FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS 1850-1882
Castelmezzano, Italy
Clinging to the mountainside in the southern Italian Appenines, the tiny town of Castelmezzano looked down on the countryside from an altitude of 2400 feet. Transportation from the nearest town was non-existent. To traverse this distance, one had a difficult climb on foot, or a jostling five-mile donkey ride up the narrow unpaved road. Upon arrival in Castelmezzano, the traveler then followed dirt of cobble-stoned narrow streets and alleys that wound through the town. (In later years, you reached the nearest town by train and then made your way up the mountain. At a plateau, a tunnel was hewn out of the mountain and as you emerged from the tunnel Castlemzzano came into view.)
In that era (mid 1800’s), it was a rustic, remote, primitive village with a population of about 800 inhabitants. Its stone houses clung to the sides of the mountain, with their red tiled roofs forming a patchwork of color. The land landowners, peasants and shepherds. Most homes consisted of one or two rooms and a single fireplace with chains, hooks and tripods for cooking. Prepared sausages, salami and hams hung from the ceiling to be smoked and cured. A few families had a stall attached to the house for a donkey, chicken or perhaps a hog. In most cases, your own two feet provided the means of transportation – you were fortunate if you owned a donkey. There were no utilities. Water was supplied by one public fountain where women could rest a moment from the chores of the day and chat or perhaps hear a bit of gossip. The water supply in the house was a specially built wooden barrel, set on brackets on one wall. Freshwater was carried in a clay jug, “cucoma,” or in a wooden vessel, “galetta.”
The people lived off the land – raising sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and growing fruit, nuts, and vegetables. Of course, there were the grapevines for the wine! With only the bare essentials available, families labored long house to earn a meager living. The barter system was prevalent. A passing doctor, the town barber, vendors, and even the mid-wife were paid in material goods for their services.
Women washed laundry in the nearest brook and scrubbed the clothing on a smooth rock on the shoulder of the brook. When scrubbing didn’t satisfy the cleanliness desired, clothing was bleached. First water was boiled in a huge copper kettle on a tripod over a wood fire. Then wood ashes were mixed and stirred with the boiling water. Next, the wash was placed in a large wooden tub and covered with a protective heavy cloth. Finally, the scalding wood-ash mixture was poured int the tub. Certainly, it was backbreaking work to get a sparkling clean wash!
Artisans passed on their art from father to son or to an apprentice interested in learning the trade. Masons quarried stones, then cut, carved and polished them. Mortar was made by crushing stone, then heating it in huge fires and adding lime and sand to the mixture. Lime was also used to paint the inside and outside walls of the home. Carpenters had to fell the trees before they could start working with the lumber. Then they had to split, cut, cure and polish until they had a finished product.
As an apprentice learned his trade, he was also taught to make his own tools. He started with the most menial tasks, many times having to learn his lesson with a box in the head. There was no room for error, and the master tradesman exercised little tolerance toward his pupil.
Illiteracy prevailed. Few were fortunate enough for the opportunity of a limited education provided by private tutors in town. Others with means went to the nearest city, Potenza, 50 or 60 miles away for schooling.
Giovanni & Carolina (John & Caroline)
Giovanni & Carolina Paterno were born and raised in Castelmezzano and their parents before them. Giovanni’s parents owned a few scattered pieces of land dotted with fruit and olive trees, grapevines, and some land cleared for farming. Carolina’s parents owned the only wood burning oven in town and her mother baked bread once a week for the townspeople. Giovanni worked as a carpenter, helped with the farm chores and sold bread to the workers who were building the road from town to the railroad station.
As newer homes were built, many were two or three stories high, each floor owned and occupied by separate families. This common ownership of land and homes tiered on the side of hills were, perhaps, the forerunners of co-operative ownership which has become so popular in modern times as condominiums.
The railroad station located at the foot of the mountain remained the last point of public transportation to Castelmezzano. Crushed rock rods were constructed between 1870 and 1880. Precipitous sharp curves and turns wound up all long the cliffs held in place by stone retaining walls and parapets. When in a hurry, one could take a shortcut – a path for vehicles and those on foot, but this pathway proved even more dangerous than the other with its dangerous sharp curves where one small error in judgement could send you off the side of the mountain.
The Immigration
Times were difficult, so Giovanni and Carolina decided to immigrate to America. He arrived in New York in 1880 and secured a job. He later sent for his wife and children. With only a few belongings and their children (Celeste, Saverio, Canio (Charles), Giuseppe (Joseph)), Carolina boarded a freighter bound for the ‘promised land where the streets were paved with gold.’ After a voyage of 60 days across the Atlantic, they arrived in the US in the latter part of 1882. Due to a storm, they arrived several weeks later than scheduled, causing much alarm for Giovanni as he waited anxiously for his family. They settled on Cherry street, New York City, where a large number of Italian immigrants had settled. It was in a section of the city commonly referred to as “Little Italy,” where later on, Mother Cabrini worked to start to improve the lot of the Italian immigrants.
Giovanni struggled to make a living and held many menial jobs, I.e., boiler stocker, construction laborer, and carpenter. A short time later, he met a Scottish stone mason, Mr. MacIntosh. Together they formed a construction firm that built 3-story walkups between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues, around 100th Street. At that time, the area above 100th Street was still virgin land with only a few farms. The horsedrawn trolley, that boasted a potbelly heater, terminated at 100th Street. The Paterno-MacIntosh construction company flourished and Giovanni and Carolina were happy. Five children were born in the United States, making a total of 10: Maria-1886, Michael-1887, Anthonly-1890, Rose-1893, Theresa-1895, and Tina-1898.
Saverio and his brothers, Charles and Joseph, started school. To bring in a little money, they delivered newspapers and did odd jobs in the neighborhood. As they grew older, they helped their father, John, with his construction projects.
Return to Italy
Giovanni became ill but the doctors could not determine the cause. An Italian doctor suggested a change of climate and after serious consideration, Giovanni and Carolina decided he should return to Italy. Saverio was summoned from England to accompany his ailing father to Italy. Giovanni died of cancer soon after landing in Naples (1899) and was buried in Castelmezzano. Around 1912, his body was shipped to New York and interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in a mausoleum built by the family for their parents.
Carolina visited Castelmezzano in 1912 and when she returned to the U.S., she brought her grandsons, Charlie and Joe to New York City.
Carolina suffered a stroke in 1921 and remained paralyzed until her death in 1923.