What started as an office joke has turned into one of my biggest passions: researching, discovering, and cherishing my family’s history. I’m fascinated by the communities my ancestors came from and the ties that remain. Perhaps even more importantly, I’ve fallen madly in love with my ancestral comune, Fumone, particularly its generous, welcoming people and their willingness to put up with this crazy American. My trips to Fumone have not been holidays like the ones I’ve taken for most of my life. For me this is a true investment in family and community, where I feel I belong.
Growing up in the suburbs of Connecticut, I noticed life there lacked in family tradition and community, especially when families live so far apart. To this end, I always felt something was missing, but couldn’t put my finger on what. Being a creative person (artist, designer, photographer, writer, traveler), moving to NYC with my husband 15+ years ago made a real difference and I felt like I was home for the first time in my life. Still, something was missing. I’d been interested in my family roots on both sides of my family, and most of them go back to early America (patriots who fought in the Revolutionary War, famous military generals, past presidents of the United States, even passengers on the Mayflower). But there were no stories of anyone on the Caponera side. There were rumors of my great-grandfather and his brother Luigi’s travels to America, but the stories were few and far between, so researching was difficult and yielded very few results.
So, knowing only the name of the town where my great-grandfather was from, and needing a distraction from the workday, I went to my computer and Googled “Fumone, Italy.” That was it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was love at first sight and I haven’t stopped my pursuit since. Not long after, some colleagues began talking about pursuing citizenship through their Irish ancestors. It sparked my imagination, and I began researching the possibility of Italian Citizenship for myself. What a thrill to find that it was indeed possible!
Hitting a few road blocks in locating family records, and knowing that if I was really going to pursue Italian citizenship recognition I’d need some dedicated help, I reached out to ICA and officially began the recognition process. Everyone at ICA was so pleasant and helpful. I worked closely with Silvia Bolognesi who answered every question and email with grace and professionalism. She was a delight to work with and to get to know.
This has been a life-changing experience. This journey has shown me how important it is to record and acknowledge family history, to collect stories of my own family’s experiences so I can hand them down to the next generation. There’s something about knowing where you come from. It makes you feel more whole in the world. It shows you that you are part of something bigger, and it makes you appreciate who you are, what you have, and what you’re capable of. A truly inspiring experience.
Now that I’m officially an Italian citizen I will be purchasing a property in my beautiful comune and will eventually live there. Being recognized as an Italian citizen has opened so many doors that were never options before. I’m very excited to see where it takes me.
I cannot say enough good things about my experience with ICA. From the first emails to the celebratory messages once I was officially recognized and received my passport, it’s been nothing but incredibly positive! Everyone at ICA was very straightforward, open, and honest. Every transaction was exactly as they had stated. Everything that could be done was done in a timely manner, and if there was any question about anything, it was always answered quickly and thoughtfully with full transparency.
Written by Deborah Caponera
