You are probably wondering how the heck a guy with a name like mine, Giovanni Cianfaglione, ended up in this country. I always wondered the same thing. I thought to myself, “Why would my family come to live in Canada after spending much of their lives in Italy? Who was the first person to come? Why?” Here’s the story according to my father:
After World War I, there was a major lack of work in Italy. As a result, a great number of Italians were jumping ship (no pun intended) and coming to Canada. Why Canada you ask? Because this is where the work was, where Italians could live better lives.
In 1919, my great, great uncle Luigi and his wife Francesca were the first brave members of my family to make the trip over to Canada. They, along with nearly 1500 other Italians, jumped on a ship called La Vulcagna and took the trip from Italy to Canada. Luigi and Francesca settled in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia where Luigi was able to find a job working in the coal mines.
Life was good in Canada, but not so good in Italy. My other family members back in Italy were still struggling for work, but no one was brave enough to leave the country and start a new life. Luigi was raving about how life was so much better in Canada than in Italy. He tried on many occasions to convince the other family members to join him. It wasn’t until after World War II, in 1949, that my great uncle Donato decided to finally take Luigi’s advice.
Donato got on La Vulcagna, full of Italians, and headed towards Sydney Mines to meet up with Luigi and Francesca. Donato was able to get temporary work in the coal mines, but a year later, he got on a train to Halifax to work at the Oland Brewery, leaving Luigi and Francesca behind.
Donato was loving life in Halifax and he wrote to my grandfather Giovanni, who was still in Italy. He told him to also come to Canada. It didn’t take much convincing for my grandfather to join his brother. In 1953, Giovanni said “arrivederci” to Italy and “ciao” Canada. At the time, my grandfather didn’t have the money to take my grandmother Concetta and my father Rocco with him, so he had to make the trip alone.
My grandfather also landed in Sydney Mines where he worked temporarily in the coal mines, but like his brother Donato, he decided to move to Halifax a year later. Giovanni worked on the CN railroad, saving up enough money to pay for the arrival of my grandmother and father in 1954. So at the ripe age of four, my father began a new life in Canada.
After my grandfather, grandmother and father settled in Halifax, the floodgates opened. My grandfather wrote to all his brothers and sisters, telling them to come over. My grandmother did the same. Before you knew it, most of the family members were looking for real estate in the same neighbourhood.
It’s like the saying goes, everyone’s got a story. Well, now you know how my family came to this country.
*please mark this one
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5 comments:
You have such an easy conversational tone to your writing, it makes it sound very real. This would make you a good radio script writer and speech writer. Very nice story.
Hi John. I knew a Rocco Cianfaglione about 20 years ago. He was a gr. 7 social studies in Tantallon Jr. High and probably one of the biggest inspirations in my life. We called him Mr. "C" because he was afraid we might hurt ourselves trying to say his full name - LOL. I have nothing short of admiration for him and I am very sad that I lost contact with him. Is this the Rocco that you are talking about?
Scott M.
Donato Cianfaglione is my grandfather! Did you know him?
John, I really enjoyed your story. My grandfather Luigi Lanza, along with his father Giuseppe and one brother Francesco also emmigrated to Canada, originally to Sydney to work in the Mines back about 1898. My grandfather eventually ended up in Hamilton, Ontario. I belong to a message board "Two Rosetos" that has been set up for folks whose ancestry is from Roseto Valfortore in Foggia. I was doing some searching on Sydney to see if I could add something about this piece of my grandfather's history - so I was pleased when I ran across your little story.
I know this comes many, many years after you posted this (literally 12 years) but I am the granddaughter of Donato Cianfaglione (the daughter of Ronaldo Cianfaglione). I was so excited to come across this post! Donato passed 4 years before I was born and I never knew all of the details of his story. I treasure this memory and thank you for sharing!
Karynne Cianfaglione
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