What fun! The two meetings honoring the visit of Pietro Bettucci, his wife Pina and Maria Compagno were very successful. Marlene Robershaw hosted the southern California meeting at her beautiful mountainside home in Ramona, and Rosa Ferrigno hosted the meeting in Mt. View with the assistance of Karen Hartley. Each was a great event in its own distinct way. In looking at the photos, the beautiful surroundings and spaciousness of Marlene’s home added a bit of “elegance” to the party! While the informality at Rosa’s home gave the distinct feeling of an “old fashioned Italian family gathering,” complete with a number of native Italians speaking the language!

We were all thrilled with the attendance at each venue. Marlene must have had almost 60 people at her home, while we hosted some 40 in Mt. View. In all, we all got to meet and visit with a lot of Ustica descendants during those two weekends. And it was great to see some folks whom we hadn’t seen for a while, as well as those who were joining us for the very first time. “Benvenuto.” (Welcome!)

Our thanks to all who participated! And special thanks to all who brought such delicious food, and to those who helped in so many ways to make those two weekends so memorable!

And a special thanks to Chris and Pam and to Loella Barilleau and Paul for making the long trek to California from New Orleans. We trust that you had a great time and took reports back to NOLA that the “western Usticesi” are alive and kicking!

Be sure to check out all the photos of the two events on Pietro’s blog, www.usticasape.it. As you scroll down from the present date to the bottom of the page, you’ll find buttons to take you back to previous pages. Keep going back several pages until you get to the events of February 12 and February 19. And for the English version, just click on the American flag at the top of the page for the translation. While you’re there, be sure to check out some of the interesting “old” photos of Ustica as well as some contemporary views.

Looking forward to the next “event!” (If you have an idea for a gathering, please run it by us … we’re always looking for an excuse to have a party!

Fred