Houses in the D'Elia-Trotta Past and Present

 The Carusi

My paternal (Pasquale D'Elia) grandfather's first house (Carusi), was constructed, rock by rock, by him and his brothers in the 1880's, on the northern outskirts of Paola (San Miceli). The land was inherited by his mother, Concetta Mantuano who was from Paola.  The river Laponte faces the house, and according to my dad, his mother constantly marveled at the convenience of being able to wash her clothes in that nearby river.  This is the same river that overflowed its banks and washed my grandfather's uncle, Giovanni D'Elia, and his nine children to their deaths on October 17, 1863.

This image was sent to me by my dear cousin, Paulo Papa, from Rio de Janeiro

The Case Cavaliere

The Case Cavaliere in Ferrare is where my great-grandfather, Giambattista,  had moved from the Piscioni in Cotugni around 1885. We know that my dad's brother, Antonio, was born there circa 1886, and that from the Ferrare, my grandfather moved to the Carusi in the hills overlooking San Michele, Paola. The structure to the right was the residence of the tenant farmers (which included the D'Elias) of the Barone Don Luigi Passalacqua.

Pianetta

Pianetta or Chianetta in dialect is the property my dad bought from Angelo Grosso in 1931. The house in the upper left was on the property when purchased. It was sold to Piero Trotta in the 1980's (not related to us) by my dad.  Piero converted the old house into a small restaurant called La Casa Vecchia and a bed and breakfast.  The other homes under construction are on parcels sold to various individuals. My brother, sister and I still own about 7,290square meters of land.

The Piscioni

Pasquale D'Elia was born in this house in 1851.  The house itself, and perhaps the others that were directly adjacent to it belonging to the Baron Don Luigi Passalcqua,  was referred to as the Piscioni and the contrada made up of homes along the river LaPonte was and is still known the Cotugni.

The Montesani

Battista D'Elia (b. 1901) and his two oldest son's Pasquale (1923), and Francesco (1932) were born at Montesani. This home was purchased just a few years before my dad was born in 1901, by my grandfather Pasquale D'Elia, his younger brother Francesco, and a third unrelated party, Maria Manza. My dad had a black dog named "titsuno" which means charcoal.

 Sorresso

 My maternal grandfather, Francesco Trotta, built his first home around 1919 called Sorresso. He moved to this house from the Piturru house. My dad and I are playing cards on the veranda. Photo taken in 1968. Today, my mother's sister, Stella lives here. The house has been much re-modeled. The portion where we are playing cards, from top to bottom, belongs to the heirs of my Uncle Paul. All the rest, to the right or south, belongs to Aunt Stella. It is here, in 1968, in the lower portion (maggazzino) to the north, just under where we are playing cards, but inside and underground, that I found the muzzle-loading rifle manufactured in Mongiana around 1852.  It is also here, in 1980, that my father fell through the floor of the balcony down onto the ground below.  He only received a few bruises and scratches.

 The Piturru

This is the Trotta home, Piturru. My grandfather, Francesco, my mother and all her siblings, with the possible exception of the last, Margherita, were all born here. This home, and much land surrounding it belonged to the Martini family from the Linze area. The Trotta folk farmed parcels of this land and my grandfather was in charge of the Martini herd of sheep. My mother lived her early life, 1901-1922, in this structure with her parents, eight siblings, her  maiden-aunt, Cherubina, from whom she learned to cook and perform other household tasks, her childless aunt, Pasqualina, and her husband Giuseppe Castagnaro, grandfather Nicola Trotta, and a couple of dogs, one of whom was called Giordano.

Estyrose and Daniela's Playhouse

Built for Esty and Dany (409 Cambridge Drive backyard)  by their dad,  Angelo D'Elia in 1997