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Our Italian Family History

This is a brief yet beautiful story of Nathan’s Italian family history written by my mother-in-law, Angela.

It was in the early 1900’s that Giuseppe Cappello decided to leave his home town of Roccasecca in the mountains of Frosinone in Lazio. He set off on foot, along with his friend, in search of a new, more prosperous life than that of his family who had a humble pig farm. 

His brothers had already made their way to America. Despite Giuseppe walking with a stick after a childhood accident, the determined young men, in their mid 20’s, made their way by hitching lifts and takings ferries, and ended their long journey in Aberdeen, Scotland. So, what better way to start life there, than to make and sell gelato! 

Meanwhile, in another part of Italy, Savignano Sul Rubicone, in Emilia Romagna, a young woman also in her mid 20’s called Anna Bolognesi, was working as a children’s maid, for a Scottish couple. When they decided to return to their hometown of Aberdeen, they asked Anna if she would go with them. The opportunity to leave that little Italian town, and begin a new life in Scotland, must have been quite an exciting prospect for Anna. And so, she arrived in Aberdeen. Of course, it wouldn’t have taken Anna long to seek out some familiar things…and what she found was a handsome young man called Giuseppe selling gelato…

Giuseppe and Anna married in 1915, and had their only child Josephine in 1917. They worked hard and did well. During the 1920’s they had ice cream shops in Aberdeen, in London, and then in Edinburgh. But by the mid 1930’s, there must have been a pull, something drawing them back to their homeland of Italy. They sold up, travelled back, bought some pigs and planned a new start there. But the story goes, that all the pigs died during the journey back over to Italy and they saw this as a bad omen, they had made a mistake, and so they returned to Edinburgh. It was not meant to be. 

Unfortunately, the war was looming, and Italians abroad were looked on suspiciously. In 1940 there was a ship called the Arandora Star, it was to take Italian men living in Britain and transport them far away, to Canada. By now Giuseppe was in his mid 60’s and suffering from bronchitis. He managed to convince the authorities that he was far too ill to take this journey. They agreed, and instead, he, Anna and their daughter Josephine were made to leave Edinburgh and move to the Scottish Borders. The fateful Arandora Star was hit by a German U-boat just off the west coast of Ireland near Donegal, and tragically almost 500 innocent Italian men died in those waters. Giuseppe’s bronchitis had saved him. Then another tragedy struck when he and Anna lost their savings in Italian banks, to Mussolini during the war. This no doubt took its toll on Giuseppe, who sadly passed away only a few years later. 

Anna lived until her 98th year, still putting her floral blue apron on and making brodo, oh and watching out the window of her little apartment in Edinburgh, for the van selling gelato! 

When we now return to Italy, there is a pull, a tug at our hearts, a feeling of love, home and belonging, and sometimes, overwhelming emotion just hearing the language.

The smell of that air and feeling its warmth embrace you, it all feels so familiar. On the headstone of Giuseppe, Anna and Josephine in the cemetery, are written the words ‘Their spirit lives on in their family’ and it’s so true..they are with us, and we wonder what they would think to know us now, what we are doing, and how we feel about the beautiful land they left..but, to create us.