It is not bad to go and get some fresh air in Carpineto Romano during these hot days of August, and even better was to participate in the day dedicated to the Carpinetani in the world.
An unforgettable day!
A real surprise to see how many Carpinetani in the world return every summer from overseas (Australia, Canada, USA, Venezuela) and how much love they have for their town.
This edition of the festival was very well attended, perhaps due to the delicate organization of the deputy mayor Emanuela Massicci and Fiorella Lepre, whom we had already awarded as Town Ambassador of Carpineto Romano at the event on July 7 together with the Metropolitan Area of Rome.
But we had never officially delivered the parchment to her, so together with the mayor Stefano Cacciotti we thought that this was the ideal day to organize a small ceremony. A sign of the attention from the city of Carpineto Romano to its children abroad.
The room was packed, and you could hear people speaking mostly English with many different nuances. People recognized each other by their accent but then grouped themselves according to their families, like the historic Cacciotti and Campagna families.
And it is no coincidence that in his speech, Mayor Stefano Cacciotti also recalled the history of his family: “Emigration was a vast and dramatic social phenomenon that accompanied the Carpineto community from the end of the 19th century to the mid-20th century. Thousands of our fellow citizens (including 5 of my paternal grandfather’s 8 brothers and sisters and my paternal grandmother’s sister) were the protagonists of this painful exodus.
With cardboard suitcases full of memories and full of hope, they landed at Ellis Island and then continued their adventure in Australia, Canada, the United States and South America in search of fortune and freedom.
Today, decades later, we can proudly say that Carpineto has many children around the world; men and women of the first, second and third generation, who despite the years and the distance maintain a strong bond with the land of origin of their fathers and grandfathers. I can tell many stories about how my cousins ‘Carpinetized English’ by creating their own vocabulary, and we will do it soon”.
This is the story of the day of the Carpinetani in the world and the story of the VIII Rione (Team) that competes in the famous Pallio della Carriera of Carpineto Romano and which is that of the Carpinetani in the World. There is even a statue dedicated to them in the palace of the Reggia dei Volsci, the museum of the town.
We had not said anything to Fiorella so when the mayor called her and signed her parchment in front of her a few tears of joy came out of her.
I think it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies that we have organized in these years, being able to tell all these ‘children of Carpineto’ how important they are for us, the value of the love they have nurtured in all these years and what they have done for the town was truly touching.
After the moment dedicated to Fiorella, the deputy mayor Emanuela Massicci, the councilor Mauro Prosperi and the president of the council Graziano Astri gave everyone a copy of a video dedicated to Carpineto made on a poem by Guido Cacciotti dedicated to swallows (as a paraphrase of emigration and return) with music by Sergio Cacciotti and English subtitles.
After the ceremony I joined the group for a visit to Pecci Palace but above all to hear other stories of Carpinetani around the world. Follow me for the next article.
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