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My Italian Heritage,
Welcome!
Welcome to my Italian Househunting and Travels website! I have created this web site to share how I came to own a home in Italy, and what motivated me to do so! There's a bit of a story here, so grab some wine and read a little! In addition to some narrative, I'm including broad information on the process and what it was like, along with information about my apartment and great areas to check out in and around Ivrea, Italy! Hopefully, you'll get inspired and dream about a place in Italy too!
It All Started When...
I was about 13 years old and I met my aunt, Janice McQueen, for the very first time. She was an avid genealogist and introduced me to family history and research, showing me things about our family that I had never known before. At the time, I thought it was interesting, but it wasn't until a few years later that I became more interested in our family history and wanted to learn more about where we came from. Thirty-eight years later, I've embarked on one of the longest family history research projects most people are ever lucky enough to experience. Sadly, my aunt passed away and has not been with me since I've started this part of the journey, however, I know she's always with me in spirit guiding me along and enjoying my trips!
SO, WHAT NEXT?
So, after getting me started in genealogy, my aunt had inadvertently (or maybe purposefully) lit a fire in me that made me appreciate my Italian heritage. I was fortunate that my mother's mother talked to me a lot about southern Italy when I asked questions about our family and where they were from. At that point, however, my grandfather on my dad's side of the family (Martellono) had already passed away and I did not have much information about where my dad's family was from, the name of the town, etc. I knew it was northern Italy, however, I did not have much information. In the late 1980s, I began to call and write to some towns and mayors in the Piedmont region, going on information I had found on a death certificate. After several failed attempts (not much ability to speak Italian and unsure about the accuracy of the information I found) I finally lucked out and contacted a woman who spoke English in the town of Issiglio, Italy, a small mountain town in the Piedmonte region of Italy, about 45 minutes from Turin. Shortly after speaking with her, she helped me contact my cousin Ruggero Martellono, and from that point, wheels were put into motion. Around 1990, I took my first independent trip to Italy and visited Issiglio for the very first time! I stayed in the nearby city of Ivrea, home of Olivetti typewriters and computers, and made short trips to Issiglio to visit the cemetery and connect with possible relatives.
A Dream, Internet Access and Persistence
I visited Ivrea twice, and then did not return for a long time. That wasn't an indication of my interest in my Italian heritage, as I was still actively researching my Italian (and non-Italian) heritage. I went to Italy again in May of 2010 with my boyfriend at the time, and my love affair with all things Italian continued. We went because I wanted to visit the town in Southern Italy where my mother's family was from (Terlizzi, Italy) and I wanted to get extracts of my grandparents birth records to apply for Italian citizenship. Prior to that trip, I was living in Maine before relocating back to Boston, and I had it in my mind that I was getting citizenship in Italy and that I was going to buy property there. I wasn't sure about where the property would be, but I had it on my bucket list.
After the trip in 2010, I continued to hold on to my dream of owning property. I had a variety of web sites I scoured daily, and each night I went to bed, I told myself that I would own property in Italy some day. You see, I had read somewhere that when you have a dream that you want to accomplish, you need to set your sights on it, think about it frequently, go to bed each night with that dream in your head, and then continue to focus on it.
I looked through MANY Italian real estate web sites at property in Puglia, along with Abruzzo, due to the relatively inexpensive prices of the property. That being said, many of the properties I looked at needed significant work and while the prices were low, I had no idea about the work it would take to repair them and make them livable. Every day I searched, and every day I shared properties with my boyfriend, telling him about the "great finds" I had made. This dream, and daily search, and persistence took place over YEARS.
North vs South
Because my most recent trip to Italy had been to Southern Italy in 2010, I focused on properties there for the longest time. I looked in Puglia, and mostly in Abruzzo because that was where many affordable properties seemed to be located. That being said, many of the properties were in rough condition, and after seeing me look at many properties that needed "help", my now husband told me that he'd have a hard time with southern Italy based on the homes I was showing him. The property was going to be my "project" but....
So, based on that feedback, I began thinking about northern Italy and the region and town where my family came from. I also thought I could use this as a "selling point" because of the location. The Piedmont region is in the northwest corner of Italy, close to France, Switzerland and other European countries. Additionally, there is a major airport in Torino and Milano is only about 90 minutes from where I was looking. By car, you could reach a number of great places, and upon an initial look, there were many properties in better shape for less money than southern Italy. Knowing all of that, I turned my searching and focus to the northern part of Italy, specifically in Issiglio (where my family is from) and towns close by.
Curious about the actual "house hunting"? Click on that tab to see what took place!
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