The Voyages of My Grandfather, Pasquale D'Elia
Pasquale D'Elia lived with his parents, siblings and possibly his grandparents in a stone house close to the road on a piece of property called the Piscioni in an area (contrata)of Fuscaldo known as Cotugni where he was born in 1851.
Some time before 1875, when Pasquale was about 24 years old, he asked the Baron Don Luigi Passalacqua (or it might have been his son, Francesco) to transfer the family out of the Piscioni house to another house called Case Cavaliere where they would live until 1890. The Baron consented, but required Pasquale to work the old lands (Piscioni Cardenale) for 1 year as well as the new piece close to the main road called Giandomenico.
Though the law recognized that a tenant farmer had to give the owner at least one years notice, Pasquale was insulted by the Baron's insistence on the letter of the law as he had naively thought, taking into account his family and generations of service to Baron Don Luigi Passalacqua and his ancestors, he would be exempted from this requirement. He swallowed his pride, but this event was a turning point in Pasquale's life and that of his descendents for it planted the seed in him that one day he would get out from under the Baron; out from under the control of another man.
Around 1872, when the D'Elia family occupied the Case Caveliere (the first door facing Paola), Pasquale was loading rocks from a quarry near the falegname Sciammarella in San Michele, Paola. The Baron had a contract with the comune of Fuscaldo to provide rocks for bridge building. As he piloted the wagon loaded down with rocks, on the way to the delivery destination, Pasquale passed by the property that he worked for the Baron called Giandomenico. There he would pause for a few moments, and drop off a small load of rocks each time he passed until there was enough to construct a stall in which to house the Baron's oxen. In that same structure, Pasquale could also store his own tools and supplies for his personal use on that land. Pasquale had not consulted with the Baron prior to building the stall, nor had he informed him of the timbers cut down to be used in the construction of that stall.
In January, the month that landowners and tenants came to terms on their accounts, the Baron informed Pasquale that he would henceforth have to pay an additional 5 Lira annual rent because the new oxen stall was on the land which Pasquale rented from the Baron. The arrogance of the Baron incensed Pasquale, and this anger caused him to shout at Don Luigi Passalacqua, "The day will come when I will no longer be your (colone) tenant." It may have been then and there that he decided to emigrate to South America.
By 1878, Pasquale D'Elia was ready. He made arrangements to sail to Rio de Janeiro on La Francia, a steam-powered, double-masted paqueboat that had been launced in 1869. Because Fuscaldo did not possess a deep water port, or any port at all for that matter, La Francia anchored in deep waters. A lifeboat or two were then lowered, and rowed to shore. The crewmen lifted the passengers in their arms, placed them into the small craft, and then rowed them out to the ship where presumably they climbed up a ladder-rope to board the vessel. This operation along the Italian coast was most likely repeated a number of times before La Francia finally escaped the Mediterranean Sea through the Straits of Gibraltar. Once in the Atlantic Ocean, with all those hopeful and somewhat terrified adventurers like my grandfather, Pasquale D'Elia, the captain chartered his course for the Brazilian route. After one stop on the west coast of Africa, to take on fresh water, food, and coal for the steam engines, La Francia was Rio bound. One can only imagine how the stomaches of these unfortunate travelers behaved during the forty days between Fuscaldo and Rio de Janiero.
Domenico, Pasquale's brother, joined him in 1879. Pasquale remained in Brazil for three years, and returned to Fuscaldo in early 1880. After just a few months, he departed once more for Rio with a friend named Nicola Scofano where the two worked and lived together. There were probably more "paisanos" sharing the same accomodations, to help shoulder expenses, and to feel safer in a strange and dangerous environment. Brazil was experiencing domestic unrest and political turmoil in this period. Pasquale, being the oldest, became the "guardian" for the younger ones. This meant making sure they did not mix with the "wrong" types, did not stay out too late, went to work, did not waste their money (he even held money for some of them so that they would save instead of spend), and went to Church. One sixteen year old paisano, Salvatore Scofano, was caught in the crossfire during one of the many revolutions and shot through the neck. The wound was cleaned by passing a clean clothe from in one hole and out the other.
In early 1883, Pasquale and a friend, Giuseppe Giglio departed Rio for Italy. Both men disembarked at Naples and while exploring those environs happened upon a gypsy who insisted on reading the forture of the man with the "small, piercing eyes". She grabbed my grandfather's hand and told him he would marry the sister of his traveling companion. Grandfather was amused because he already had in his mind the woman he was going to ask to be his wife. That woman was named Giuseppina Scofano, and indeed, she and Pasquale would become engaged in a matter of weeks after his return.
Very soon, my grandfather began to notice that Giuseppina was in the habit of talking back to her mother. He brought this to her attention, explaining that he did not like it, and asked her if she planned to talk in that manner to his mother. Her response was, "I don't care if you like it or not. Make a bridge out of it"! He replied that he already had, and broke the engagement. His parents were displeased at the way he had handled the situation, but Pasquale, who had a stubborn streak in him, did not relent and set his sights on yet another.
Pasquale (32) went to see a man by the name of Giovanni Giglio, and asked for the hand of his daughter, Rosina. Though such arrangements were handled by parents of those to be married, still, reasonable fathers asked their daughters to express their concerns. Giovanni asked his daughter what she thought about the proposal. Rosina (21) objected to the ten year age difference, and her father reminded her that Pasquale was the Baron's massaio (person in charge of the plowing oxens) and thus offered a higher status within the contadino class. Rosina agrees, but insists she will not wear the ring of her mother-in-law to be. Her father advises her to "wear the ring proudly" and gestured by holding his left hand high, ring finger extended upward.
The gypsy from Naples somehow had it right.
The parents now got together and had a notary draw up a legal document entitled, Tavole di Nozze, or Wedding Tables, which is an agreement as to what each side must contribute to the union. It is an exact statement, including how many table napkins, bed sheets, foodstuffs, and money each parent was obligated to donate. There is even a provision in this Wedding Table for return of items, should there be no offspring by a certain date, or if one of newlyweds should perish. It was most unusual to insist on a Wedding Table, especially for two people who could neither read nor write. The parents, who made the document signed by placing an "X" next to the name that witnessed their confession of illiteracy.
The couple is married on August 2, 1883, and probably in the Chiesa Matrice of Fuscaldo. Two months later, Pasquale's brother Domenico who had also recently returned from Brazil, married Giuseppina Scofano.