in this issue Learning About Your Ancestors Italian Family Names Start with Your Family Today Italian Places Kids love to travel by train in Europe Travel Tip: Discover Your Own Italy Italy Discovery Journal Review

Freely forward this Discover Italy Newsletter in its entirety. At the very bottom of the newsletter you will find a forward link to make it easy. (c) Copyright Kids Europe 2004.

Learning About Your Ancestors

You can enjoy spending an hour or two learning about your ancestors and it will increase the enjoyment of your travel. For some people learning about their family tree turns into a fascinating lifetime hobby. Either way it is inexpensive and can brighten up a single day or many.

The study of one's ancestors is called genealogy. Did you ever see a word with so many vowels?

The resources for genealogy, even for kids, are very rich. You can start small, with a family tree of your known family and open up a door to fascinating information. Genealogy seems to appeal especially to people who like to learn about and solve puzzles and mysteries.

Start by simply noting which family members came from Italy, write down their names, write down the places your immigrant ancestors come from, and start collecting pictures of your relatives. Then learn a little about how to use the clues this information will give you.

Here are some books to get you started:

The Great Ancestor Hunt: The Fun of Finding out Who You Are

Climbing Your Family Tree: Online and Offline Genealogy for Kids

My Family Tree Workbook

If you wish to learn more about researching your ancestors, the best index on the internet is Cyndi's List. The Italian Section has lists of resources and even lists of specific family name and location websites and message boards. Take a peek at the family name and location parts to see if your places or names are there.

	Italian Family Names
Make a list of the Italian last names -- surnames -- in your family. It is fun to study them a little, they may hold clues to your family's origins. People started using surnames in the 1500s when the Catholic church told the parish priests to start recording everybody's birth with a last name. So people chose surnames in four basic ways: 1. Father's first name would be added to the first name, so if Dad was called Bernardo, the surname would be di Bernardo or Bernardi. Names derived this way often end in "o" or "i," or have a d', de,, or di preceeding the name. 2. Where they were from, whether it was the name of a village, city, or region: Milani, Napolitano, d'Abruzzese, all being names of locations. Or the location could be more general, such as near the fountain, from the mountains, or the city gate: Fontana, Da Montagna, or La Porta. 3. Occupation names are from the job that a person did, whether s/he was a farmer or smith or baker. It could also derive from something they used in their job such as a hammer, or an oven, or an animal they worked with. 4. Nicknames often came from distinct aspects of peoples appearance or character, so someone named Piccolo was small, Grande was tall, Ricci had curly hair, Rosso had red hair, Mosca was annoying like a fly, Allegretti was happy and so on. Then, a modifier could be added with one of the many Italian word endings, suffixes: "smaller" -ello/a, -etto/a, -ino/a; "bigger" -one/a, or "bad" - accio/a, - azzo/a. Here is a helpful website: Italy World Club Go to the alphabetical index at the bottom of the page to start looking up names. Make Up Your Own Surname Whether or not you have Italian ancestors, make up your own Italian style surnames. Use English or Italian. The Italy World Club website gives a long list of Italian names that you can adopt. 1. What would your surname be if it were derived from your father or mother's first name? 2. What would your name be if you were named after the town, city, or region where you are from? 3. Or, what if your name was derived from the general location where you are from? For example, on a hill, near the center of town, in the woods, by the sea? 4. Try coming up with a last name based on your appearance. 5. Or think up a last name based on your character. Now, if you like, add a modifier: "smaller" - ello/a, -etto/a, -ino/a; "bigger" -one/a, or "bad" - accio/a, - azzo/a.

	Start with Your Family Today
To learn about the past, start with your family today. Italian Research describes Suzanne Russo's research, facts about Italian genealogy, and provides suggestions on how you can go about your research. Make a photo collection of your family. Look for photo albums and take pictures of your current family members. Look for similarities across the members of your family. The dark hair, eyes, and skin of some Mediterranean peoples often prevail through generations of mixing with less dominant traits. Of course, Italians come in all shapes, sizes, and with dark and light skin and hair. Just start getting a sense of the traits of your family. Why? I can't tell you how many people have told me of their trip to Italy, perhaps even to the town where their family came from where they see people who resemble family members they know and when they talk to them, they find out they are related. That could happen to you. What do your family members do? Learn about the occupations and hobbies of family members today and in the past. You may find that there are common threads of interests. Certain talents and interests may turn up generation after generation creating a bond with ancestors with the same interests and abilities. Interview Your Relatives In your family history research, there is nothing more interesting and fun than finding a relative who can and will talk about their family and their life. Take a tape recorder or a video camera. Prepare for your interview with a few questions to get your relative talking about themselves.

	Italian Places
Simply finding out where your Italian ancestors are from can increase the enjoyment of your travel. It is a good starting point for many conversations. And it is a possible destination in your travels. Start by making a list of the towns and regions that your family came from. Get a map of Italy and put it on the wall and mark the places they are from. Now, learn about the region. You can put the name of the place into Google, for example "Piacenza, Italy" and you will see the weather in Piacenza, an article about the town in history, and some news stories. If you use the word "Italia" instead of Italy, more information will come up, but in Italian, the "translate this page" link will give you an English version that may be a little strange to read, but you can glean information all the same. Look for pictures of your "town." Again, using Google, you search for the name of the town, and when you get your results, select the second tab, images. You will find photos of the town, its sites, and people, including, of course, its local soccer (calcio) team and stars. A great site for photos is PBase where photographers post their travel pictures. Now go to the library or bookstore and look through the guidebooks and picturebooks about Italy and learn about what there is to see and do in your town, for example The Hill Towns of Italy if your family is from a Tuscan town. Now your are ready to decide whether you want to make it a stop in your travels. Going some place where your ancestor was can be a wonderful experience. Try to imagine the town, the piazza through their eyes when they were there. Wonder if this little store was where they got their vegetables, and this town hall was where their birth was recorded by proud parents. Apartment Rentals Florence Italy

	Kids love to travel by train in Europe
It is fun for them and easy on you. You can get to almost any town in Italy in comfort. No navigating, no parking hassles. You will have a chance to meet other passengers and view the countryside as it rolls by. You can easily stretch your legs and enjoy a yummy box lunch purchased from a vendor. Consider taking a sleeper between major European cities. Your children will love the experience of sleeping on bunks in a train, you'll save a night's lodging and wake up at your destination. This rail site offers rails passes and point- to-point ticketing and reservations, go to "Fares & Schedules" to get point-to-point information. Kids love to travel by train in Italy... »

	Travel Tip: Discover Your Own Italy
The Italy that will that will result in adventures and fond memories for your family may be an entirely different place than the Italy you find in guide books, even guide books written for families. You may never see the Colisseum in Rome, but have a wonderful vacation centered on your ancestral town and an interest in Italian Fashion or Italian Geology, for example, topics that were covered in recent newsletters. There are many layers of Italy to appreciate and you can enjoy your trip in just a few of them. Don't force yourself to do and see things that have no interest, find things that are interesting to you! That is what this newsletter and the Italy Discovery Journal are all about. At eBags you find convenience, selection, and price... »

	Italy Discovery Journal Review
I can't resist sharing this comment I just read on the Italy Discovery Journal off the Amazon site. If you do want to get a copy of the Italy Discovery Journal, you can order it directly from my Kids Europe website. ***** (5 stars!) Very good resource for families, February 10, 2004 Reviewer: kathymancuso from Landstuhl, Germany I agree with the previous reviews. This is an excellent resource, and a great model for how to introduce European cultures (or any other cultures) to your children. Brings the wonder and excitement that we feel as parents to the children, and makes the travel much more satisfying for everyone. Other great ideas are included in the Storybook Travels book, although not exclusive to Europe, but does give a good perspective on how to adapt travel to the needs of your kids. Learn about the Italy Discovery Journal »

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