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They live in Torino, Italia, in the State of Piemonte. Translated, this is the City of the
Bull in the Foot of the Mountains...the Alps, between Italy and Switzerland/France. Torino, or Turin is the home of Fiat. Perhaps it is this fact, or Torino's history that make this one of the unknown stops in
Italy. The city is sophisticated, cultured and filled with restaurants that compare favorably with any on the continent. Spacious piazzi, museums (the Egyptian Museum is second only to the one in Cairo), shopping,
concerts, the arts...etc. The Baroque architecture is one of the finest in all of Italy. However, due to the lack of American tourists to Torino, be prepared to face a blank stare when English is spoken to many of
the shopkeepers, restaurants and even in some hotels. Forget German. To the north is the medieval city of Aosta, at the mouth of the tunnel through the Alps that leads to Chamonix, France. From close to Aosta, you
can take the trip to France by gondola. One of the lifts is the longest single lift in the world to the top of Aguee du Midi, close to Mont Blanc.
In a few hours south, you are in Genova, the City of Columbus. Turn west just before Genova and the road winds into the mountains, the forest land of the Zenese, the other
origin of my ancestry. Here in Urbe, and a small village at the top of a mountain, Aqua Bianca, is the home of the Minetto and Pizzorno, blood relatives of of my families that today reside in Reno, Nevada. Also, the home of the Zuninos, close family friends. On a trip to Urbe, we discovered David Zunino, running a fine hardware store that services the area.
In about an hour south of Genova, you can be in La Cinque Terre, The Five Lands on the Ligurian coast, linked by railroad, ferry boat and paths that are prized by hikers all over
Europe. A little further south towards Pisa, you will see a great white mountain. It is Carrara, this mountain is the source of pure white Italian marble, the material of Michealangelo; one of Virginia's favorite places to visit. Along the way, you may stop in Porto Fino, Santa Margherita, and Ciavari, where both my grandmothers lived as children before
emigrating to America. In early July, stop in Levanto to witness the procession of the cross and the feast of the sea (Feste de Mare).
Go WNW from Torino in less than an hour and you pass between the mountains into France, sans the tunnels. East for 2 hours and you are in Milano...along the way you find miles of
rice fields, the source of aborio rice, that fat grain rice that is the key ingredient for risotto. 1 hour more north from Milano and the magic lakes of Lago Maggiore and Lago de Como are yours for a lifetime of
memories.
Closer to Torino, directly to the East, and South, you are in prime wine country, the region Monferrato. One little town here, Castagnole, was the birthplace of both Francesco and
Giuseppe Brunetti; Francesco, my second cousin, and Joe, my grandfather. From Castagnole, "Citta de Vino", comes the wonderful sparkling red wine,
Barbera Vivace. Further south to Asti, and you find the home of Asti Spumante. Unfortunately, I don't believe that there is a single importer of Barbera Vivace in America. A pity.
Francesco and his wife, Iris (Sardo) Brunetti have two homes in Torino, one flat in the city and a home on a mountain peak 40 minutes away in San Rafaelle Alto called Raccone (raccoon). Also a hideaway in Spain just south of Barcelona on the sea. It is in Torino where they raised Stefano. The wedding of Stefano and Simona Russo was on March 31 in San Rafaelle. I was the lone representative of the Italian families from America. During my visit to Torino, I sent a number of e-mails back to the family. I have copied them here on these pages, along with additional photographs that chronicled my visit to Italy
Check out the maps of the Brunetti's and Piemonte
Follow the pages with the navigation buttons above to the days preceding and following the wedding (nozze).
Enjoy the pictures and the stories...Enzo
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