Lauren Gregorio is a Southern California filmmaker and a finalist in the Final Cut Film Festival with her animated TV film titled, “Il Bello di Nonna.” The filmmaker’s grandmother is from Gaeta, Italy. In the film, the “Tiella di Gaeta” tradition creates a life-long bond for the young boy with his grandmother and his culture. This animated film is just over 2 minutes long and I guarantee that it will have extra special significance to those with ancestors from Gaeta.
Congratulations to filmmaker Lauren Gregorio for this touching and powerful film!

Athena Christine PalombiGreek-Italian American Soprano and Latin Ballroom DancerAthena Christine Palombi is an emerging American artist with a Greek and Italian background. This upcoming season she is debuting Beppe L’AMICO FRITZ for Teatro Grattacielo in New York City with performances in August at the Phoenicia Opera Festival in August 2021 and in New York City in November 2021. She will also be featured in the filmed version of the opera for Teatro Grattacielo later in the season. She is debuting CARMEN title-role as a member of the Vincerò Academy directed by Abdiel Vázquez.
In 2021 she performed excerpts from the rarely performed Greek opera MARKOS BOTSARIS by Pavlos Karrer as Krisi in New York City at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, as part of the bicentennial celebration of Greek Independence. Past engagements include the New Era Voice Festival Masterclasses 2020 with The M Institute of the Arts and Solo Recitals in Collaboration with Voice Science Studios directed by San Francisco Opera and Art Smart Teaching Artist Sven Edward Olbash and accompanied by pianist Ron Valentino.
Athena is co-enrolled in the Comprehensive Musicianship Program at De Anza College, with a concentration in Opera Performance. She also has an extensive background in Greek Orthodox and Latin Liturgical Music. School performances include roles such as Rosina IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA 2019, Contessa, Susanna LE NOZZE DI FIGARO 2018\19, Mimì and Musetta LA BOHÈME 2018\19\20, Dalila SAMSON ET DALILA 2018\19.
Ms Palombi is proficient in Italian, Greek, Spanish, French and English.
Passionate about dance, Ms. Palombi studied Classical Ballet, and competed in International Latin Ballroom. She has won two Professional Amateur World Titles and was a Finalist in the 2017 Blackpool British Open Ballroom Championships.
She has a certificate in Music History and Literature from Foothill College, where she is a member of the Honors Institute. She also has an extensive background in Greek Orthodox and Latin Liturgical Music.
Ms. Palombi studied privately with James Valenti, Capucine Chiaudani, Sven Edward Olbash, Irina Meachem, Elsa Queron, and Rachel Willis Sorensen.
Her website is https://www.athenachristinepalombi.com/ 

Thomas Louis Magliozzi (June 28, 1937 – November 3, 2014) and his brother Raymond Francis Magliozzi (born March 30, 1949) were the co-hosts of NPR‘s weekly radio show Car Talk, where they were known as “Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers”. Their show was honored with a Peabody Award in 1992. Tom died on November 3, 2014, aged 77, in Belmont, Massachusetts
In January 1987, Susan Stamberg of Weekend Edition on NPR asked the two brothers to contribute weekly to her program. Nine months later, Car Talk premiered as an independent NPR program. In 1992, Tom and Ray won a Peabody Award for Car Talk for “distinguished achievement and meritorious public service”.[12][13] Tom and Ray continued to work in their repair garage while they produced Car Talk. On June 8, 2012, it was announced that Car Talk would stop producing new episodes in September 2012, though NPR would continue airing reruns of the show.[14]
Producer Doug Berman said that Tom and Ray “changed public broadcasting forever” because the brothers “showed that real people are far more interesting than canned radio announcers.”[15] “The guys are culturally right up there with Mark Twain and the Marx Brothers.”[16]
In 1989, the brothers started a newspaper column Click and Clack Talk Cars which, like the radio show, mixed serious advice with humor. King Features distributes the column. Ray continued to write the column, retitled Car Talk, after his brother’s death in 2014, knowing he would have wanted the advice and humor to continue.[18]
Tom and Ray both appeared in the Pixar films Cars (2006) and Cars 3 (2017). (Tom’s role in the third film was accomplished through archival recordings, as it was produced after his death, while Ray reprised his role despite his retirement in 2012.) They played the owners of Rust-eze who discovered Lightning McQueen and gave him his first big break. Tom appeared as a 1963 Dodge Dart convertible, a reference to a car that he owned for many years and often mentioned on Car Talk. Ray appeared as a 1964 Dodge A100 van. In both films, they admonished: “Don’t drive like my brother”, the catchphrase from the close of their radio show.[19]
The Magliozzi brothers also appeared in the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996 TV series) in an episode called “Driving Mr. Goodman” which aired on May 3, 2002. Sabrina calls them on a magical car radio for car advice.[20] In the same year they appeared in the PBS Kids show Arthur episode called “Pick a Car, Any Car” which aired on November 25, 2002. Arthur calls them with a question about the family car, which would have been hauled away by the local mechanic without their help. The answer turns out to be a baby rattle lodged in the car’s tailpipe.[21] In 2008, the brothers starred in their own PBS animated series Click and Clack’s As the Wrench Turns, playing fictionalized versions of themselves.[22] They also hosted an episode of the PBS show NOVA entitled “The Car of the Future”.[23]
Their grandparents were  born in Gaeta.

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (born February 9, 1967) is an American journalist and a political candidate. A regular CNBC contributor, she was Chief International Correspondent for eight years, and co-host of Power Lunch and Worldwide Exchange. A longtime member of the Republican Party, Caruso-Cabrera moved from Midtown Manhattan to Sunnyside, Queens in late 2019. Less than a year later, she filed for New York’s 14th congressional district, which covers portions of The Bronx and Queens.
All four of her paternal great grandparents were born in Gaeta.

Originally from Gaeta, Italy, Giuseppe Dell’Anno now lives in Bristol with his wife and their three young (and noisy!) sons. His love for baking comes from his father, a professional chef who did all the cooking at home as Giuseppe was growing up, including making a cake every Sunday. Inspired by this Italian heritage, Giuseppe loves using Italian flavours in his bakes, while he also brings his engineer’s precision to the results. A self-confessed food snob, he is determined to feed his children homemade confectionary, rather than anything that’s been mass-produced. When he’s not baking, Giuseppe loves indulging his passion for design and architecture, and with his wife has renovated their family home. He also loves gardening. Follow him on Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/giuseppecooks/
He is one of the Bakers on the TV show The Great British Bake Off for 2021 for the 12th season!
The Great British Bake Off is the ultimate baking battle where passionate amateur baking fans compete to be crowned the UK’s Best Amateur Baker. Over the course of 10 hour-long episodes, the series follows the trials and tribulations of the competitors, young and old, from every background and every corner of Britain, as they attempt to prove their baking prowess. Each week the bakers tackle a different baking skill, which become progressively more difficult as the competition unfolds.

Tom RossiTommy Rossi, (December 22, 1927 – April 21, 1997) musician drummer for The Chuck Alaimo Quartet, an American rock music group from Rochester, New York who achieved some popularity in the 1950s. They were originally signed as one of the first artists on the new Ken Records label.When their recording of “Leap Frog” for Ken garnered industry notice, the recording was acquired by MGM Records, who subsequently signed the group and released further singes. “Leap Frog” was a saxohphone-led instrumental which charted on Billboard Hot 100 for a single week in April 1957, at position #92. This recording was listed as tenth most popular in Milwaukee in July of that year. Members of the group included Chuck Alaimo on sax, Bill Irvine on piano, Pat Magnolia on bass, and Tommy Rossi on drums. Billboard noted they “(made) enough noise for a group twice their size” and “moves with a good beat and sound”.
Tom’s parents were born in Gaeta

Benito Nardone Cetrulo (November 22, 1906 – March 25, 1964) President of the Uruguayan National Council of Government 1960 – 1961 was a Uruguayan journalist and political figure. Nardone was born at Montevideo, the son of an Italian immigrant. For many years he was a popular radio commentator at CX 4 Radio Rural. His political prominence came about after his long established reputation as a radio personality. In 1960 Nardone’s colleague Martín Echegoyen stepped down as President of the National Council of Government, so Nardone succeeded Echegoyen as president, remaining in charge until 1961.
His parents were born in Gaeta.

Vincent Robert Capodanno (February 13, 1929 – September 4, 1967) was a Roman Catholic priest  killed in action while serving as a United States Navy  chaplain  assigned to a Marine Corps infantry unit during the Vietnam War. He was a posthumous recipient of America’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for heroic actions above and beyond the call of duty. The Catholic Church has declared him a Servant of God, the first of the four stages toward possible sainthood. USS Capodanno (FF-1093) was named in honor of Lieutenant Capodanno. The Capodanno was commissioned November 17, 1973, and became the first ship in the US fleet to receive a Papal Blessing when it was blessed by Pope John Paul II on September 4, 1981, the anniversary of the chaplain’s death.  In October 1974, a bill was proposed to change the name of Seaside Boulevard to Father Capodanno Boulevard; a year later, the bill was passed by the Mayor of New York. For the United States Bicentennial weekend, the city of New York declared July 3, 1976, “Father Capodanno Day.”  Near the north end of the boulevard, alongside Fort Wadsworth‘s Father Capodanno Memorial Chapel, stands a 1977 statue of the chaplain praying for a fallen corpsman during their final battle.  His parents were born in Gaeta. ​

One terrifying night in France in 1944, when the young Army medic crouched down in a foxhole as German artillery shells fell around him, he proved to be anything but ordinary. “God said ‘Peter, do your job.’ So my feet take me the hell out of my hole. I went from one hole here, gave them medicine, a shot, bandages,” Fantasia said. It’s not clear how many lives he saved that night. The next day, the Germans captured him and he spent the next six months as a prisoner of war. His family was surprised to learn that in addition to a Silver Star for valor, Fantasia was entitled to eight other medals that he’d never received. “What he did in his life before us, it’s…it’s…breathtaking,” said his daughter, Martha Mesiti. So last Monday, Technician Third Grade Peter Fantasia was finally given the honors he deserves, including the Bronze Star. But he still doesn’t know what all the fuss is about. “God took care of me. He made me do the job. That’s it,” he said.  His kids said, if you ask this father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather of what he’s proudest of, it’s one thing: Family. Pietro Paulo (Peter) Fantasia as a descendant of Gaeta.  He is the son of Francesco Salvatore Fantasia and Antoneta Albano, born in Elena (now Gaeta).  He is a hero of WWII, recipient of the Silver Star and Bronze Star for bravery in combat.  He was also a prisoner of war. The US national news produced a story about his heroism. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/103-year-old-wwii-veteran-finally-gets-the-recognition-he-deserves/  He died on April 12, 2021 at the age of 105

​Daniel Mendick (born September 28, 1993) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 22nd round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. Mendick made his professional debut with the Arizona League White Sox, hitting .256 with five home runs and 27 RBIs in 49 games. He played 2016 with the Kannapolis Intimidators (with whom he was named a South Atlantic League All-Star honors. On September 3, 2019, the White Sox selected Mendick’s contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut that night versus the Cleveland Indians as a pinch runner.  Overall with the 2020 Chicago White Sox, Mendick batted .243 with three home runs and 6 RBIs in 33 games.
 
His great grandmother born in Gaeta. 

Marc ZollaZ-Cocoon is a Montreal, Quebec based rock band lead by guitarist and singer Marc Zolla that plays a style of music they describe as “doom blues.” (a blend of rock ‘n roll, pop, blues and sludgy hard-rock). Marc’s paternal grandmother was born in Gaeta. 

Ricky “King” Russell  https://www.rickykingrussell.com/ is one of the Blues’ most seasoned performers and brightest talents. Ricky plays with passion and style. His 4 CDs are radio favorites and the song, “Big Boy” has been featured on the House of Blues Radio Hour with Dan Aykroyd. Ricky is a guitarist / vocalist / songwriter fifty-year musician with a list of credits and accomplishments too long to list here. Described as “Volcanic” by the Boston Globe, Ricky always delivers from the heart. He has appeared with such notables as David “Honey Boy” Edwards, John Lee Hooker, Eddie Clearwater, Mighty Sam McClain, Ronnie Earl, Jerry Portnoy, Duke Robillard, Kim Wilson, Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton (Double Trouble), Susan Tedeschi, Toni Lynn Washington, Roomful of Blues, James Montgomery, Sugar Ray Norcia, Debbie Davies, Steve Miller and many others. He was a featured artist at the original House of Blues in Cambridge, MA and Harvard University has bestowed upon him an honorary “Doctorate of the Blues”.  Ricky’s great grandparents were born in Gaeta. ​

Jason Leusch, 8, of Webster, N.Y. caught this 14.5-inch, state record rock bass fishing off the dock at his family’s cottage on Lake Ontario in Wayne County. He is now the proud owner of the new state freshwater fishing record for rock bass. Father and son then drove to the Bay Bridge Sport shop at the south end of Sodus Bay. It again weighed 2.0 pounds on the shop’s official scale. It measured 14.5 inches. The father of Leusch said he contacted the Department of Environmental Conservation and was told to freeze the fish. A few days later, the father drove to DEC’s Region 8 Office in Avon to verify the species of fish and weight. This is the second state freshwater fishing record broken this year. 
The connection to Gaeta is that his mother’s mothers parents (his great grandparents) are the connection to Gaeta.  His great grandfather was born in Gaeta, and the parents of his great grandmother were both born in Gaeta.) 

Fifteen Los Angeles Police Department officers who participated in two gunbattles at a home in Winnetka that left a SWAT officer dead will be honored at the White House in 2009.
The officers were nominated by the Los Angeles Police Protective League for the Top Cops Awards, given by the National Association of Police Organizations.
The officers who will be honored are James Veenstra, David Keortge, Floyd Curry, Tom Chinappi, Mike Barker, Mike Odle, Richard Alba, Mark Nee, Daniel Sanchez, Douglas Dingman, Charles Buttitta, German Hurtado, George Ryan, Anthony Samuelson and Steve Scallon.
They will meet with Obama before the ceremony, said Los Angeles Police Protective League spokesman Eric Rose.
“The officers nominated by the LAPPL are heroes in every sense of the word,” Police Protective League President Paul M. Weber said. “Their focus and courage under fire epitomizes what it means to be a police officer. Modern- day heroes are a rare commodity and these officers live up to the highest standards of the LAPD.”
Tom Chinappi’s grandfather was born in Gaeta.

Jeanine Mallory is an experienced Investigative Geneologist and an Ancestry DNA Search Angel who guides individuals in interpreting their Ancestry DNA matches to locate biological parent(s).  Over the years, Jeanine have solved over 160 cases helping people find their biological parents/grandparents utilizing dna results.  She is a descendant of the family names of Antetomaso, Traniello, Conte, Dell’ova, Valente that hail from Gaeta. 
She runs the  Facebook Group Jeanine Mallory, Genetic Genealogist 
​

Pope Gelasius IIPope Gelasius II (c. 1060/1064 – 29 January 1119), born Giovanni Caetani or Giovanni da Gaeta (also called Coniulo), was Pope from 24 January 1118 to his death in 1119. A monk of Monte Cassino and chancellor of Pope Paschal II, Caetani was unanimously elected to succeed him. In doing so he also succeeded to the conflicts with Emperor Henry V over investiture. Gelasius spent a good part of his brief papacy in exile. He was the 161st Pope. 
He was born between 1060 and 1064 at Gaeta into the Pisan branch of the Caetani family

Nicola and Giuseppe ChinappiNicola Chinappi (1937-2005) and Giuseppe Chinappi (1939- ) were two brothers that appeared in the National Film Board documentary entitled: Dimanche d’Amérique (Duration: 27 min 41 seconds) an NFB Documentary on Italian immigration to Quebec,
Synopsis: Documentary on Italian immigration to Quebec. For Italians with an immigrant background, collective success is worth more than individual success. And the family is at the center of the community. We live five crowded in a room, waiting for a better future. Buy a house, raise a family. Half of the 150,000 Italians in Montreal live in the same neighborhood. They storm the construction trades, become painters, masons, and transform their garden into a familiar landscape
They did not even know that they were being recorded.  50 years after they were recorded, the family discovered their inclusion in the NFB documentary, and that Guiseppe made it to the cover of the DVD.
They immigrated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1953. They were born in Gaeta. 
The Chinappi family members come in around 23:55 in the video below 

Nicholas (Nick) Chinappi was honoured by the municipality of St-Laurent, city of Montreal on March 6, 2012.  Nick received a Certificate of Commendation for saving the life of his friend who almost drowned. Nick’s paternal grandparents were born in Gaeta. 

Giannino BulzoneGiannino Bulzone (9 May 1911 – 7 July 1987) was an Italian long-distance runner. He competed in the marathon at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The men’s marathon event at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games took place August 9. The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: Olympische Sommerspiele 1936), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: Spiele der XI. Olympiade), was an international multi-sport event held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany.  Giannino Bulzone was born in Gaeta. He died in Rome.

Antonio Salemme (November 2, 1892 − May 2, 1995) was an Italian-born American sculptor and painter best known for his sculpted portraits (including; John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Albert Einstein, Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters) and classical nudes. Salemme was born on November 2, 1892, in Gaeta, Italy. In the nineteen thirties the artist worked as a director in the Works Progress Administration and throughout his career did many portrait commissions. In the 1980s he and his wife Martha set up the Antonio Salemme Foundation in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as an initial step towards the founding of a museum to permanently house the artist’s work. Salemme died on May 2, 1995, in Williams Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. at the age of 102. ​

John Cabot (Italian: Giovanni Caboto (c. 1450 – c. 1500) was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England is the earliest known European exploration of coastal North America since the Norse visits to Vinland in the eleventh century. To mark the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Cabot’s expedition, both the Canadian and British governments elected Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, as representing Cabot’s first landing site. However, alternative locations have also been proposed. Cabot is known today as Giovanni Caboto in Italian, as Zuan Chabotto in Venetian, and as John Cabot in English. 
Cabot was born in Italy, the son of Giulio Caboto and his wife; he had a brother Piero. Gaeta (in the Province of Latina) and Castiglione Chiavarese (in the Province of Genoa) have both been proposed as birthplaces. The main evidence for Gaeta are records of a Caboto family residing there until the mid-15th century, but ceasing to be traceable after 1443.

Scipione Pulzone (1544 – February 1, 1598), also known as Il Gaetano, was a Neapolitan painter of the late Italian Renaissance. His work differs in several respects from the Mannerist style predominant at the time. He was active mainly in Rome, but also worked in Naples and Florence. It is thought that he studied under Jacopino del Conte in Rome.  Best known for his portraits, Pulzone painted Pope Gregory XIII, Cardinal de’ Medici and Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Eleanor de’ Medici, and Marie de’ Medici. He also painted an Assumption with the Apostles for San Silvestro al Quirinale; a Pietà for the Gesù; and a Crucifixion for Santa Maria in Vallicella.  Born in Gaeta around 1550 and initially trained in the workshop of Jacopino del Conte, Pulzone was one of the most original pictorial interpreters of the age of the Counter Reformation and one of the most esteemed artists active in Rome in the second half of the 16th century. Many of his works, and especially the religious paintings, betray the marked influence of Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta. He excelled above all in portraiture, displaying particularly high artistic quality in the rendering of details. He worked at the Neapolitan and Florentine courts as well as in Rome, where he also painted the portraits of the popes of his day, namely Pius V and Gregory XIII. His major religious works included the Our Lady of the Assumption in the church of San Silvestro al Quirinale and the Christ on the Cross with Saints in Santa Maria in Vallicella in Rome.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfP4DL0Sm6w

Henry Mancini – Music ComposerHenry Nicola Mancini (born Enrico Nicola Mancini; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film. He won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and twenty Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.
Henry Mancini was born Enrico Nicola Mancini in the Little Italy neighborhood of Cleveland and raised in West Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Both his parents were Italian immigrants. Originally from Scanno, Abruzzo, his father Quintiliano “Quinto” Mancini was an amateur musician who first came to the U.S. as a teenager around 1910. His mother Anna (née Pece) came to the U.S. from Forli del Sannio as an infant.
His works include the theme and soundtrack for the Peter Gunn television series as well as the music for The Pink Panther film series (“The Pink Panther Theme”) and “Moon River” from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The Music from Peter Gunn won the inaugural Grammy Award for Album of the Year. 
In 1952, Mancini joined the Universal-International‘s music department. During the next six years, he contributed music to over 100 movies, most notably Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Creature Walks Among Us, It Came from Outer Space, Tarantula, This Island Earth, The Glenn Miller Story (for which he received his first Academy Award nomination), The Benny Goodman Story and Orson Welles‘ Touch of Evil. During this time, he also wrote some popular songs. His first hit was a single by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians titled I Won’t Let You Out of My Heart.
Mancini left Universal-International to work as an independent composer/arranger in 1958. Soon afterward, he scored the television series Peter Gunn[9] for writer/producer Blake Edwards. This was the genesis of a relationship in which Edwards and Mancini collaborated on 30 films over 35 years. Along with Alex North, Elmer Bernstein, Leith Stevens and Johnny Mandel, Henry Mancini was a pioneer of the inclusion of jazz elements in the late romantic orchestral film and TV scoring prevalent at the time. Mancini’s scores for Blake Edwards included Breakfast at Tiffany’s (with the standard “Moon River“)[9] and Days of Wine and Roses (with the title song, “Days of Wine and Roses“), as well as Experiment in Terror, The Pink Panther (and all of its sequels), The Great Race, The Party, 10 (including “It’s Easy to Say”) and Victor Victoria. Another director with whom Mancini had a longstanding partnership was Stanley Donen (Charade, Arabesque, Two for the Road). Mancini also composed for Howard Hawks (Man’s Favorite Sport?, Hatari! – which included the “Baby Elephant Walk“), Martin Ritt (The Molly Maguires), Vittorio de Sica (Sunflower), Norman Jewison (Gaily, Gaily), Paul Newman (Sometimes a Great Notion, The Glass Menagerie), Stanley Kramer (Oklahoma Crude), George Roy Hill (The Great Waldo Pepper), Arthur Hiller (Silver Streak),[19] Ted Kotcheff (Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?), and others. Mancini’s score for the Alfred Hitchcock film Frenzy (1972) in Bachian organ andante, for organ and an orchestra of strings was rejected and replaced by Ron Goodwin‘s work.
Mancini scored many TV movies, including The Moneychangers, The Thorn Birds and The Shadow Box. He wrote many television themes, including Mr. Lucky (starring John Vivyan and Ross Martin),[20] NBC Mystery Movie,[21] Tic Tac Dough (1990 version),[22] Once Is Not Enough, and What’s Happening!! In the 1984–85 television season, four series featured original Mancini themes: Newhart, Hotel, Remington Steele, and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Mancini also composed the “Viewer Mail” theme for Late Night with David Letterman.[21] Mancini composed the theme for NBC Nightly News used beginning in 1975, and a different theme by him, titled Salute to the President was used by NBC News for its election coverage (including primaries and conventions) from 1976 to 1992. Salute to the President was published only in a school-band arrangement, although Mancini performed it frequently with symphony orchestras on his concert tours.
Songs with music by Mancini were staples of the easy listening genre from the 1960s to the 1980s. Mancini’s style symbolized the bright, confident, hospitable voice of bourgeois, inspired by the idealistic Kennedy-era of the 1960s.[23] Some of the artists who have recorded Mancini songs include Andy Williams, Paul Anka, Pat Boone, Anita Bryant, Jack Jones, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Connie Francis, Eydie Gorme, Steve Lawrence, Trini Lopez, George Maharis, Johnny Mathis, Jerry Vale, Ray Conniff, Quincy Jones, The Lennon Sisters, The Lettermen, Herb Alpert, Eddie Cano, Frank Chacksfield, Warren Covington, Sarah Vaughan, Shelly Manne, James Moody, Percy Faith, Ferrante & Teicher, Horst Jankowski, Andre Kostelanetz, Peter Nero, Liberace, Mantovani, Tony Bennett, Julie London, Wayne Newton, Arthur Fiedler, Secret Agent and the Boston Pops Orchestra, Peggy Lee, and Matt Monro. The Anita Kerr Quartet won a Grammy award (1965) for their album We Dig Mancini, a cover of his songs. Lawrence Welk held Mancini in very high regard, and frequently featured Mancini’s music on The Lawrence Welk Show (Mancini made at least two guest appearances on the show). Mancini briefly hosted his own musical variety TV show in a similar format to Welk’s, The Mancini Generation, which aired in syndication during the 1972–73 season.[24]
Mancini recorded over 90 albums, in styles ranging from big band to light classical to pop. Eight of these albums were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. He had a 20-year contract with RCA Victor, resulting in 60 commercial record albums that made him a household name among artists of easy-listening music. Mancini’s earliest recordings in the 1950s and early 1960s were of the jazz idiom; with the success of Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Mancini shifted to recording primarily his own music in record albums and film soundtracks. (Relatively little of his music was written for recordings compared to the amount that was written for film and television.) Beginning with his 1969 hit arrangement of Nino Rota’s A Time for Us (as his only Billboard Hot 100 top 10 entry, the No. 1 hit “Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet“) and its accompanying album A Warm Shade of Ivory, Mancini began to function more as a piano soloist and easy-listening artist recording music primarily written by other people. In this period, for two of his best-selling albums he was joined by trumpet virtuoso and The Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen.
Among Mancini’s orchestral scores are (Lifeforce, The Great Mouse Detective, Sunflower, Tom and Jerry: The Movie, Molly Maguires, The Hawaiians), and darker themes (Experiment in Terror, The White Dawn, Wait Until Dark, The Night Visitor).
Mancini was also a concert performer, conducting over fifty engagements per year, resulting in over 600 symphony performances during his lifetime. He conducted nearly all of the leading symphony orchestras of the world, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. One of his favorites was the Minnesota Orchestra, where he debuted the Thorn Birds Suite in June 1983. He appeared in 1966, 1980 and 1984 in command performances for the British Royal Family. He also toured several times with Johnny Mathis and also with Andy Williams, who had both sung many of Mancini’s songs; Mathis and Mancini collaborated on the 1986 album The Hollywood Musicals. In 1987 he conducted an impromptu charity concert in London in aid of Children In Need. The concert included Tchaikovsky‘s 1812 Overture with firework accompaniment over the River Thames.
The Mancini family of Abruzzo are related to the Mancini families that lived in Gaeta. So if you have any Mancini ancestors, you are very most likely distantly related to Henry Mancini.   
We are looking for someone that has researched the family tree of Henry Mancini that can provide records to show the direct relation between the Mancini of Gaeta and the Mancini of Abruzzo. 

Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies; Maria Pia of the Two Sicilies [1] (2 August 1849 – 29 September 1882)  Profession: aristocrat. Place of Birth: Gaeta, Lazio, Italy. She was a Princess of the Two Sicilies and titular Duchess consort of Parma as the wife of Robert I, Duke of Parma. Maria Pia was the daughter of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and his wife, Maria Theresa of Austria. Maria Pia was forced into exile along with the rest of her family after the unification of Italy in 1861.    Maria Pia and Robert had twelve children of whom six were mentally disabled. Ok, she is not really a “star” per se, but she was born in Gaeta. 

Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953)[2] is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist.[3] Her career has spanned over 40 years.[4] Her album She’s So Unusual (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100—”Girls Just Want to Have Fun“, “Time After Time“, “She Bop“, and “All Through the Night“—and earned Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the soundtrack for the motion picture The Goonies and her second record True Colors (1986). This album included the number one single “True Colors” and “Change of Heart“, which peaked at number three. In 1989, she had a hit with “I Drove All Night“.
Since 1983, Lauper has released eleven studio albums and participated in many other projects. In 2010, Memphis Blues became Billboard‘s most successful blues album of the year, remaining at number one on the Billboard Blues Albums chart for 13 consecutive weeks. In 2013, she won the Tony Award for best original score for composing the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, making her the first woman to win the category by herself.[5] The musical was awarded five other Tonys including Tony Award for Best New Musical. In 2014, Lauper was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the cast recording. In 2016, the West End production won Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards.[6]
Lauper has sold over 50 million records worldwide.[7] 

She has won awards at the Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, the New York’s Outer Critics Circle, MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), Billboard Awards, and American Music Awards (AMAs).[8] An inductee into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Lauper is one of the few singers to win three of the four major American entertainment awards (EGOT).[9] She won the inaugural Best Female Video prize at the 1984 VMAs for “Girls Just Want to Have Fun“. This music video is recognized by MTV, VH1 and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest music videos of the era.[10][11][12][13] She is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s Women Who Rock exhibit.[14] Her debut album is included in Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[15] while “Time After Time” is included in VH1‘s list of the 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 years.[16] VH1 has ranked Lauper No. 58 of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll.[17]
Her father, Fred, was of German and Swiss descent. Her mother, Catrine (née Gallo), is of Italian descent (from Sicily). Cyndi’s mother was an Italian with the last name of Gallo. The last name of Gallo is a popular last name in Gaeta, and it is likely the Gallo family of Gaeta are related to the Gallo family of Cyndi. If anyone reading this has in fact been able to trace the family tree of Cyndi Lauper, please contact us.

Louis Vincent Albano[7] (July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009) was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name “Captain” Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969 before becoming a manager until 1995. 
A unique showman, with an elongated beard, rubber band facial piercings, and loud outfits, Albano was the forefather of the 1980s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection. Collaborating with Cyndi Lauper, Albano helped usher in wrestling’s crossover success with a mainstream audience. Capitalizing on his success, he later ventured into Hollywood with various television, film, and music projects. He became well known to a younger generation of fans as the actor and voice of Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Lou was born in Rome Lazio, and it is likely that the Albano family of Gaeta is connected with the Albano family of Atena Lucana, Salerno, Campania, Italy. If anyone has done research on the Albano line of his family, please contact us to help us find the connection. 

Madonna Louise Ciccone (born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She is considered one of the most influential figures in popular culture and has often been referred to as the “Queen of Pop“.[3] Madonna is noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, and visual presentation. She has pushed the boundaries of artistic expression in mainstream music, while maintaining control over every aspect of her career.[4] Her works, which incorporate social, political, sexual, and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim.
Madonna moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in the rock bands Breakfast Club and Emmy, she rose to solo stardom with her debut studio album, Madonna (1983). She followed it with a series of successful albums, including all-time bestsellers Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986) and The Immaculate Collection (1990) as well as Grammy Award winners Ray of Light (1998) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). Madonna has amassed many number-one singles throughout her career, including “Like a Virgin“, “La Isla Bonita“, “Like a Prayer“, “Vogue“, “Take a Bow“, “Frozen“, “Music“, “Hung Up“, and “4 Minutes“.
Silvio Anthony “Tony” Ciccone was her father. Her father’s parents were Italian emigrants from Pacentro while her mother was of French-Canadian descent.[8] Tony Ciccone worked as an engineer designer for Chrysler and General Motors. Since Madonna had the same name as her mother, family members called her “Little Nonnie”  The Ciccone family name is popular in Gaeta. If someone has researched her family tree and can confirm the connection of the Ciccone family in Gaeta, please contact us.  

Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, Liberace enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordings, television, motion pictures, and endorsements. At the height of his fame, from the 1950s to the 1970s, Liberace was the highest-paid entertainer in the world, with established concert residencies in Las Vegas, and an international touring schedule. Liberace embraced a lifestyle of flamboyant excess both on and off stage, acquiring the nickname “Mr. Showmanship”.  Władziu Valentino Liberace (known as “Lee” to his friends and “Walter” to family) was born in West Allis, Wisconsin, on May 16, 1919. His father, Salvatore (“Sam”) Liberace (December 9, 1885 – April 1, 1977), was an immigrant from Formia in the Lazio region of central Italy.  Although not directly from Gaeta, the city of Formia is very close to Gaeta and as far as genealogy goes, family trees of one village do blend into family trees of the other village.  ​

This post was written to help beginners in DNA searching and family tree building who eventually want to make contact with their DNA family matches
I often see questions pertaining to people starting out, asking what companies they should do a DNA kit from, how to find a birth parents, birth families, or lost relatives given up for adoption.
I am going to share the path I took when I decided to start my journey into DNA kits and researching families trees for myself, as well as, my wife’s birth family that gave her up for adoption.
The following is strictly my opinion. You will find as you read this, and when you share it with others, that their opinions may differ. That is OK. In the end, only you can decide what is best for you.

I recommend doing two DNA home kits. One with the Ancestry company and one with the 23andme company. If you can only afford one, choose the one you like better, and get it done, and plan to do the second one as soon as you have the funds.
Ancestry – has the largest database of DNA kit sample members. If you are looking for matches, Ancestry is the most popular. Their DNA analysis is not as far reaching as some of the other companies so if you are looking to see what percentage you are of each ancestry culture, it will not give you as much as the others. However, Ancestry also have lots of records (census, birth, death, etc…from around the world) and has many many family trees already created by their members that you can search for your ancestors too). Ancestry also have a family tree building program that works with their records. Like all other companies, this company provides you with a list of your DNA matches, but you have to have a membership to be able to contact them and view their family trees (if they have trees).
23andme – I found that the 23andme kits analysis to be the most fun. They give a much more detailed analysis of the DNA (like a 0.2% of something that would not come up in other tests). 23andme also clearly identifies your Maternal and Paternal Haplogroup (it is like a genetic cue in your DNA to help you identify your families line). Not all the companies do this. You also get a list of DNA matches, and you are free to contact them and send them messages. There are no family trees on 23andme, but if you have one, you can link it in the appropriate fields so your DNA matches can look at it.
Now if you decide to pay for testing with another company, that is your choice, but make sure that company does not have the option of uploading your DNA RAW DATA. If the other company you are looking at DOES allow for uploading your DNA RAW DATA instead of paying for their own DNA kit, please read Step 6.
Once you do one or both these DNA kits, create your accounts on their respective sites, now begins the wait (anywhere from 4-8 weeks) for the results to get to you. BUT, this is no time to lay back and sit on your thumbs. You got WORK to do! See Step 2.
​

Build your family tree. Now, sign up for the Ancestry account and pay your fee and start building your family tree! Yes, now, right now.
If you were adopted and you do not know either of your birth parents, that is OK. Build a tree using your adoptive family. If you know only one birth parent and not the other, create the half of your tree of your known birth parent. Just get creating.
THE POINT is to LEARN TO USE THE SYSTEM. This is going to be VERY IMPORTANT when we get to a later step. Learn how to upload photos, how to attach records to existing relatives, how to look at “hints” to further your tree, how to look at the trees of people that might be distant relatives of yours, and very importantly, how to quickly copy over information from someone else’s tree to yours. (This particular skill is going to become SUPER necessary in the later steps). There is no substitute for experience, and building your tree (more than one if you have one for your adoptive family, and one for your birth family) is the way to get it. Ancestry also offers you the ability to create more than one tree for your different branches and needs, and to make your “working draft” trees private.
There are a number of youtube videos that were created to help you use the different tools on Ancestry to build your tree. You have 4-8 weeks to learn how to use the system so that when you find yourself a DNA match, you will already have an idea of what to look for if they also already have a tree.
Are there other companies you can build a family tree with? Sure! But, they do not have the largest database of potential DNA matches, and they do not have the largest database of records from around the world either. So I just recommend sticking with Ancestry for now.

Once you have a good handle on your tree (hopefully you have put aside enough time to dedicate to learning how the system works). It is now time to join as many online support groups and in person support groups as you can find. There are a number on Facebook. Do a search for DNA, Adoption, Family, Search, etc… a few that you might like are:

• Search Squad https://www.facebook.com/groups/searchelpers/ ,
• AncestryDNA GEDmatch 23andMe FTDNA MyHeritage Genealogy LivingDNA https://www.facebook.com/groups/1502875546688746/
• Genealogy! Just Ask! https://www.facebook.com/groups/GenealogyJustAsk/

There are LOTS more. If you are looking for someone from a very particular country or city, you simply find a Facebook group for that country or city. For Example:

• Italy Genealogical Research https://www.facebook.com/Italy-Genealogical-Research-1611856535779886/
• Calabria (City) Italy Genealogy https://www.facebook.com/groups/689104204468306/

These will be your support groups when you have questions, when you are feeling low, when you get blocked and when you are feeling discouraged. In some cases you might even meet people that can help you along, AND you might find some of your DNA matches.
Check your local libraries and places of worship for local genealogy groups that meet in person to research together and support each others. If one does not exist, then consider starting one in your area.
When you do join them, they will all ask you if you have done any DNA tests yet, and if you have a family tree. Which brings us to your next Step
​

OK, at this point, you have your family tree built with Ancestry and at least one (or both) of your DNA results from Ancestry and 23andme have come in.
The FIRST thing you do is look at your DNA Matches. You are looking for 2nd cousins, 1st cousins and closer relatives. If you find ANY in your DNA matches list, copy and paste all the information they have into a document on your computer/device and then add it to your main tree, or working draft trees.
DO NOT MAKE CONTACT. DO NOT SEND THEM ANY EMAILS
It is more important to get their info FIRST before you make contact JUST IN CASE, they decide to BLOCK YOU. You simply do not know how they will react. They could welcome you with open arms and share lots of personal family history details, or they might in fact not want to deal with what you could potentially represent. For example, if you are the product of an affair, your half-siblings might not care to know the child that they believe might have been the cause for the break down of their parents marriage. Children are born innocent of the circumstances that created them, but we are dealing with emotions of people that perhaps never learned to cope with difficult truths.
If these close relatives have family trees that you can visit, again copy over their family tree info into your working draft trees. HURRY UP! If your close DNA matches decide to block you before you make contact, you could lose this lead on your goal forever.
Do this for every close DNA match you have.
If you have no close DNA Matches so far, go to STEP 6
If you have completed the STEP 5 for your close DNA Matches, go on to STEP 5
​

The Social Media Search of Close Matches. Social media (esp sites like Facebook and Instagram) have been a treasure for those who are interested in seeking DNA relatives. Even if the specific birth parent is keeping a very low profile in life and staying off social media, chances are very high that one of their close relatives IS on social media posting photos of their family, and sharing information like birthday wishes with your common DNA matches, and their locations (all of which is information that you are seeking).
See if you can find those close DNA matches on social media. Type their names into the search. If you can, see if some of your DNA matches are siblings or part of the same family cluster, and see if you can find people with the same names that are linked on social media together to help you identify they are in fact the DNA cousins you are looking for.
Online records and existing trees can help you find all the dead relatives. DNA Matches and social media can give you all the living ones. In fact, when people post a memorial of a dead relative, you can use that information as well to look up the obituary of that relatives as obituaries often mention the names of family members.
Take all of the info you find, copy it over into your tree (photos, birth dates, dates of death, home town locations, dates of marriage, etc…). This is where the family tree building skills really come in handy. You already copied over the trees of your close DNA matches and now are supplementing the family tree with information from social media.
You are doing ALL of this BEFORE you make contact with any of your close matches. If your matches are friendly with you, great, you got a head start. If your close matches block you out and even block you from their social media accounts, you ALREADY have all the info you could have gotten.
If you have completed both STEP 4 and STEP 5 for your close DNA relatives, move on to STEP 6

OK, so maybe you got no close DNA matches yet with Ancestry and 23andme. It happens.
Or you did, and collected all their info from family trees and social media.
Do you contact them yet?
Well, you COULD if you really wanted to (in that case, skip ahead and read STEP 7)
If you want to cover ALL your bases before you make contact, then complete STEP 6 first.
Now we move on to get you even MORE DNA Matches. Both Ancestry and 23andme give people the option of DOWNLOADING their DNA as RAW DATA. Basically they take their DNA information of you, and compile it into a PDF file. All your DNA info is broken down into text. They give you the download so that you can UPLOAD it to other sites to find more DNA Matches
There are DNA companies that offer customers two services. One is they offer for you to do a DNA test kit (which you have to pay for), and the second is they they allow you to simply UPLOAD your RAW DNA DATA.
Now here is the kicker…
Ancestry and 23andme will allow you to DOWNLOAD your raw DNA Data to upload to other companies, BUT Ancestry and 23andme FORBID you from uploading your RAW DNA Data from other companies to them.
Do you see why I recommend paying for the DNA test from those two and not the others?
Once you download your RAW DNA Date from either Ancestry or 23andme, I would suggest that you upload it to the following 3 sites:

• FamilyTreeDNA https://www.familytreedna.com/
• GedMatch https://www.gedmatch.com/login1.php
• MyHeritage https://www.myheritage.com/

Each company is GREAT, and they each have different services that you might want to pay for later. They all have their positives (for example, in some countries one of those companies might be way more popular than either Ancestry and 23andme, so if you are looking for International DNA Matches they are great) However, for right now, all you are seeking are close DNA Matches and if you have exhausted your close DNA matches on the first two DNA companies, this is the next logical step.
Once you upload your raw DNA data, and it gets processed (could take a few days for each company to process them and find your DNA matches), see if you have any CLOSE DNA Matches. If you do, follow through on STEP 5 and 6.

OK, you built up your main family tree, and even your private working draft trees of all your close DNA relatives. You have gone on to social media and collected even more information to fill up your trees. You are signed up for a number of online support groups, or in person support groups. You are now ready to make contact.
Making contact has to be done gently. Remember, you do not know what you represent to the people you reach out to. You might be the BIG SECRET that someone has been terrified of coming out for YEARS. You might be why someone has been lying to their family for decades.
When you make contact, send an email with a simple message: “Hi, I see that (site) says we are (relation). I would like to talk to you to see how we might actually be connected”
Reach out and see what kind of reaction you get. Some may not answer right away, some may not answer at all. Focus on the ones that DO answer and form a gentle relationship with them.
Keep in mind that some people are very naive about how communication on the site work, and some just lose interest in DNA family search finding. No matter what happens, NEVER lose your temper and never assume that someone is intentionally ignoring you. They just might not ever have access to their online profiles anymore.
In time, if you are not getting the answers you see, then move to trying to connect with your DNA relatives online on social media.
Remember, go gently.
If do you start getting blocked here and there, then your messages can be more dating and to the point. If that is what it takes to flush out the people who are the only ones to give you an answer, then you have to decide just how daring you want to be.
One last point, most people are open to speaking as long as you are respectful.
Then there are going to be those that not only demand no contact from you (for any reason), but they may also start to threaten you with legal action or direct violence if you contact to try to connect to members of your extended DNA family.
Here is the info I sought from a lawyer on this matter, BUT keep in mind that laws change from territory to territory, so see your own lawyer to confirm this.
1-any ADULT has the right to reach out and try to connect with any other ADULT. Adult as defined as a person who is the age of majority (21+ in most places)
2-if one adult does not want to be contacted, they may state so, and if they do, do not contact them again
3-No adult can stop you for connecting any other adult. So if your 2nd cousin tells you NOT to contact anyone else in the family, be aware they have no right to tell you that. It is up to each INDIVIDUAL adult to make that request from you personally. This is so you are giving each person a chance to know you are not
4-Never agree that you will not contact anyone. Tell the person threatening you that you have the right to contact any adult DNA match you have and that you will do so if you choose too.
I hope it does not come to this, but it has happened. Not everyone is ready to face the truth and accountability of their past. And those same people will try to block you, and even threaten to harm you to keep their bubble of lies safe.
Tread carefully and be nice,
but always commit to the process to find the truth. Which brings us too….

Truth:
You have to prepare yourself that you might not like the truth you learn about the family you are seeking. You could be a product of an affair. You could be the product of young love that were too immature to properly take care of you and give you a good life. You could be the result of some kind of violence. You could have been wanted by one birth parent but rejected by the other. You could have been told lies all of your life about who you were related to. You could find out that the man who raised you and loved you is not actually your father and that you were passed off as his child. You could find out that you were illegally adopted or stolen from a loving family. You might discover that your birth family are criminals, or were involved in some horrible acts in history. If you are going to commit to this process, you have a commitment to the TRUTH, no matter what that truth might turn out to be.
For this reason, take every story you hear on your journey with a grain of salt, and until you find the confirmed answers you seek, you do not let any of those stories stop you. I have heard stories of mothers telling their children that their birth fathers were “bad men” or “rapists” to try and prevent her children from searching for the birth family…only to discover that their mother’s lied to hide the fact that they were involved in consensual but secret relationships their parents would not have approved of. This is just an example of some of the worst lies I have come across, and you can well imagine what other kinds of lies you may have to shift through. The point is, unless you commitment to knowing the truth, no matter how bad it might be, you might be allowing people you love to block you.
DNA DOES NOT LIE. You will find out things you might not have even considered.
You might not like what you discover, but DNA will never lie to you.

Time:
Next is to consider the amount of TIME this will take. Plan to give up your hobbies for the next 3 months. Every spare evening and weekend you have will be dedicated to this. You can find whoever it is you are looking for in a few months with a combination of hard work and some luck. There will be opportunities that come (like matching with a 1st cousin with a large and open tree) that can easily be missed (1st cousin blocks you and marks their tree “private” to all visitors because you were adopted out they do not want to be the one to open this can of worms). In between the time you discover your 1st cousin and the time you get blocked, you may have a few short hours to copy over their information into one of your working draft trees. You NEED to put in the time to learn the tree building system and the time to focus on this.

Money:
​Get used to the idea that you will have to spend money. Even if you do all the research yourself, there are certain basic costs that you will simply have to pay out. Waiting on the generosity of others to pay for your DNA kits and so on, means that you will be waiting a LONG TIME to get the answers you seek. The costs are not *that* expensive, and you can cover the costs by cutting down your existing expenses for a couple of months, earning a little extra cash, or a combination of both. So go ahead and ask people to chip in for your birthday or holiday or special day gifts and wait if you want to. DNA does not wait for you, and the people you are looking for are human and do not live forever either. Nothing worse than finally finding the person you were seeking only to discover they died 3 months before you found them.

Help Find Peter’s Birth Parents and Family
​
Help Find Pierino (Peter) Grisanelli’s  Birth Family.
Peter would have been in his 90s if he were still alive.
If his parents were alive, they would be about 108+ years old. It is unlikely they are alive.
Does Peter have birth siblings? If he did, they would be around 90 years old or younger and could still be alive.

HELP US SOLVE THIS 90 YEAR OLD MYSTERY
HELP FIND PIERINO’S (PETER’S) FAMILY
Teresa, Florine, Civita, Susan and Lisa are 5 sisters that have one incredible Christmas Wish.
Since their father Pierino (Peter) died tragically in 2005 due to a car accident, they have been hoping to track down Pierino’s birth family.
Pierino (Peter) Grisanelli was adopted by an Italian family from the city of Gaeta, in the Province of Latina, in Lazio central Italy. He was adopted at  2 1/2 years old from an orphanage in Rome Italy.
His children have all done various DNA home test kits.  No close DNA family member has been matched to them. They are hopeful every day that a new DNA Uncle, Aunt or first Cousin will appear and solve the mystery.
Based on the existing DNA results, it seems that at least one of Peter’s parents may have been from Gaeta (and/or the surrounding area).

Here is a TIMELIME of Peirino (Peter)’s life with stories:
December 16, 1929  Peter was born in Rome. It is likely that his birth mother traveled to Rome to have him, and she either stayed with a relative, friend of the family, or at a home for unwed mothers. The law in Italy at that time required that a child given up for adoption, had to be assigned a surname that was made up. He was name Pierino (Pietro) Grisanelli. His name is “Peter” in English
December 30, 1929. Peter is baptized at the Parrocchia di S. Francesco d’Assisi, in the Roma Piazza S. Francesco d’Assis. according to his Certificato Di Battesimo and is placed in an Orphanage. (believed to be St-Antony’s in Rome)
​

UPDATE: A volunteer genealogist found Peter’s original Birth Certificate. Here it is:
​

​June 23 1932. At two and a half (2.5) years old, Peter was adopted by Cosmo-Tomasso Chinappi, and Teresa Di Perna-Chinappi who lived in the village of Gaeta. He never took on the Chinappi name. On their first trip to the orphanage to meet the children, young Peter shown an initiative and an interest in Teresa. After the couple returned to Gaeta to consider their decision, they decided to go back and get Peter. He was greeted in Rome by Teresa Di Perna-Chinappi, and her mother Civita Spinosa-Di Perna who took him to Gaeta, Latina by train.

There are 3 major rumors about Peter’s birth parents trying to contact him. We are unable to verify which version is the correct version. However, we are going to present all 3 here, in case one of Peter’s siblings or other relatives recognizes the stories. If you do recognize any of these stories please contact us at : info@chinappifamilytree.com
Story # 1: (approx. 1937) Peter would have been around 8 years old.
The orphanage had sent someone to take Peter back to return Peter to his biological parents after the adoption. However, on the day that the administrator knocked on the door of their house, Peter and his parents were not home. A neighbour told the administrator that Peter had run away and no one knew where he had gone.
A number of neighbors in Gaeta had experienced having children they adopted and loved, taken away from them by the orphanage. The birth parents would request their child back, as they were now married, and financially stable enough to raise their child. This was actually a common practice in Italy. According to the law at the time, birth parents could take their child back if :(1) they were legally married, and (2) they had identifying information about the child. Once identity was confirmed, they could then “reclaim” their child by going to the civil authorities for registration of a ‘legittimazione’, a correction which would officially name them as parents, and legitimize the child’s birth. 
IF this story is true, it would indicate that at the very least, one of Peter’s birth parents had gotten married (or both birth parents were now married to each other), and they wanted to know Peter and get him back.
Story # 2: (approx. 1937) Peter would have been around 8 years old.
Peter’s birth mother tried to make contact with Peter by knocking on the door of where he and his adoptive parents lived. All we know from this story is that his birth mother and adoptive mother may have spoken to each other, but no contact with Peter was made. Details of this story are too vague to report, other than his birth mother insisted that Peter now had brothers, and that Peter’s brothers should know Peter.
IF this story is true, it would indicate that at the very least Peter’s birth parents wanted to know Peter and that he has biological brothers.
Story # 3 **: ( approx. 1944) Peter would have been a teenager. (Approx 15yrs old)
Peter’s birth mother met Peter to tell him that she was his birth mother and that she had sons (his brothers) that very much wanted to meet him. Peter declined contact stating he did not know who this woman was, and that he already had a family with many brothers.
IF this story is true, it would indicate that at the very least Peter’s birth parents wanted to know Peter and that he has biological brothers that wanted to know him as well.
At that point in time. Peter did not know he was adopted, so he had no reason to believe the woman he had never seen before telling him this story.
Regardless, Peter daughters and grandchildren ARE open to contact. We hope that if you are a member of Peter’s birth family, you are open to communicating with Peter’s family too.
** This Story #3 has been confirmed as one of Peter’s brother and a long time best friend of Peter both say that Peter told them this story while he was alive.

​

1946. (Age 17) Peter finds out he is adopted.
One day Peter was spending time with adult friends of the family and someone mentioned to him that he was adopted, not realizing Peter did not know. Peter was surprised by this information, and immediately returned home to ask his mother if this was true. His mother said, “Peter, I did not give birth to you, but I love you as much as love any of my children” and held him tightly. Peter never mentioned it again.
July 30, 1949. (Age 19) Peter enlists in the army

Does Peter look familiar to you? 
Does he look like your brother? 
Does he look like your uncle?
Does he look like your cousin?
Peter might be related to you.  Please contact us, and consider doing a DNA test to help us solve a 90 year mystery for Christmas.

May 5, 1952. (age 22) Peter is discharged from the army with unlimited leave.


July 14, 1952. (age 22) Peter has an Italian Passport issued
Nov 20 1952. Documentation is issued to verify he was vaccinated for smallpox in Gaeta. There were some challenges in Peter’s emigration from Italy as he never took on the Chinappi family name.
Dec 1952. (age 22-23) Peter emigrates to Montreal, Quebec, Canada following in the footsteps of his father, and one of his brothers.
Together the 3 of them worked hard to earn money to bring his mother and 4 other siblings to Montreal, Quebec, Canada the following year.

April 28, 1956. (age 26) Certificate of Marriage. Peter marries Rose Marie Teresa Chinappi (who was technically his cousin through the Chinappi line) at the Holy Apostles Church in the city of Rochester, New York, USA.

August 1956. Peter immigrates to Rochester NY USA permanently
1957 -1964 Peter and Rose become parents to 6 biological children. 5 daughters and 1 son. Peter’s son Thomas died in infancy.

November 19, 1963. Certificate of Naturalization No. 8550346 for the United States of America

July 27, 1988. Death of his wife Rose Marie Teresa

June 21, 2005 Peter dies in a car accident.

About Peter
Peter was a loving father and grandfather who will be sadly missed. He was very proud of his children and grandchildren`s accomplishments. Peter enjoyed getting together with family, he especially enjoyed family picnics the holidays and Christmas. Peter could best be described as well loved & strong willed. He lived his life to the fullest and he enjoyed being retired for the last 20 years. Peter enjoyed: making wine, gardening, dancing, walking, wintering in Florida and bike riding. Peter`s bike riding was so prolific it would be nothing for him to ride his bike from Irondequoit all the way to N. Chili. He is interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, New York, United States

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!MAJOR MAJOR UPDATE # 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
​
We are happy to report a MAJOR updated to this story.  Thanks to the work of volunteer genealogist, and 23andme Family Tree Beta program, Ancestry and My Heritage we have been able to identify two 3rd cousins on Peter’s side of the family.  A 3rd cousin for each of Peter’s parents has been identified, and working backwards using family trees, and social media, the following information has been confirmed:
Peter’s parents were from Gaeta.  Although Peter may have been born/given up in Rome (as per his recently found birth certificate indicates), his parents are both from Geata.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!MAJOR MAJOR UPDATE # 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Using DNA matches and a process of elimination we have found even more names and have plausible family tree chart (see below).

 
We think that Parent 1 of Peter was a Rosato. We know that Peter’s GREAT grandparents were
Salvatore ROSATO  (B.1816) andBenedetta Giuseppa Di Ciaccio (B.1824)and we know that Peter’s Rosato grandparents 
One of Peter’s grandparents (of Parent 2)
is a sibling to one person of the following couple:
MARIA ROSATO (B.1839)(she married SALVATORE DI NITTO (B.1840)     
Maria had three brothers (Cosmo, Luigi, and Francesco)Which means that one of these couples
are Peter’s grandparents:
Cosmo Rosato and Teresa Sorabella
Luigi Rosato and Maria Grazia Strozza
Francesco Rosato and Angela Maria Colaruototo
 
One of their children is a parent to Peter
and the last name of this parent was likely ROSATO

*************************************************************************

We think that Parent 2 of Peter was a Caruso. We know that another of  Peter’s GREAT grandparents were
PIETRO PAOLO CARUSO (B.1824) andELISABETTA MAGLIOZZI (B.1835)and ANTONIO CAMELIO (B.1854) andROSINA TARALLO (B.1858)Note: the parents of Antonio Camelio were likely a CAMELIO  (B.1825) and  DI TUCCI (B.1825)

 THIS MEANS THAT THE GRANDPARENTS OF PETERWere a Caruso and a Camelio
and based on a process of elimination due to the DNA information available
and the last name of this parent was likely CARUSO
​
 ***********************************************************************
*based on a number of DNA matches so far.
***********************************************************************

If you recognize any of the names above, if you are related to the names above please contact us.  AND if you know anyone with those names who are from Italy, please share this with them.
Please share this story with every person that you know!
 Italian-Americans, Italian-Canadians, Italians around the world,  anyone living in Italy, & anyone of Italian descent.
Someone knows the truth.
Does the face of Peter look similar to members of your own family?
Do you know which of the stories about Peter are true?
Do you know which ones are just rumours?
HELP US SOLVE A 90 YEAR OLD MYSTERY!
Help Us Find  Peter’s family!

Members of the Chinappi family appeared in this National Film Board Documentary

Title: Dimanche d’Amérique(Sunday America)Duration: 27 min 41 seconds

English Translation:
Synopsis: Documentary on Italian immigration to Quebec. For Italians with an immigrant background, collective success is worth more than individual success. And the family is at the center of the community. We live five crowded in a room, waiting for a better future. Buy a house, raise a family. Half of the 150,000 Italians in Montreal live in the same neighborhood. They storm the construction trades, become painters, masons, and transform their garden into a familiar landscape

Original French Synopsis:
Synopsis: Documentaire sur l’immigration italienne au Québec. Pour les Italiens issus de l’immigration, la réussite collective vaut plus que réussite individuelle. Et la famille est au centre de la communauté. On vit à cinq entassés dans une chambre, en attendant un avenir meilleur. Acheter une maison, élever une famille. La moitié des 150 000 Italiens de Montréal habitent le même quartier. Ils prennent d’assaut les métiers de la construction, se font peintres, maçons, terrassiers et transforment leur jardin en un paysage familier.


Gilles Carle propose un portrait de la communauté italienne de Montréal. Le film garde quelques relents du cinéma documentaire traditionnel avec une narration qui parle au nom de la communauté filmée. Par contre, le travail de la caméra s’inscrit parfaitement dans le style du direct; une caméra à l’épaule qui bouge, participe à l’action et reste proche de son sujet.
 Marc St-Pierre

FROM THE PLAYLIST: LE CINÉMA DIRECT À L’ONF OU LA CONSOLIDATION DE L’ÉQUIPE FRANÇAISE
​Regard sur la vie de quartier dans La petite Italie du début des années 1960, avec ses cafés et ses défilés religieux.
 Luc Bourdon

FROM THE PLAYLIST: LA MÉMOIRE D’UNE VILLE
Documentaire sur l’immigration italienne au Québec. Pour les Italiens issus de l’immigration, la réussite collective vaut plus que réussite individuelle. Et la famille est au centre de la communauté. On vit à cinq entassés dans une chambre, en attendant un avenir meilleur. Acheter une maison, élever une famille. La moitié des 150 000 Italiens de Montréal habitent le même quartier. Ils prennent d’assaut les métiers de la construction, se font peintres, maçons, terrassiers et transforment leur jardin en un paysage familier.
 Marc St-Pierre

FROM THE PLAYLIST: SÉLECTION WERNER NOLD

Below: ​Giuseppe Chinappi (white shirt on the left) and Nicola Chinappi standing on the far right.

Below: Nicola and Giuseppe at a table having a discussion with their Italian friends. 

One of the stories / questions I heard most of my life is if the Chinappi name might be a sign that it originates from China.
The word “China” appears in “Chinappi”
Chinappi name written with Chinese letters: 基纳皮 (pinyin: jī nà pí) according to Namesedia


At one point my family had a Coat-of-Arms created and the letter that came with the Coat-of-Arms stated that the origin of the name Chinappi was in part based on a location.
So some people thought that since the word “china” is in Chinappi, then the origin of the name must be from China.
However, Chinappi is an Italian name, and the Italian word for China is “Cina”
Yet, there was another rumor about the Chinappi family tree, and that was the Chinappi does have genetic roots in China.
There are a few of the Chinappi family members that are asked if they are part Asian, because of certain Asian features they exhibit.


When the Chinappi family members (and their descendants) started to do DNA home kit tests, I asked each one that I knew, or made contact with, if any Chinese DNA was listed as part of the genetic mix.
Not one person.
At that point I thought it was just a rumor and decided to move on to other areas of research.
Until the year 2019, when a woman named Teresa, who’s mother was a Chinappi, did a DNA test, and at the very bottom of her DNA Ancestry Composition, was the following entry:


TRACE DNA: Broadly Chinese & Southeast Asian 0.2 %

If you are a Chinappi, or a Chinappi descendant that has any Chinese DNA, please contact us. We want to know you.
ADDENDUM:
I am adding this new information that I did not have when I originally wrote this article.
One of my DNA matches told me that it was folklore that all Italian names starting with CHI meant that the father was Italian and the mother was Chinese.  He said that he had heard such stories and rumors all of his life growing up Italian.
Another DNA match suggested that the Italian name of Chinappi when pronounced Key-Napp in certain Italian dialects sounds like the English word “Kidnap”.  This led to the possible situation of an English slave trader that may have sold Chinese women that were kidnapped to Italians.  This could be an origin to the Chinappi name, although, not the kind of origin that people would want to hear.  
It is also possible that a Chinese woman moved to Italy on her own choice. Perhaps she lived in China and an Italian sailor who traveled to China as a merchant, brought back a bride.  We assume that the mother was Chinese and the father was Italian because of the Paternal Hapogroup that all Chinappi males have seems to remain consistent.  So it may be that the name Chinappi does refer to a Chinese mother.  
More research is needed. 
——————————————-
 I would like to add the follow based on what I found out researching the China Italy connection is that China made contact with Italy.
From Wikipedia:
In Roman Times, the first group of people claiming to be an ambassadorial mission of Romans to China was recorded in 166 AD in the Book of the Later Han. The embassy came to Emperor Huan of Han China from “Andun” (Chinese: 安敦; Emperor Antoninus Pius or Marcus Aurelius Antoninus), “king of Daqin” (Rome).[9][10] In 226 AD China was visited by the Roman Qin Lun (秦論), who wasn’t a diplomat but a merchant. He visited the court of Sun Quan in Nanjing.[11][12] Other Roman envoys followed in the 3rd century. One embassy from Daqin (Rome) is recorded as bringing tributary gifts to the Chinese Jin Empire (266–420 AD).[12][13]
The most notable contact between China and Italy dates back to over 700 years ago, with Italian explorer Marco Polo famously sojourning in the country for seventeen years between 1271 and 1295,[14] a few decades after Giovanni da Pian del Carpine‘s visit to Mongolia.[15] Polo’s visit was followed by the arrival in Beijing of Giovanni da Montecorvino, the first archbishop of Beijing, in 1294.[16] Three hundred years later, Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit priest from Macerata and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions, was the first European to enter the Forbidden City.[17][18]
The Kingdom of Italy established diplomatic relations with China in 1866.[19] Italy received its concession in Tientsin on 7 September 1901. The concession was occupied by the Japanese in 1937, and liberated in October 1945 by the Chinese Army.[20] Italy officially renounced to the concession in 1947.[20] On October 16, 1866 a trade treaty between China an Italy was signed, and eight months later the ambassador Count Vittorio Sallier de la Tour, appointed Italian representative to the courts of Jeddo and Beijing, arrived in East Asia.[19] He and his successors Alessandro Fè d’Ostiani and Raffaele Ulisse Barbolani, however, kept their seat in Japan.[19] Ferdinando de Luca was the first Italian ambassador to be headquartered in China, establishing the embassy in Shanghai, which was moved to Beijing at the end of the 1880s.[19] In 1913, Italy recognized Sun Yat-sen‘s Republic, and thereafter maintained a position of neutrality in the various conflicts with different parties vying for power in China.[19] Italy formally recognized Kuomintang‘s Republic of China, and on November 27, 1928 signed a new trade treaty, which supplanted the 1866 treaty.[19] The negotiations were led by Daniele Varè and the treaty signed in Nanjing, China’s new capital.[19] Chang Kai-shek insisted that all the Occidental powers move their embassies in Nanjing, considering this action as the further, final acknowledgment of his power.[19] Italy, as some other great powers, decided to split its embassy between Nanjing and Shanghai, in two physically detached offices.[19]
Resident diplomatic missions[edit]

• China has an embassy in Rome and consulates-general in Florence and Milan.[49]
• Italy has an embassy in Beijing and consulates-general in Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai.[50]

There is also another story I heard that a Chinappi relative had left Italy to immigrate to China, and he was not heard from again. This has me wondering whatever happened to him.

• Did he marry?
• Did he have a family there?
• Do we have Chinese relatives that we do not know, and who do not know us?

IF THIS STORY SOUNDS FAMILIAR TO YOU, AND IF YOU ARE THE DESCENDANTS OF THAT CHINAPPI THAT WENT TO CHINA, PLEASE CONTACT US.
WE WANT TO KNOW YOU.
​

Merry Christmas to my fellow searchers…this is sung to the tune of We Three Kings! Inspiration for those searching!! Merry Christmas! – Kathleen Keane


Genealogists Lament
(Parody of We Three Kings.)

Jones and Smiths my relatives are
Anns and Johns they traveled afar
Poor handwriting, Spelling frightening
Pass me another beer
Smiths and Jones there’s plenty of those
Short in height and long in nose
Photos mislabeled, links disabled
Send me another shot
Behold it now the names do match
One more sip goes down the hatch
One less puzzle, one more guzzle
Glorious family tree
Tossing turning tormented sleep
Nameless gravestones, buried too deep
Courthouse fires and family liars
Christmas is great for wine
0hhhhh
Tree of Smith and branch of Jones
No known address — no such phone
No obit and no headstone
Came to this earth alone.

Author
Kathleen Keane
Kathleen Keane is a southern LDS writer and poet whose writing ranges from humor to personal interest and nonfiction pieces. She has worked in the search and reunion field for decades and as an editor for tech stock analysts. She was a newspaper columnist on genetic genealogy and her thesis was on DNA editing with CRISPR tech. With a Gypsy heart and Bellarussian soul, she currently resides south of Chicago. She sees writing as a symphony with readers playing a role in creating the finished work. Her writers affectionately refer to her as “Master Editor of the Universe.” She can be reached at kathleen_flynn@hotmail.com

Merry Christmas to my fellow searchers…this is sung to the tune of Jingle Bells! Inspiration for those searching!! Merry Christmas! – Kathleen Keane


​DNA DNA 32andme (Parody of Jingle Bells)
Dashing through the snow
In a beat up Chevrolet
To UPS I go
Clutching DNA
I hope the lid stays tight
Let’s pray the glass don’t break
I dropped the box off postage-paid
And peeled out for Pete’s sake! ohhhhhhhhhh
DNA DNA, I need answers now
Is my dad my bio dad?
Please tell me when and how
DNA DNA, I can hardly wait
I’ve got pens and I got pads for
Matching up the dates
It’s been six long weeks
The time has finally come
I match ghouls and geeks
Too late to turn and run 
Dear  Santa I was wrong
To think I was alone
They’re filling up my gmail  box
They’re blowing up my  phone
Ohhhhhhhhh
DNA DNA, Lord what have I done?
Sister Cleo is my aunt
And  Irish? I have none
DNA DNA, how could this be true?
I’m Scottish, Finnish, Mandarin
And half Sephardic Jew
The journey is so wild
And not for just a few
I’m not an only child
I’m one of 32!
Oh no — I am not sad
Yes, DNA is great!
Guess 32 is not so bad…
It could be 38!!
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh

Author
Kathleen Keane
Kathleen Keane is a southern LDS writer and poet whose writing ranges from humor to personal interest and nonfiction pieces. She has worked in the search and reunion field for decades and as an editor for tech stock analysts. She was a newspaper columnist on genetic genealogy and her thesis was on DNA editing with CRISPR tech. With a Gypsy heart and Bellarussian soul, she currently resides south of Chicago. She sees writing as a symphony with readers playing a role in creating the finished work. Her writers affectionately refer to her as “Master Editor of the Universe.” She can be reached at kathleen_flynn@hotmail.com

In honor of Serafina “Dolly” Petrillo-Chinappi (1926-2017)
Auntie Jenna Nicole Darling wrote to her niece Serafina “Dolly” Darling: “One day you’ll understand the inexpiable relationship that your Great Nana (Serafina “Dolly” Petrillo-Chinappi) and I had. So blessed that you have the Nana (Flo Chinappi) you have, because you’ll be the happiest girl. You’re gonna be your Nana’s best-friend and I can’t wait to watch the relationship grow. I’ll be jealous because you have your Nana but I’m so excited to just watch this bond grow …

little Serafina Dolly Darling visits the grave of great grandmother Serafina Dolly Chinappi.
I miss you Nana Dolly. I love you so much!
Mom, I can’t wait to see the relationship that you and your grand-daughter little Serafina Dolly create with each other just like Nana Serfina Dolly and I had ! You’re already the best Nana to little Serafina. I just want you to know, you’re following in your moms footsteps. You will be Serafina’s best-friend ​

Jason Leusch, 8, of Webster, N.Y. caught this 14.5-inch, state record rock bass fishing off the dock at his family's cottage on Lake Ontario in Wayne County. 
The connection to Gaeta is that his mother's mothers parents (his great grandparents) are the connection to Gaeta.  His great grandfather was born in Gaeta, and the parents of his great grandmother were both born in Gaeta.) 
An 8-year-old boy from Webster, N.Y., in Monroe County is now the proud owner of the new state freshwater fishing record for rock bass.
Jason Leusch was fishing off the dock at the family’s cottage at Port Bay on Lake Ontario in Wayne County on May 24 just before 10:30 a.m. when he yelled to his parents that he hooked “a big one.”
Mom and Dad were initially slow to react, since their son had already landed about 20 rock bass that morning. He was fishing with a 5-foot, ultra-light pole using fathead minnows as bait.
“I told him at the time, we’d be down there in a second,” said Mike Leusch, his father. “When I got down there and looked at the fish, I said, ‘Holy Cow, that’s a big one, buddy.' ”
 The father, whipped out his iPhone and looked up the state record for rock bass: Eric Avogardo of Hawthorne, N.J. in 1984, who caught a 1- pound, 15-ounce rockie in the Ramapo River.
 “I then grabbed my digital scale and the fish was 2.00 pounds – right on the button,” Mike Leusch said.
 Father and son then drove to the Bay Bridge Sport shop at the south end of Sodus Bay. It again weighed 2.0 pounds on the shop’s official scale. It measured 14.5 inches.
 Leusch said he contacted the Department of Environmental Conservation and was told to freeze the fish. A few days later, the father drove to DEC’s Region 8 Office in Avon to verify the species of fish and weight.
The photo of the boy and his fish has since been posted on several Facebook pages.
 “Facebook has been blowing him up,” the father said. “People from all over the state have been writing him messages, congratulating him.”
 Leusch said his son had previously caught a monster, 6-pound, 11-ounce largemouth bass and that was mounted by a taxidermist.
 “We’re going to have this state record fish mounted as well,” he said. “It’s going to hang on the wall next to the big bass in our living room.”
 This is the second state freshwater fishing record broken this year.
Morgan Fonzi, of Gasport, broke the white bass record earlier in May while fishing on the Lower Niagara River with his 3 pound, 8-ounce fish.