Legacy of Charlie D. & Rosa Defa Fabrizio 

 Additional Information:  Torricella Pelligna 1994  

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Introduction   Torricella Pelligna 1994

  The airplane was on time when it landed in Milano, Italy, July 28, 1994. I was eagerly anticipating seeing my parents, Tom and Flora Fabrizio, who had been serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Italy.

Flora & Tom Fabrizio. Click photo for full image.

 The taxi down the runway seemed to last forever. Excitement ran high as my brothers, sisters and I picked up our carry-on baggage and walked the distance to the terminal. This was a unique opportunity for our family because we were all together again (without our spouses) with the exception of one brother who stayed behind to take care of the family business.

What a reunion! After hugs and kisses, the four-hour train ride back to their field of labor gave us time to converse and catch up. I knew Dad was thrilled to see us because he didn't sleep a wink and normally, this would have been a great time for him to catch a cat nap. The train stopped in Cuneo, Italy and nine of us, loaded down with luggage, trudged several blocks to the tiny apartment our parents had called home for the past eighteen months.

The days passed quickly as we toured some of the big cities in Northern and Central Italy. As exciting as it was to visit the streets of water in Venice and the ceilings of the Vatican in Rome, the highlight of our trip centered in a small town in the province of Chieti. Chieti is in the Abruzzi region of central Italy, on the Pescara River, near the Adriatic Sea.

As we drove toward signs that read "Torricella Pelligna" the whole family was filled with emotion since this was the small home town of my dad’s father. The quaint little village towered off in the distance as the morning sun shimmered against the Church steeple. Rolling hills, green valleys, dirt paths, and some unpaved, rocky roads shot off in all directions to small houses.

Click photo for full image.

My parents had the address of a distant cousin, Johnny Porreca, so we went directly to his home where we were welcomed with open arms. He was anxious to show us around Torricella Pelligna, introducing us to friends and family. The five-mile ride out into the country along a winding road took us to the old farm where our grandfather was born. The farm was off the main road at the end of a lane. As we stepped out of our rented cars, we stepped back in time. Stories Grandpa told us about his childhood took on real meaning. Cameras clicked, feelings surfaced, and tears spilled as we explored the past.

His name then was Pasquale Pasqualetti, and he lived in that small cement and rock hovel now used for storage. A surge of electricity went through me when I touched that sacred dwelling. We were introduced to people living nearby who remembered Pasquale. They were hospitable, inviting us to wander around the farm.

Not far from the houses out on the edge of a dirt path was a large rock overlooking a meadow where sheep were grazing. On that fertile hillside Grandpa spent his boyhood days herding sheep. From that rock I looked out towards Torricella Pelligna again and I remembered him telling me of his five-mile walk to and from school in the evenings after chores were done. Now the distance was real. As I reflected back to my elementary school days, I realized my school was five miles away, but I went during the day, on a school bus. How very different his life was from mine. As I touched the rock, the house, the road, the grass, my spirit connected with this wonderful man I called "Grandpa."

–Toni Fabrizio Ogden

  Delbert and Myrna Fabrizio and Family. Click photo for full image.

  Art and Jean Fabrizio and Family. Click photo for full image.

Neil and Carma Fabrizio and Family. Click photo for full image.

  Tom and Flora Fabrizio and Family. Click photo for full image.

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