Wednesday,
February 27,
Italian Heritage in
The
ANNOTICO Report
Decades
of films such as The Godfather have left the Welch with an image
of Italians as a nation with more than its fair share of dangerous and menacing
gangsters.
But,
in reality, the long and colourful history of
Wales Italian communities proves that, away from the big screen, they have
a rather softer side in
But
in any event, the Welch are so appreciative, that the Italians living in Wales
have been given nearly #50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to record stories
of those who emigrated since the 1950s.Volunteers will be trained to interview
immigrants and produce an exhibition telling their stories.
Fund manager for
Wales Jennifer Stewart said: "This project will stir up a lot of emotions
and memories and tell the hidden stories of the Italian community who have made
such a contribution to the economic growth of
ic
WesternMail
by Sally Williams
February 23, 2008
Decades
of films such as The Godfather have left us with an image of Italians as a
nation with more than its fair share of dangerous and menacing gangsters.
But, in reality,
the long and colourful history of Wales Italian
communities proves that, away from the big screen, they have a rather softer
side in
As
The Christian
Association of Italian Workers has been awarded #49,500 from the Heritage
Lottery Fund (HLF) to tell the life stories, in a travelling
exhibition, of a host of Italians who migrated to
The exodus across
Europe started during the Fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini, with the
results soon felt in towns and villages across the
Things were
bad in
They settled
in the
They became
integrated very rapidly and their sons were soon playing rugby.
Welsh rugby star
Robert Sidolis father Primo came to
He now owns the
Busy Bee fish and chip shop in Merthyr and both of
his sons have represented
Sidoli junior said, The name Sidoli in Bardi is a bit like Williams in
There was an
offer on the table to play for Italy a few years back but, as much as my
Italian roots are very important to me as it makes me who I am today, it was
never in my heart to turn my back on Wales as it was a dream come true to slip
on the red jersey.
As well as
becoming cafe owners, many Italians also worked in production industry
including farming, mining and tinplating.
Comic actor
Victor Spinettis grandfather was a farmer from
Northern Italy, who walked and worked across
He said, There was a great interest in coal then and it was like a
gold rush.
My
grandfather would work in the pit and send the money he had saved back to the
Italian farm, which is still there, to buy livestock.
He told my
father he would have a better life in
He didnt want to go back to
When I
signed up for National Service they told me I could choose to be Italian or
Welsh and I couldnt
believe it.
I was born
in Cwm, grew up in the
Spinetti, who has made films with
the Beatles and Richard Burton, said his nationality was not normally a
tribal issue.
He said, The
only time The Beatles got a bit tribal was when we were in a car in the Bahamas
and George Harrison started singing the Liverpool anthem Youll Never Walk Alone.
But they
never called me spaghetti.
So I read
him a poem,
He said,
Good God, thats
When I told
him Id written it he asked for a copy. The next night we were both at an
Italian evening where
Someone
asked him, Who wrote that?
He pointed
at me in the crowded room and I was described as Welsh that night by the acting
Prince of Wales.
I will be
excitedly supporting
The parents of
78-year-old Domenico Casetta moved to
And after
completing his studies and military service, Domenico left
He said,
After World War II there was a shortage of men to work in heavy industries
yet the market was expanding rapidly.
It led to
opportunities for Italian migrants. I worked in an architects practice in
The only
thing I really missed about
Both my wife
and my three daughters speak Italian and, although they are Welsh, they have a
passionate affiliation for
But Joseph Gambarini, owner of The Princes Restaurant in Pontypridd, said that his heritage would not stop him
supporting
Despite my
name, I feel more Welsh than Italian and will be supporting
Jennifer Stewart,
the Heritage Lottery Fund manager for
This
project, featuring photographs and interviews, will stir up a lot of emotions
and tell the hidden stories of many people who have contributed to the cultural
and economic growth of
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