Our maternal great-grandfather, Vincenzo Michel Palmisano, was born in Ustica in 1853, and immigrated with his wife, Concetta Orsino, to New Orleans, Louisiana, in approximately 1877. Our paternal grandfather, Domenico Pittari, immigrated from Ustica to New Orleans in 1888, at the young age of 7. It has always been a dream of my younger brother, Tony, and myself to go to Ustica to find our roots. That dream was realized on May 24, 2015, when we arrived in Ustica with my wife, son, daughter-in-law, and 9 year old grandson. What a thrilling and emotional moment to see the island for the first time from the hydrofoil. We spent three glorious days getting to know Ustica.
Besides finding our roots, we found a unique, picturesque and somewhat sleepy little island with warm, friendly and hospitable people, both family and strangers. We were welcomed into (altro…)