Words by Pat Eggleton - Pictures by Peter Farina
Peter Farina founded and runs the italyMONDO! website which helps people trace their Italian ancestry. Here he tells us his own story and gives lots of advice as well.
Peter, what we at Italy Magazine know about you is what we’ve read on italyMONDO! - that you visited Italy, discovered your Italian roots and that the experience changed your life.
Yes, in fact, this happened when I was a Sophomore as Syracuse University in New York. I never grew up with the language - my great and great-great grandparents came to America at the turn of the century - so, although I was always proud to be Italian, I couldn’t even write "Buon Giorno"! Combined with having just started to research my own family tree, this base of newfound knowledge helped turned my pride into a burning passion – leaving me almost no choice but to visit Italy and discover my roots in person!
Can you tell us something about your ancestors who emigrated from Italy to the US and why they did it? 
My father’s paternal grandparents emigrated separately from Italy in the 1910s, later meeting and marrying in Upstate New York. His grandfather, Vincenzo “Jimmy” Farina, was born in Sora, Frosinone – a former industrial center located in the Liri Valley south of Rome. His grandmother, Clorinda “Clara” Fiore, instead had humbler roots. She was given up at birth, left at the steps of the church with a “yellow bonnet” (according to the birth certificate) in the village of Savoia di Lucania, Potenza – a picturesque medieval village in the region of Basilicata.
When I first discovered my own roots, though, it was mostly on my mother’s side. Her great-grandparents (my great-great grandparents!) all came to my hometown of Amsterdam, New York from the village of Guardiaregia, Campobasso (Region of Molise) in the early 1900s. They emigrated, settled, and then sent for their children as well (one great-grandmother was actually born in Amsterdam in 1902, though), where they married. My grandparents, born in America, then married each other. Making my mom’s roots 100% in the same little village where, today, more sheep than people are living!
Why did they leave Italy, though?
Well, at the time, Italy wasn’t known as “Il Bel Paese” as it is now. Instead, it was called “La Terra Maledetta” - The Cursed Land. Political Unrest, overpopulation, deforestation and a gapping divide among the upper and lower classes resulted in widespread hunger and even disease throughout much of the population in the south. With the birth of the Industrial Revolution in “L’America,” people began to come in masses. This number ended up growing exponentially until the United States began to close its borders in the 1920s with a set of two immigration reforms, the first occurring in 1922.
My family’s story isn’t unique, though. Most Italian-Americans–and Italians of origin around the globe–have these humble roots. Our ancestors, mostly contadini (peasants), coloni (tenant farmers) or ‘bracciali’ (the old work for day-laborer), almost had to flee “La Terra Maledetta” not only to find a better life, but to survive. It’s almost to impossible to imagine the hardships of life in that time now, especially with how beautiful Italy truly is.
What was the first step you took to trace your family tree? 
Well, the first step I took to trace my family tree was to clean out my grandmother’s attic, where I discovered not only photos which had been untouched for over a half-century but also old letters from Italy, family heirlooms and more. I then combined this with endless interviews with all of my family members – a process which included a trip to Toronto, Canada to break the ice with cousins with whom we haven’t been in contact with since the passing of the last member of my great-grandfather’s siblings.
With this oral history base, I then took to microfilms of the birth, marriage and death registries of my ancestral villages – which now let me confirm and add to the oral history which I had collected. Unhappy with just dates and names, though, step three of this ‘transformation’, if you will, involved me in re-living my roots and traveling to the villages where my ancestors were born.
Did you have any help? Were there any websites or publications that helped you?
Actually, I didn’t! Yes, the Family History Centers in Albany and Syracuse (operated by the Church of Latter Day Saints) provided me with the chance to research on microfilms but in 2003 and 2004 there just wasn’t anything to help me in this quest. I had to learn everything from the School of Hard Knocks and, to be honest, this is the reason why I started italyMONDO! I wanted to create a company that I had wished existed when I was doing this for myself... a company that would give this same transformative experience to other people like myself, but without all the hardships that I had to go through. It wasn’t easy!
There are good resources available to the family historian in America, though. First and foremost is Ancestry.com, which in the past decade has become the best investment anyone embarking on the quest to discover their roots can make. Also, don’t forget birth, marriage and death certificates that are available from the local clerk and from the various State Departments of Health. These documents are priceless. Finally, the king of all genealogical documents is your ancestor’s naturalization papers – generally available at your local County Clerk’s office.
Have you met or are you in touch with any of your Italian relatives? 
Yes! It’s a powerful thing when you finally meet your long-lost Italian relatives as well. (In my case, the last contact was in the early 1960s.) The foods you taste, the mannerisms you see, even how they look... It’s like you’re discovering a part of yourself. When I met my family in Guardiaregia, it was like going back in time a century and seeing a part of my family’s “puzzle” that was left behind. I’m still extremely close to my family to this day. I actually have cousins in England (Yeovil) and Argentina that I haven’t gotten the chance to meet yet, though... hopefully soon!
Can you tell us why you founded italyMONDO! ?
I literally founded the company on two bases:
1. There wasn’t a company that was able to help me discover my roots when I embarked on “The Quest”, and I wanted to create a company that helped other people do this, but without all the hardships I went through. I wanted everyone to have the chance to research their Italian family tree, find and meet long-lost family in Italy, walk in their ancestors’ footsteps on a life-changing Heritage Tour, and become a dual Italian citizen as well. I call this “The italyMONDO! Experience” and it’s been a humbling experience to watch the lives of clients change in the process.
2. I had found my passion! I literally could not get enough of all things “Italian” when I started discovering my Italian roots, even helping people simply as a pastime once I finished my own tree in college. However, I realized I had found my calling and had to find a way for “Italy” to become my life (I was studying Environmental Biology at the time, keep in mind!) So, I founded italyMONDO!... And I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else now. This is my passion... This is my calling.
When you founded it, did you have any idea that it would become so big? 
No idea... I actually still have my original business plan that I created in 2005. I read it over about year ago and WOW! I almost forgot how humble italyMONDO!’s roots were. The business plan literally talks about helping Italians from my area of Upstate New York and how I would occasionally visit Italy to take photos and write stories and research. I could have never believed that italyMONDO! would, just four years, become a revolutionary force in the industry and the premier company for discovering your Italian Heritage in America. I honestly feel blessed.
Have you any idea how many people you have helped to trace their Italian ancestry?
Hundreds... but each family is unique and their story and question special. In the process we actually become very close to almost all of our Heritage Tour clients actually – becoming a part of their family ourselves. Beyond send and receiving Christmas cards, it’s not an exaggeration to say that we’ve attended quite a few birthday parties and family reunions as well!
Can you tell us something about italyMONDO! Heritage Tours? 
That they are so, so much more than just a “Genealogy Tour.” italyMONDO! is the only company in America that actually not only researches your family tree (and finds and contacts your family) before the trip by research on-site in Italy, but we also learn your travel preferences, dreams, and more to create a completely one-of-a-kind trip that is complete bespoke – completely yours.
The result is not only a chance to meet with family and walk in your ancestors’ footsteps (big Sunday dinners and family reunions included!), but an experience that has you eating and sleeping in only the best, boutique, hand-selected trattorie and agriturismi (all are hand-selected during the trip-planning process on-site) and exploring an off-the-beaten-path Italy that you want to see. No “cookie-cutter” itineraries, as I call them! This is all possible because each group (which can be as small as one person) has a private driver and translator.
What can people buy at the italyMONDO! store?
At this time, not much. Only birth, marriage and death certificates from Italy, although plans to sell custom, made-to-order artisan products like Italian ceramics are in the works. Our fundamental services—Italian Family Trees, Finding Family in Italy, Heritage Tours and Excursions and Dual Citizenship—are all bespoke, so they are generally purchased by the client directly through us as opposed to through the Online Store.
Is there any help on offer from italyMONDO! for people who cannot afford to pay for your services?
Well, one thing that I wanted to create when founding italyMONDO! was an opportunity to help everyone – rich or poor – to discover their roots. We’re all Italian, and everyone should have the chance at this life-changing experience!
So, we actually offer various levels of each service from basic to extremely high-end, and for all services offer easy, zero-interest monthly payments. For citizenship, we actually guarantee your citizenship (US clients only) with our “Worry-Free Citizenship Service,” so you know that, although an investment, you know your investment is a good one.
The best advice for those who still find it hard to spare the money to invest in an italyMONDO! Experience is to go talk with family! This is actually a family investment, and a family experience as well! Sharing the experience is not only a great way to split the cost, but to bring the family together as well. We just had a rather large family split one of our most premier packages, and the result was just a couple of hundred dollar investment per person for the same package that actors and VIPs have purchased!
However, even if you can’t make even the smallest investment in your family’s history, there is still hope. Getting things started on your end really isn’t that hard. Grab a pen and paper, and start interviewing EVERYONE in your family! Start to acquire all the birth, marriage and death certificates your can as well. I call this building the “trunk” of your tree – because you can’t build out the branches without a strong trunk. This is something everyone can do – at a minimal investment as well.
What advice would you give to someone setting out to find their Italian ancestry?
INTERVIEWS, INTERVIEWS, INTERVIEWS! Records will always be there, but not our eldest loved-ones. They are a wealth of information, so get it while you can. Record their stories if you can, but at minimum write down everything. Then, organize all the photos (even finding “new” old ones in attics like I did!) and sit down with these people to write on the back of all of these. Unfortunately, when they pass away, the names of all of these people in these photos can be lost.
After you’ve acquired all the family stories and oral history that you can (or, in the process of doing that), begin to build the “trunk” of your family tree by acquiring all the birth, marriage and death (and citizenship, even) certificates that you can. Once you’ve acquired all three for a “leaf” on your tree, move on to their parents. You’ll be amazed at how fast it will grow. You can then keep the ball rolling by moving to online and microfilm resources as well.
Then, when you get to the point where you’d like to find your family and take it to the next level – italyMONDO! is here to help. But that “trunk” of your tree is yours to grow and, to be honest, is the most important part. So, get out there and grow that trunk! With all the resources available, such as Ancestry.com and more, you’ll be busy for a while. But be warned, genealogy is addictive!
Thank you, Peter, for taking the time to talk to Italy Magazine. We’re sure you will inspire some of our readers!
My pleasure.
