LITTLE ITALY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2013 EDITION

www.littleitalytroy.org

troylittleitaly@gmail.com

Little Italy Honors Sr. Carmelite Germinario DC

Troy Little Italy appreciates the support of the following individuals and organizations who assisted us in planning our
neighborhood tribute to Sister Carmelite.
Tribute Planning Committee members: Susan Butler, Jean Cavallo, Carmella Coons, Nicolina Danei, Rocco DeFazio, Mike
Esposito, Louise Germinario, and Peg Rosamilia; Kate Blain, Editor, The Evangelist, Newspaper of the Diocese of Albany,
NY for allowing us permission to use the article she wrote about Sister Carmelite. Photographs and newspaper articles were
loaned by the Germinario family, Jean Cavallo, Sr. Maria Copobianco DC, the Daughters of Charities Archives, and Andrea
Daley Assisting us with research on the History of the Daughters of Charity were Carol Prietto, Sr. Rosa Lee DC, Sr. Marie
DC, and Nancy Katich. Assisting us with research on the Ladies of Charity were Sr. Kathleen Simpson DC, Peg Rosamilia,
President, Ladies of Charity, and Mary Ann Kehn, President, Junior Ladies of Charity.
Sister Carmelites commemorative plaque was made possible by a generous donation from the Germinario family, with
additional donations from Susan Butler, Jean Cavallo, the Chiappone, McMahon, Barnes and Rivers families, DeFazio Imports, Mike Esposito, Rae and Vincent Franchese, Samuel & Angeline Kobylar, and Nancy Russomanno. Allen Howard,
present owner of 63 Hill Street has granted us permission to have the plaque affixed to his home (formerly the residence of
the Germinario family.)

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
September 6 and 7, 2013, Festa Italiana 5 11 pm, at the Italian Community Center, 1450 5th
Avenue, Troy Little Italys Remembrance Exhibit on Sr. Carmelite
September 16 to 23, 2013 St. Louise House, Chapel Lobby, 96 Menands Road, Menands, NY. Remembrance Exhibit on Sr. Carmelite
October 12, 2013 (Columbus Day) 63 Hill Street, former Geminario residence, Installation of commemorative plaque honoring Sr. Carmelite
November 1 to November 15, 2013, American Italian Heritage Museum, 1227 Central Avenue, Albany NY. Remembrance Exhibit on Sr. Carmelite
November 23 to November 29, 2013, St. Anthony of Padua Shrine Church, 28 State Street, Troy.
Vestibule. Remembrance Exhibit on Sr. Carmelite
November 24, 2013, St. Anthony of Padua Shrine Church, Celebration of Mass, 9 am (The Third
Anniversary of Sister Carmelites death is Monday, November 25)
December 7, 2013, 6 pm, Christmas in Little Italy event featuring a showing of the film The Bells
of St. Marys at the Joseph House Hill Street Inn, 7-8:30 pm. Remembrance Exhibit on Sr. Carmelite
December 8, 2013. Victorian Stroll. Atrium, Troy. 12 noon 5 pm. Troy Little Italy Information Table. Remembrance Exhibit on Sr. Carmelite
December 21 to December 31, 2013, St. Marys Hospital (Seton Health), Troy, Main Lobby, Remembrance Exhibit on Sr. Carmelite (Sister Carmelites Birthday is December 26)

Sister Carmelita with niece

Lisa Thomas and her
children Anthony, Angela,
Adam and Gianna

Chappy were long time

members and volunteers of
the Italian Community Center and the former St. Marys
Parish (later joining St. Anthony of Padua Parish). We
offer our condolences to
members of the Campana,
Tedesco, Germano and Coli
families and to Karens
many friends and relatives.

South Central/Little Italy

News
The Record:
September 1, 2013. Troy
Treasure article, September
brings festa, tribute, and conference, by Rocco DeFazio
and Mike Esposito. A celebration of neighborhoods, a
long time neighborhood
event and a beloved
neighbor.
July 30, 2013. Pulse of the
People article, Wet house
will chase people out. By
Mike Esposito. A fragile
neighborhood faces another
challenge.
100 Years and Counting!
Congratulations to Manorys
Restaurant and to the Friehofer Baking Company for
reaching the 100 year mile
stone of providing quality
service to our community.

September
Meeting
9/18
Neighborhood Watch
6 p.m.
Troy Little Italy
6:30 p.m.
233 Fourth Street Corner of Washington and
Fourth

POSTPONED
We Remember . . .
We mourn the loss of Karen
Campana, daughter of the
late Felicia Germano
Tedesco and Thomas
Tucker Tedesco, long time
Fifth Avenue residents, who
died August 23rd. Karen was
formerly employed by the
NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets as well as
at popular Troy businesses
such as Mike Mahrs and the
Red Front where she worked
as a waitress. She was also a
volunteer at many social
events at St. Marys Church
especially their annual Election Eve Spaghetti Supper. A
devoted wife, mother and
friend, Karen is survived by
her husband Clement
Chappy Campana, her two
children, Amy (George)
Zanaros and Kari (John)
Pepe, her granddaughter,
Gianna Felicia Pepe, her sister, Laurie (Anthony) Muscatello, father-in-law, Jerry
Campana and brother-in-law
Bill (Deb) Campana as well
as many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Karen and

The work on the Marketplace has been postponed

until late September and October. The paving will not
take place until 2014.
Neighborhood Problems can
be reported to Rocco
DeFazio. stop in the store at
264 Fourth Street or call
518 274-8866
rdefazio@nycap.rr.com
If you have any large items
or brush in your alley, please
report it to the following
e-mail address.
Our maintenance crew will
pick up the garbage and call
in a pick up for the bulk
items
neighborhoodwatchsc2@gmail.com

How Do You Say Roots in Italian?

Part three of a personal search from Troy to Frosolone.
By Frank LaPosta Visco
We spent a whirlwind two days in Rome St. Peters, the Forum, the Pantheon, the requisite Trevi Fountain, the
excavation revealing Julius Caesars assassination site, a ghoulish crypt of skulls and bones at a Capuchin Church
on one of the citys seven hills, great gelati and even greater meals, then off to Naples, to change trains to Pompei
and continue our dip into 2,000-year-old Italian history.
If you follow in our footsteps, be sure to take advantage of the Campania Artecard a 25-euro three-day pass good
for train travel, two free first admissions and subsequent half-price admissions to virtually every site of interest
throughout the region, including the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, where incredible bronzes, mosaics and X-rated artifacts are displayed. Artifacts have been removed ever since Pompeii was first excavated in the
mid 1700's.
All of the sites Oplontis, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Boscoreale, Stabia and others are reachable by the commuter
rail and national train systems. Helpful maps are included with the Artecard, as well as information in six languages. We bought our discount packages right at a special kiosk at the Naples train station, from a beautiful
young Italian woman who appeared to be well versed in every modern language.
The excavation at Oplontis was our first stop. Only uncovered in the mid 1960's, its pretty well established that
this area, in the modern Italian city of Torre Annunziata, was a suburb of ancient Pompeii. The elegantly-decorated
buildings and gardens that you can walk around and through make up the immense villa that was occupied by Poppea, the Emperor Neros second wife. We spent a couple of fascinating hours there, where we saw many more
workers restoring the site than there were tourists.
We planned to spend the next entire day walking through the ruins of Pompeii, but awoke to find a steady rain,
which was forecast to last all day. It helps to be flexible when you travel, so we decided to make the rainy day the
day to ride the train into Naples and visit the Pompeii artifacts at the archaeological museum. A good decision, and
an amazing few hours.
One of the biggest surprises was our coming upon the eerie skull mosaic that anyone who watched HBOs series,
Rome, would recognize. I had thought some art director made that visual up, but its genuine. It was found in
Pompeii a tabletop or floor in the dining room of an architects house. The artisan who created it, most likely
Greek, depicted an unrealistic skull, with ears. Above it is a carpenters square and plumb-bob some interpret this
as representing death as the great leveler. Below the skull is a butterfly, which in Greek is psyche, the same word
for soul. The butterfly/soul is on top of a wheel, which can be seen as the circle of life.
Its a first-hand demonstration of the mind-set of 1st century Pompeiians a memento mori, reminder of death, a
message in the dining room to enjoy the pleasures of life. For the opening of the television series, all todays computer graphic artists had to do was copy the mosaic and animate it. It took on a much more somber but equally prophetic meaning for 21st century viewers.
Touring the museum before actually treading the 2,000 year old stone streets of Pompeii turned out to be smart
not just weatherwise, but otherwise. Seeing what came out of the ruins, I was better prepared when I saw how
much was left there.

The next day was the perfect day to spend among the ruins. The weather improved considerably, and with excellent advice from the desk clerk of our hotel, the Amleto, which is a few steps from one of the entrances to the ruins, we took the tourist bus for one euro each to the farthest entrance of the ruins, and walked through, ending
up near the hotel. A wise move.
The ancient city, which is only two-thirds uncovered, held a population of twenty thousand, about 10 per cent of
whom were victims of the eruption and the subsequent burial of the city. It was a prosperous, seaside town, and if
you get there early enough, as we did, before dense packs of tourists arrive, shuffling behind tour guides with various colored flags, you can imagine yourself back in time, walking up to and in some cases into homes, taverns,
laundries, bakeries and brothels, astonished at the preservation of the rich color of the murals, altars, decorations
and political graffiti.
The weather during our day there was almost too warm in the 70's by midday, and we were exhausted by the
time we were through, having spent a full five hours seeing everything that was to be seen, including ingenious
plaster casts of some of the victims, preserved in repose for all time. When we exited near the hotel, the desk
clerks advice was greatly appreciated by two weary, wide-eyed tourists, who ended the afternoon sitting in the
plaza near the hotel enjoying double gelati and the parade of modern Pompeians.
Next: From modern Pompei to the medieval city of my ancestors.

Neighborhood Watch Report

At our last meeting there was a discussion about the
South Central Neighborhood and problems that we
have relating to Quality of Life Issues. A decision
was made to have a sub committee that would meet
the night before the meeting and invite friends and
neighbors to come and discuss the problems. We will
then bring them to our regularly scheduled meeting
and present them to our Community Police Officer .
The meeting is open to residents, landlords, business
owners and all interested parties in South Central.
PLEASE JOIN US !!!
Tuesday September 17th at 6 p.m.
Italian Community Center
1450 Fifth Avenue, Troy New York

September brings festa, tribute, and conference

By Rocco DeFazio and Mike Esposito
The word neighborhood will appear often in todays Troy Treasure column. Our good neighbor, the Italian Community Center, celebrates the Silver Anniversary of its Festa Italiana, once again bringing people from the area
to Little Italy for a family friendly event offering delicious Italian food, games and rides for children, Italian souvenirs, dancing, raffles and games of chance. Our neighborhood group, Troy Little Italy, is honoring a beloved
neighbor, the late Sister Carmelite Germinario. Later in the month Troy will be the host site for the Second Annual
New York State Neighborhood Revitalization Conference.
The ICCs Festa Italiana will be held on Friday and Saturday, September 6 th and 7th between 5 and 11 pm at its
Center, 1450 Fifth Avenue, Troy. Music will be provided by TS Ensemble (6-10 pm on Friday) and Good
Times (6-10 pm on Saturday.) The menu includes Ziti & Sauce and Meatballs, Sausage & Peppers, Meatball
Subs, Pasta Fagioli, Eggplant Parmigiana, Linguini w/White Clam Sauce (Friday only), Calamari, Chicken Wings,
Burgers, Hot Dogs, French Fries, Pizza, Pizza Fritta, Zeppole, Italian Cookies, Lemon Ice, Ice Cream, Expresso w/
Sambuca, Sambuca & Anisette, Soda, Wine, and Draft Beer. One of the primary reasons for the popularity of an
event like the festa is that its a reunion for past and present residents of the neighborhood who gather to reminisce.
All are invited! Since the ICC was founded in 1935, it has had an admirable record of providing services to the
community including preparing meals for hundreds of people each week at its soup kitchen, a project that started
several years ago after St. Marys Church closed.
Sister Carmelite Germinario was born on December 26, 1919 in Molfetta, Province of Bari, Italy to Maria Luisa
Silvestri and Giuseppe Germinario. Sisters family journeyed to Troy, NY when she was about a year old and lived
for many years on Hill Street in Troys Little Italy. She grew up in St. Marys Parish with her brother, Maurice,
and two sisters, Sabina and Angela. Her brother, Mauro Antonio, died in infancy. She entered the Daughters of
Charity in 1940, serving as an elementary school teacher and religious instructor, and eventually principal of St.
Marys School (1963-1971) which she attended. Sister returned to Troy in 1982 and served 25 years as pastoral
care/spiritual advisor at Troys St. Marys Hospital.
Our tribute to Sister Carmelite begins with a Remembrance Exhibit on display both nights at the Festa Italiana. The
exhibit will be located at several sites over the next four months including St. Louise House in Menands, the
American-Italian Heritage Museum in Colonie, and St. Anthony of Padua Shrine Church and St. Marys Hospital
in Troy, as well as at our Christmas in Little Italy event and the Victorian Stroll. On Columbus Day, Saturday, October 12th, a commemorative plaque will be installed at Sister Carmelites former residence on Hill Street. There
will also be a Memorial Mass held at St. Anthony of Padua Shrine Church at 9 am on Sunday, November 24, 2013,
the day before the third anniversary of her death.
On Saturday, September 21st, Russell Sage College will once again be the site of the New York State Neighborhood Revitalization Conference. Billed as Sharing, Solving, Strategizing for the Future, the conference will host
statewide neighborhood organizers in a day of idea sharing, problem solving, and strategizing for the future of
New York neighborhoods. Neighborhood activists, educators, business people, and elected officials will gather to
share successes in order to develop and maintain healthy and vibrant communities throughout Upstate New York.
Organizers believe that the strength of our past and the diversity of our people, cultures and businesses will make
our neighborhoods destinations to live, work and visit.
We are pleased to have as our Keynote speaker Vincent DeSantis, a thought leader in urban revitalization, city
court judge, activist and author of the highly regarded book, Toward Civic Integrity: Re-establishing the Micropolis. A series of best practices workshops where people can share ideas have been planned which will allow everyone to get the most out of the conference. Among the timely topics on the agenda will be the Youth Court, Habitat
for Humanity, Urban Gardens, MakerSpaces, Mohawk Harvest Cooperative Project, NEXUS Online Community
Project, Building Civic Capacity, Vacant Properties, Everyones Architecture: A Call to Defending Sacred Places,
and Community Composting. Little Italy residents Dorcas and Ken Rose, and Rocco DeFazio, Kathleen Ryan
Cassidy, Anasha Cummings and Rick Hartt are among the volunteers planning the conference proceedings. For
more information and updates visit the website http://nyneighborhoods.org