Linda Simioni, Varese

Linda Simioni found our group on Facebook and when she saw my husband and I were coming to Varese on our recent trip, she arranged to get her family together with ours and Lucas Simionis.  We met for pizza Friday night -  I think there 13 of us! Lots of eating and talking as usual when Simionis get together!

Linda's parents invited us over for dinner on Sunday so we met again and had a little more time to chat, and, met a few more family members.

Linda and I will post more family details, but here are my notes:

Brothers Flavio & Romeo, sister Denis Simioni:

Flavio Simioni, married to Luisa
  - daughter Linda Simioni
  - daughter Mara Simioni, grandaughter Lisa
  - daughter Tiziana
  - son Andrea

Romeo Simioni, married to Grazia
  - Paola Simioni
  - Giulia Simioni

Denis Simioni, married to Valentino Copes
  - Daniele Copes
  - Valentina Copes
  - Cristina Copes

 

Simionis of Thiene and Sarcedo

Thiene & Sarcedo Simioni families!

We were thrilled when Francesco Simioni organized a Sunday lunch with his family and his brother Roberto's and asked us to join them all. We finally got to meet Giulia, who was/is working in New York. She was our original Facebook connection to this family but she was out of the country last year when we visited. She and I have been "Friends" for a few years now.

Alessandro, Diego, Gloria, Yasmine. Ugo, Vitti. Simionis all. Plus spouses and significant others. And 8 little ones! We feasted on a long, delicious lunch at Agriturismo da Marinela. Elisa and Diego were more available to chat this time (they were the bride & groom last year) but, none of us spoke enough of each others' language to carry on a conversation! Elisa and I chat online often, using translators, and we had to laugh that we could not chat in person! We did share hugs and I was able to meet their baby girl, our newest Simioni!

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We have not found a bloodline connection to these families either, but again, our hearts have been joined! There are two new babies since last year as the Simioni tree grows new branches.  We discussed the "need" to organize a Simioni del Mondo worldwide festa some day in northern Italy.

Brothers Francesco and Roberto Simioni and their families.

Our newest "Simioni del Mondo"!

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All of these families have taken time to show us around their cities and lives. What a treat for Rick and I to experience Italy this way. The REAL Italy -- the many "real" Italies.  We enjoy the people and their hospitality. The Italians are friendly people to begin with...then when they find you have Italian heritage you become almost family! And when you have the same last name, well, you ARE family!




We were unable to connect with any Simionis in Cittadella this trip. Even with almost 3 weeks in Veneto.  I guess we need to stay longer!  :)

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Simionis in Veneto!

We have such a nice time with our Veneto Simioni families!

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Rick and I visited Castelfranco Veneto Comune offices again, and did get more information on his grandparents (birthdates) which will take us another branch up the Simioni family tree. I sure would like to find we are related to these wonderful Simionis!  

We DID find information on Rick's two aunts who remained in Italy and did not move to the USA when all the other brothers and sisters did. They both married men named Fior.  Maria named two of her son's Desiderio and Fortunato! (after Rick's father and uncle; her brothers) One son is still alive and living in Salvatronda, near where Rick's father lived. Had we located them last year we could have met another uncle who passed away in 2010.

With the help of Alice and her father Emanuele Simioni, we made a visit to Alfredo Fior, 87 years old. Without their assistance this would have been difficult, if not impossible, as Alfredo was hard of hearing and spoke dialetto! 


Meeting him was emotional for us. After years of searching, he is our first relative. He has sons and grandsons, and since we did not have any family history with us at that time, we are going to follow-up with a letter and photos when we return to the USA.

Rick meets his cousin Alfredo Fior

City records show Rick's other aunt apparently moved to Como, and we plan to contact that Comune office in the future to see whom we can find. This is all quite like a giant puzzle, with many missing pieces!

 Having fun with Veneto Simionis:

 Alice, Emanuele, Gianluca, Rick, Renata

at the Festa dea Poenta

A wedding we spotted in Castelfranco Veneto

Meeting Mattia Simioni, who was our first Castelfranco Veneto connection on Facebook over 2 years ago. Last year he was working in Greece when we visited.
He is Alice's cousin, and the son of  Germano.
The 3rd Simioni brother/family is Gabriele.

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We also had an afternoon to enjoy with the family of Oscar Simioni from Cartigliano. This time our English/Italian translator, his daughter Silvia, was not available as she is studying in Finland at this time. We managed with the help of her sister Federica, and Rick's improved Italian language skills! (His one year of university studies this past winter and spring did pay off!)

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Simioni of Montreal & Salvatronda

Last year we were Salvatronda (Castelfranco Veneto) to search for Rick's father's family. We had already become Facebook friends with Mattia, Alice, and Elisa Simioni from Castelfranco.

Alice's father volunteered to do some investigating before we arrived and found birth records of Desiderio!

He also found Sergio Simioni, who is from Salvatronda, had a father named Desiderio, and an uncle Fortunato, just as Rick did. We wonder if their fathers were cousins and named after important family members.

Sergio, Priest, Alice (maggio 2010)

Sergio mentioned he has family in Montreal Canada, and mentioned Lisa and Mario. Well, I already knew of Lisa and Mario because of our Facebook group "The Simionis of the World".  We were aware Lisa is in Montreal, and, took special note that Mario played professional hockey, NHL farm club I think, since Rick is a big hockey fan. (Mario is now in Denmark coaching a successful hockey team.)

And it became even more interesting as in Alice's home they have a hockey stick signed by Mario on their basement wall! When I asked Alice if she was related to him she replied no, he was just playing hockey in town one time and when she told him her name was also Simioni he gave her the stick!

Lisa and I exchanged a few emails and she spoke to her parents. Now she writes me that her parents will be in Castelfranco! Her mother Annamaria and I are now corresponding. We arrive late on the 8th of September, they return to Canada on the 10th.  We have planned to meet, with Sergio, on the 9th!

It's a small world after all!

Last year's post: Salvatronda 

30Sept2011: rather than make a new post, I'm going to chat about our Salvatronda 2011 meeting below...

9Sept2011

We met with the Ottawa Simionis! I'll collect my family details/notes and add them here later, but for now, we had a nice time and although we don't think we are related, we still sense there could be a connection because of the "Desiderio/Fortunato/Salvatronda" similarities. I'll be working with Linda when we return. Here's our new photo:

¡Recepción! Simioni de la Argentina!

Welcome Simioni of Argentina!

I hope the above title makes sense, I'm using an online translator (as usual).

Several Simioni from Argentina and I have become friends on Facebook today, and a few I have been friends with for awhile. (Even playing CityVille and FarmVille together!)

If any of you would like to add a small story about your family history, or photos, let me know. Maybe you are related to other Argentinian families already listed?

If you would like to translate this into Spanish that would be nice also!

Nancy Simioni
California, USA

usanancy@gmail.com

Dual Citizenship: Italy and ___________

Two years ago Rick and I looked into obtaining dual citizenship based on his father and my grandparents being born in Italy.  We did not get very far once we found out that Rick's father became American before Rick was born. That would require that he go back to grandparents and we did not have enough information.

While our trip to Castelfranco Veneto last May (2010) provided some information, we ran into dead ends on the grandparents.  Just today Rick wrote a follow-up email to Castelfranco asking for more details on his aunts who remained there, as well as his grandparents. Hopefully we'll get something to go with when we are there this Fall.

Meanwhile, this afternoon, Trevor Simioni from Canada, posted on our "The Simionis of the World, and descendants" Facebook page, asking about dual citizenship. AND, this evening,  the Italian Citizenship for Americans group on Facebook posted this helpful article:
"Strategy for Collecting Required Records".

I guess this all means we are meant to get serious about dual citizenship!  :)   I'm thinking Rick and I should do it, and then our son Julian could also. It would give him the opportunity to work anywhere in the European Union.

Stay tuned!

"Simioni del Mondo" t-shirts

Ciao a tutti!

Last year I had some "Simioni del Mondo" t-shirts made up for gifts which we took to Italy.
I also sent two to our Facebook group creators Tania and Stephan Simioni in Montreal as my thanks for getting our group started.

And, there are also 3 in Brazil as I sent them to Cris Simioni and her brothers last Christmas.

I'm getting ready to order more, and wonder if any Simionis would like to buy one. The shirts cost me about $20 US, and then I would have to add mailing costs. I can bring some to Italy this Fall!

Let me know your size too.  Email me at usanancy@gmail.com if you are interested.

Women's are white with red embroidered words "Simioni del Mondo". Men's are white with green.

Simioni del Mondo on Facebook!

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Ciao! Hola! Ola! Bonjour! Oi! Hello!


Today we have had a lot of communication on Facebook with our group "The Simionis of the World.... and descendants!" 

Stephan Simioni, from Montreal, Ottawa, Canada, started the group back in 2008, and inspired me to begin this blog for all of us. Facebook required that he update the group to their new format, and that caused many of us to respond and greet each other. It's fun to see who is out there!

If you are a Simioni and would like to add your name, and/or your family to this blog, please let me know on Facebook (Nancy Nicholson Simioni) or by email at USANancy@gmail.com.

It would be wonderful to have you join in!

And, if anyone would like to meet my husband Rick and I in Veneto for a "Simioni del Mondo Cena" we'll be there in September.  Maybe Sunday, 18 settembre per ceno???  We are from California, USA, and would love to meet many Simioni italiano!  We will also be in Bologna and a few other northern cities.

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Question/domanda: Should I try to make a new list of everyone here on this post? What do you think? One of my very early posts has a list. I do need to update that.

Grazie!

Benvenuti! Two new additions to our "family forest" -- Vivian Trapani, Paola Bortolin

Recently I've received contact from two Simioni women. It's always fun to make new friends!

First, Vivian Trapani, from a Simioni family in Ottawa, Canada.
As it turns out she is related to Lisa and Mario Simioni, whom I already had contact with, and, they are are related to Sergio Simioni in Salvatronda (Castelfranco Veneto) Italy. Rick and I met Sergio last year when Alice Simioni and her father, Emanuele Simioni, took us to a Salvatronda church to find the baptismal records of Rick's father, Desiderio Simioni. Sergio's father was also a Desiderio Simioni from Salvatronda, born around the same time (1895).
Whew. Both had uncles named Fortunato. This family is the closest to a chance of finding relatives, so far.

Anyway, we are both working to find a family connection. I'll post some of her family info if she desires.

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Rick and I are heading back to Italy in a couple of months and hope to a confirmed connection to some relative. Of course, even if we do not, we are looking forward to visiting with all our new Simioni friends!

Next,
Today I received an email from Paola Bortolin, who tells me her Simioni relatives are from Loria, Italy, which is just north of Castelfranco Veneto. She didn't mention where she is currently living, but with her permission, I'll add that info soon.

UPDATE 15 July 2011: Paula found she is related to Angela Simioni (Family #53!) Last I tried to connect with Angela (2009) the email message was returned. We'll try again. This is so wonderful for these two women!

Stay tuned!

Returning to Italy

Ciao amici!

Rick and I are excited to be returning to northern Italy again this Fall! We will be visiting in September and October. What do you think about a "Simioni del mondo cena o pronzo"? Venice? Cittadella?

Email me: usaNancy@gmail.com

ci vediamo!

Nancy Simioni
San Diego, California USA


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Francesco benvenuto!

Welcome Francesco and Family.
As soon as I get your info I'd be happy to post it here if you would like.