Welcome back to Bisacquino! Last time we came here, it was late on a Friday afternoon and the next day was a holiday. We knew the Comune (town hall) would be closed. After hiking Etna we decided to head back to Bisacquino to see if we could find Weston’s great-grandfather’s birth certificate. We were leaving Sicily the next day out of Palermo, so we decided to give it one more shot.
When you’re done, head to the gorgeous beachside town of Mondello on the outskirts of Palermo.
-
- Back to Bisacquino
-
- The main cathedral of Bisacquino
-
- Walking down a Bisacquinese street
-
- According to the workers in the Bisacquino Comune (a comune is like a town hall)… Viale XXIV Maggio is the street Weston’s great-grandfather would’ve lived on when he was born. It was named something else back then, but today it’s named “May 24th Avenue.”
-
- Walking down Viale XXIV Maggio
-
- Viale XXIV Maggio is quite beautiful indeed
-
- A fountain common across the island
-
- Wes taking it all in. Note the detail on the street…. it most likely would’ve been dirt roads back when his ancestors lived there.
-
- A city sign providing residents with information
-
- At least one Pizzitola still lives in town
-
- Gioachino Pizzitola’s birth certificate. Born Feb. 3rd 1883 to Gaetano and Anna Pizzitola.
-
- Entry number 60: Pizzitola, Gioachino
-
- A close-up of the top half of the record
-
- The bottom half
-
- The original birth certificate was in a book in the town’s archives. The townspeople gave us a notarized paper that had the information written on it to keep.
-
- 1889-2012…. only 123 years since Weston’s great-grandfather left.
-
- The piazza in the center of the town
-
- Looking down the street in the town’s center
-
- Foto Ottica Corleonese (the yellow building)
-
- The Sicilians have quite an attention to detail, all the way down to how their streets look
-
- Driving up towards the Santuario Madonna Del Balzo, on the hill outside Bisacquino. Looking back at the town. Absolutely gorgeous!
-
- Such beautiful vegetation
-
- Ti Amo!
-
- The gate to the town cemetery (it was closed so we couldn’t go in to find any relatives)
-
- The wonderful Andrew J. Montalbano who showed us around the town. Mr. Montalbano is a first generation Sicilian-American from New Orleans who spends his summers each year in Bisacquino, his father’s hometown.
-
- Inside the Santuario Madonna Del Balzo
-
- Absolutely incredible
-
- Such incredible detail even in the ceilings
-
- The doors to the church
-
- The clock and bell tower outside
-
- The view from the hill the church was on
-
- Plaques on the side of the church
-
- This plaque gives thanks to Bisacquino residents now living in Houston, Texas who donated to the church so the building could have electricity
-
- The building was finished in 1679
-
- Up at the top of the sanctuary
-
- The nice gentleman who works there, outside the entrance. He showed us around inside.
-
- Looking down at Bisacquino from the hills near the sanctuary
-
- Looking back at the sanctuary
-
- A sign at the entrance to the city
-
- Wes driving down the tiny Bisacquino streets….
-
- View from the back… tight squeeze!
-
- Bambini
-
- Waiting for the old Sicilian man to cross the street
-
- Some old Sicilian men taking in the scenes
-
- Head left to go back to Palermo
-
- On the way to Palermo
-
- Heading towards Monreale. Between the mountains is Mondello (I think) and the Mediterranean Sea
-
- Passing through the small town of Pioppo
-
- Driving through a small town… Pioppo perhaps?
