Our Journey to Trento, Italy

Bob, Shelly, Natalie, Vincenzo and Alana Marie

by Bob Orlandi

March 24, 1999. Using addresses we received from Jack Orlandi, we sent a short note (in English and Italian) to all of the cousins who live in the Trento area, telling them when we would be in the area and where we would be staying.

March 31–April 11. The five of us (along with six friends from Cleveland) sailed the Mediterranean on the Costa Riviera cruise ship. We started in Savona, Italy and made stops in Naples, Sicily, Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, and two stops in Greece before returning to Savona. The cruise was SPECTACULAR!!

April 11. We departed the ship, took a bus to Milano, Italy and after a bit of delay and red tape, managed to rent a car at Milano's Malpense Airport. At 4:30 PM we were on the Autostrata (the Italian turnpike) bound for Trento. At about 7:30 PM we arrived to the Hotel Academia in downtown Trento. We had told the cousins in our letter that we hoped to arrive at 5 PM, but we were of course late. The hotel clerk (who spoke excellent English) handed me a stack of messages and said: "Two hours ago there were eleven people here waiting for you!" I knew then that the next two days were going to be great.

After reading the messages we called Angelo & Maria Orlandi. Maria answered the phone, and, to my surprise, spoke English very well. Even though it was 8:30 PM they insisted that we come to their house for dinner. They would not take "NO" for an answer, and they even drove to the hotel so that we could follow them to their home. It's a good thing that they did, for we certainly would have gotten lost had we tried to get their unassisted.

Upon arriving at Angelo & Maria's, she got right to work preparing a delicious dinner. The food was great and the company was also. Angelo is an INCREDIBLE artist; he has paintings displayed all over Northern Italy. He has also painted frescas in many churches and cathedrals, and recently retired from duties as a professor of art at one of the area colleges. After dinner and more conversation, we followed Angelo and Maria back to the hotel, where we fell into bed—exhausted.

April 12. At 10 AM, Giuseppe and Elisabetta Orlandi and their daughters Oriana and Elena met us at the hotel. They live in France but were in Trento on vacation–we were very lucky–their vacation coincided with ours and they were free to show us around. With Giuseppe and family were Bruna and Raffael Malacarne, and we followed them to San Lorenzo in Banale. There we met Adolfo Orlandi, Maria Pia Orlandi, Carlo Orlandi & Luigi Orlandi. We also viewed the houses where my grandparents were born in 1872 and 1880. After viewing San Lorenzo for a couple hours, we were escorted to the home of Rodolfo & Ilda Gionghi. Their home was absolutely beautiful, and we were treated to a seven course meal. The food was delicious, and the people were incredibly friendly. Although my Italian is very limited, and most of the cousins speak NO English, we managed to communicate. At the Gionghi's more and more cousins kept walking through the door. It was really fantastic to meet all of these people: Donato & Silvia & Fabrizio Gionghi, Patrizia Gionghi (who spoke English), Aldo, Luciana and Lorenzo Orlandi, and a few cousins from my grandmother's side (the Sottovia's).

After lunch we went sightseeing–the mountains are fabulous. We climbed to the top of a small mountain, walked through a small resort, and visited the local cemetery where many of our deceased Italian cousins are buried. Everything was breathtakingly beautiful!

For our evening meal we went to a Trento pizza house, where the food was once again outstanding. Maria Orlandi was the interpreter, and a great time was had by all the cugini!

April 13. We started the day exploring downtown Trento. Many of the buildings are 500 to 600 years old, but all are well preserved. The insides are all modern. There are many small specialty shops—meat, produce, pharmacy, haberdasheries, etc. There still seems to be a place for the small scale retailer in Trento. All merchants were extremely friendly–most spoke no English, but they really tried to be helpful. The little Italian I know sure came in handy on our shopping excursion.

At noon Giuseppe met us at the hotel and we followed him to the residence of Clara and Carlo Bampi. Once again there was a spectacular lunch and over twenty people. The Bampi's son Andrea plays the accordion very well, so we had a jam session. Our son Vincenzo played the accordion and so did his old man. The Bampi's also have a gorgeous home–living standards in the Trento area appear to be equal to those in the USA. The people there have all of the conveniences that we are used to, and they seem to be very stress free.

After several hours at the Bampi's, we traveled to the Malacarne's residence. They have a four-suite building–the suites are very nice and all are occupied by family (two brothers and their kids & grandkids). At the Malacarne's guess what happened? We met more cousins—the Malacarne's two daughters, their husbands and three small grandkids. All were extremely friendly.

For the evening we all met at the Torre Verdi (Green Tower) restaurant for yet another fabulous time. Andrea brought two accordions, and the music and wine flowed freely. We sang and played Italian folk songs, and at one point all of the cousins sang a song especially for us–the visiting Americani!! The atmosphere was astounding–it was like something out of a movie!!

Well, all great times must come to an end, and the next morning we were up at 4 AM to drive back to Milan for the flight home. The next day it was back to reality, but with a new sense of satisfaction, knowing that we had made contact with our European relatives. We plan to go back in two or three years, and, to all of our American cousins we say: If you can go to Trento, by all means do so. You will have the time of your lives!!!