trentino emigration. Luca will join representatives from Canada, Mexico, Australia, Chile, Uruguay and two each from Argentina and Brazil. We wish Luca well on this new endeavor.

Passages 2014, Remembering those we lost.

Livio Cristanelli, a founding member of the club in 1980, passed away on April 1st.
Livio’s parents immigrated from Fondo in the Val di Non to the coalmining town of
Superior, Wyoming. He retired after working for Sunset Scavengers for 34 years,
reaching the position of president. As stated in his obituary: For some my decisions
were not always the most popular, but I always considered taking care of the working.
Livio also owned and operated the Tropicana Motel in Lake Tahoe and other investments around the lake. We extend our sincerest condolences to Livio’s wife, Marlene, and to his entire family. Livio will be sorely missed by us all.
Sister Rosangela Angeli, a native of Cloz, Val di Non, passed away on October 14th in Besozzo (Varese). She was the sister of club member Gemma
Angeli Zueck and aunt to many nephews and nieces here in California. She worked as a registered nurse for years at a hospital in Merano, primarily with the
minority Italian-speaking patients. She then transferred to the San Pangrazio Hospital in Arco, Trentino. Suora Rosangela belonged to the Order of the Santa Croce (Holy Cross) that was founded in Switzerland in the 1800s. She spent her final years at the order’s institute in Besozzo, As a side note, the nuns at the institute risked their lives during the war hiding Jews and finding safe passage for many to Switzerland (click here for more information). We send our condolences to Gemma and the entire family.

Michael J. Parks
On November 7th Michael J. Parks passed away at Stanford Hospital after a long battle with myelofibrosis and myeloid leukemia. Michael’s great-grandparents, Giorgio and Ida Mengon, were from Piazzola in the Val di Rabbi. They immigrated to Columbia Falls, Montana at the beginning of the last century. Michael’s cousin, Father Alberto Mengon, invited him to our 2012 Christmas event. Michael looked forward to becoming an active member of the Circolo Trentino. It is with great sorrow that we heard of his passing at the
young age of 45. Michael was originally from Seattle. He attended UC Berkeley and received a PhD in applied mathematics in 1994. He worked as a software engineer and held three US patents. Our sincere condolences go out to Michael’s family.

Ursula Leonardi
On February 14th Ursula Leonardi passed away at her home in Menlo Park, just shy of her 99thbirthday. Ursula was a founding member of our club and our first treasurer. Her parents, Luigi and Maria Leonardi, immigrated from Daone in Trentino. We send our deepest condolences to Ursula’s friends and family.

James Harrison Disney
James Harrison Disney passed away on December 13th. He was a native of North Dakota and long time resident of Walnut Creek. He became an honorary Trentino when he married Olga Degiorgio, whose family immigrated to Utah from Spera in the Valsugana. We send our sympathies to the entire family.

Giorgio Bortolon, nephew to our treasurer Laura Floriani Vitlacil and to club member Pierluigi  Bortolon, unexpectedly died from a heart attack in Trentino. On the day of his funeral, Christmas Eve, Laura’s oldest sister, Anna Floriani, also passed away. We send our heartfelt sympathies to Laura, Pierluigi and the entire family.

Our condolences also go out to Tom Ecker whose wife Jan Ecker lost her battle with cancer on August 4th.

Lucille Norris, nee Zanoni, passed away on November 29th at the age of 76. We send our deepest sympathy to husband Tom in Newport Beach, CA, and to brothers Bob, Paul, Richard, Larry and Leonard Zanoni.

Christmas Gathering

Christmas Gathering in Richmond
A big thank you to Father Alberto Mengon for arranging our Christmas event at the Salesian High School in Richmond. We had nearly 100 attendees. Club President Giuseppina and VP Lino brought versions of their own crauti and Maria Mortati and her husband Mark served up their delectable salad. Lunch was followed by music, samples of Lino’s homemade grappas, and even a little dancing. Everyone was impressed with the venue, and if Father Alberto can work his wizardry, we will return to Richmond in the
future.

Here some pics 🙂

2014, New members:

Joe Maffei
Joe Maffei last attended an event about 10 years ago. In the meantime he established his own firm in Oakland, Maffei Structural Engineering, married Holly and had two boys, 3-year-old Dario and 1-year-old Gabriel. His maternal grandparents, Ricardo Agosto Amistadi and Stella Mussi, were from Roncone in the Valli Giudicarie. They immigrated to Langeloth, PA in the 1920s. Joe’s father’s family was from Toscano. Joe was delighted to meet others from Roncone at the Christmas event, and we were thrilled to meet his lovely wife and kids.

Davide Carmeci
Davide Carmeci was born and raised in Trento and attended Liceo Classico G. Prati. He received his Masters in marketing and communication at the University of Bologna. He worked  as a manager for Italian and European companies in the digital media and information and communication technology industries. He moved to California in July 2012 to work as a business development associate for a Silicon Valley incubator. He recently started working as a business development manager for WebRatio, Inc., a software company. Here is his linkedin.com page: http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidec.
Davide’s father was an Italian born in Tripoli. His family was involved in the trade between Italy and Libya. They moved to Trento to join members of the family that had previously relocated there. Davide’s mother, Mariapia Regensburger, is from Castel Tesino.

Greg Genetti and his wife Mary
New members Greg Genetti and his wife Mary attended our get-together in September.
Greg is the owner of a CPA firm in Campbell. The Genetti family is from Castelfondo in
the Val di Non. They immigrated initially to Hazelton, Pennsylvania surrounded by many
other Trentini who worked in the local mining industry. Hazelton has always
had a very active Trentino club, and the first US/Canadian Trentino (ITTONA) convention was held there. Lodging was provided at none other than the Genetti Inn & Suites. At our event Greg was delighted to meet Max Cologna whose family is also from Castelfondo, and Gemma Angeli Zueck whose brother, Padre Angeli, says Sunday mass in
Castelfondo. We look forward to sharing more good times with Greg, Mary and the
numerous other Genettis in the Bay Area.

ITTONA Convention in Utah

Maria Floretta, Mayor of Cloz, and Bob Zanoni
Maria Floretta, Mayor of
Cloz, and Bob Zanoni

Every two years ITTONA, the organization that represents the Trentini of the US and
Canada, puts on a convention. Our club hosted the convention 10 years ago, and this year it was held in Ogden, Utah, home to many Trentini immigrants. Max Cologna and Olga Degiorgio Disney from our club are originally from the Ogden area, and they were on
hand for the event. Our Stockton representative, Bob Zanoni, was also in attendance. Bob wrote a letter to the Ogden club praising them for organizing such a fabulous event.
Bob’s family is from Cloz in the Val di Non, as are many other members of our
club and the Ogden club. The Mayor of Cloz, Maria Floretta, travelled the
distance to attend the convention. Mayor Floretta has written a book in Italian on the Trentino immigrant experience entitled Nelle Viscere di Queste Miniere, which gathers letters and stories of Trentino immigrants. The mayor was certainly delighted to be surrounded by so many of her compatriots abroad.
Alberto Tafner, President of the Trentino nel Mondo Association, was present and delivered a formal address that chronicled the role of the association in assisting Trentini emigrants and their descendants over the years. He also highlighted two pivotal moments in recent
Trentino history, the first being Italian annexation in 1919 and the second the granting of special autonomy to Trentino-Alto Adige after WWII. The latter meant that the Italian speakers of Trentino and German speakers of Alto Adige (South Tyrol) had to learn to coexist in peace and harmony. As he pointed out, that was not easy at first.
Between 1956 and 1967 the area was rife with domestic terrorism, causing damage to bridges, railway tracks, utility lines, etc. and the loss of 21 lives.

Bob representing the Circolo Trentino di San Francisco with the club banner
Bob representing the Circolo
Trentino di San Francisco
with the club banner

In 1972 the Provinces of Bolzano, i.e., Alto Adige, and Trento received certain autonomy from each other and from the central government, and that has seemed to
bring peace to the area. With peace has come economic vitality.

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!

Club Members Meet in the Val di Rabbi

padre
Mike, Ramona & Father Alberto Mengon in front of the church in Piazzola.

Ramona Antonioni Krausnick and her husband Mike visited Trentino last September to celebrate their 20th anniversary, as well as the 20th anniversary of two of her cousins and the 75th birthday of another. Her cousins all live in Salorno, just north of the Trentino border. It is one of only five mainly Italian-speaking towns in the Province of Bolzano. The area is well known for its vineyards of Schiava, Teroldego, Pinot Grigio, etc.
Ramona’s relatives supply Mezzacorona Winery with grapes.
Ramona’s father was born in the Val di Rabbi, which is in the northwest corner of Trentino, just past the Val di Sole. Click here to see its location in Trentino. More than half of the scenic Val di Rabbi is within the Stelvio National Park, the only national
park in Trentino. Father Alberto Mengon is also from the Val di Rabbi, and he planned a trip to the area at the same time Ramona and Mike were going. They met in the
village of Piazzola and had a delightful time together