Family time in Tresivio

The trip from Lecco to Tresivio was very picturesque, driving north along the eastern side of Lago di Como and then beyond through a valley flanked on both sides by very large snow-capped mountains. Extensive tunnels enabled a swift passage through the mountains, as many of them are so steep and sheer it is impossible to build over or around them.

Entering Tresivio village

It was surreal arriving in Tresivio. Not only is it an extremely beautiful village surounded by mountains, the dream of finally connecting with my italian heritage was being realised.

My Great Grandfather, Cesare Croci, was born in Tresivio. It must have been very hard for him to leave such a beautiful place and his family when he emmigrated to Australia in the 1920s. He was not alone in making such a bold move. The 1920s were difficult economic times in Italy and many young and able Italian men were compelled to emigrate to far off places in search of work. Cesare's brother, Giovanni, died when he was 16, falling though a deep hole when up in the mountains. In moving to Australia, Cesare left behind his four sisters, Natalina, Lucia, Maria and Angelina.

Many parts of Sondrio, the region in which Tresivio is located, is listed as a UNESCO heritage site due to the ancient vineyards built along the carved out mountain terraces. Tresivio, like many of its neigbouring villages, has that anciant feeling about it, as if the families living there had done so since the dawn of time and without much change. It is not a wealthy area in terms of industry, being hard country and just too far from the major centres, but it is very rich in history and culture.




Mountains surrounding Sondrio region



View from mountain above Tresivio

Upon arrival we drove straight to the house of Luciana Moretti. This was the name given to me by my Grandmother many years before when I was living in Germany and contemplating a trip to Italy (that never eventuated). Luciana is the daughter of Cesare's sister Natalina. Luciana had no idea we were coming and were not entitely sure of how we were related as the details were sketchy. It seemed sensible to ensure we could communicate who were are and why we were there so we arrived armed with a letter translated into Italian by our new friends Martina and Margerita that set out the story very poetically. This letter proved a Godsend because when no one answered our knocks at Luciana's house we waved down a passing vehicle and gave the driver the letter.





David outside Luciana Moretti's house

The driver, Michele Borriello, totally embraced our cause and walked the streets of Tresivio, calling out 'Senorita' and thereby drawing out the local women from their houses, until he found someone that new something about Cesare. One of the ladies remembered my late uncle Anthony who had visited Tresivio over 20 years before and showed us where Luciana's son's lived - about 500m down the road.  We went down there and knocked on the door. Sure enough we met fellow decendents of Cesare Croci's parents. It was amazing!!!

In the course of the next 30 minutes we met Luciana Moretti and her two son's and their families: Franco & Giovanna and their son's Omar and David; and Luca & Savina and their 3 year old daughter.

Franco, Omar, David, Luciana, Savina, Luca & daughter

Franco and Luca live in the same building and share land on which they grow grapes and produce wine, grow vegitables and raise chickens. We were fortunate to try the homemade vino and it was wonderful! A lot different from NZ and Australian wines but perfect for the climate and the local food. We were really inspired by the loving family environment that these people shared, a custom that seemed as ancient as the surrounding mountains. After a few hours of trying to speak with broken italian and english, we departed for our hotel for the night having been invited following day for lunch.
The hotel was very nice and interesting with some great art and furniture scattered around. Nadine and I relaxed in front of TV, allowing the big day to sink in. Breakfast the next morning was served in an old cellar, which was spectacular. Italy just kept dishing up all sorts of surprises!




Breakfast the Della Porta hotel

12.30pm arrived and we headed off to Franco and Giovanna's house for lunch. They had prepared polenta in an outdoor oven, on which they also roasted chestnuts, and we were presented with a feast which took us the next 5 hours to consume. Thank god for Amaro - a liquer made from a herb which helps digestion.



Franco making polenta in outdoor stove



Giovanna' dad, Omar, David, Luciana, Me, Giovanna & Franco

Despite us knowing very little italian and Luciana and family knowing very little english, we were somehow able to communicate and managed to have some wonderful conversations over the course of the afternoon. It was additionally special because Franco and Giovanna were celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary!

In the early evening we piled into two cars and drove about 1km up the road to see Cesare's old house, which is still standing next to the houses of his two sisters Lucia and Maria. The houses were very delapidated, as you can imagine given their age and that they haven't been lived in for a very long time and the cost of restoring them is prohibitive. Cesare's house is now owned by people living in Milano that have partially renovated it and use it for their summer vacations. However, there are many old houses just left standing but derelect.

Cesare Crocie house

David drinking from fountain outside Cesare house



San Antonio - street of Cesare



Lucia's house (Cesare's sister)

So on that note we said our fond farewells to our new family (and friends), swapped Skype addresses and made promises to write and visit again. What struck me most by the experience was the unconditional love expressed by Luciana and her family. Even though we had only met the day before, could not communicate as effectively as one would wish and were from different parts of the world, we were family and this meant everything to them and to us. They were very happy that we found them and expressed this happiness through their wonderful hospitality.
We drove to Varenna and caught a ferry over to Bellagio - apparantely George Clooney has a house nearby, although much to Nadine's disappointment we didn't bump into him in the supermarket buying toilet paper! Bellagio is a very pretty community, although very expensive. If travelling to Lake Como we recommend you stay somewhere undiscovered by the tourist masses as places like Bellagio are designed to extract as much cash from you as possible! In this way it was much like France, which is prodigious in maximising its return from tourism.
The next morning we headed back to Carenno via Varenna to meet Beppe Raso and stay with him and his wonderful family again......

Photo of the day:



Grotto on hilltop

 

Best transport for Tresivio streets