Eduard Simioni, Cittadella. Familia #71

Allora, the Simioni adventures continue! I just never know when I might meet one!

Earlier this week I saw on Facebook that Eduard Simioni (from Cittadella, Italy, but currently working in Germany) was in Las Vegas. I asked if he might come over to California and we were able to work out a plan. Eduard and I had chatted on Facebook a few times but not much. Still, it was exciting to get to meet another Simioni!

Eduard had had an "interesting" trip after having his driver's license stolen (not in the USA) and he had to take Greyhound buses to get around after a conference in Berkeley California.

We ended up meeting in San Diego -- I was able to show him around some of our favorite places in the little time available. We had plans to do more but got stuck on Coronado Island when the bridge was closed due to a potential "jumper"! So we stayed there and enjoyed an American barbecue dinner. Later we were able to drive back to San Diego, and take a drive-by tour of our "Little Italy".

Rick and I were happy to host Eduard at our home, treat him to an American breakfast, show him our gardens, great beaches and Oceanside Pier, before heading over to an Italian restaurant to meet some of our friends for happy hour. We shared some vino and many laughs! Instant friendships!


Time went too fast -- next time will plan something ahead of time! Eduard, it was such a pleasure to meet you! Ci vediamo a presto! Somewhere!  -- Nancy (& Rick) Simioni

Eduard, we look forward to anything you can research on Stradella Fratelli Simioni. And if you would like to add any of your Simioni family history, just let me know.

Rick Simioni, our friend Lisa, Eduard Simioni, and me, Nancy

LAS VEGAS: recently I've also chatted with Rosemary Simioni in Las Vegas. We were able to connect Rosemary with Eduard on Facebook while he was in Vegas, but they could not meetup.

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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Finding Desiderio - in Salvatronda

We did it! We found records of Rick's father, Desiderio Simioni, in very old local  church ledgers.

Today in Salvatronda (Castelfranco Veneto) Italy, we went to the local church, Santa Maria Assunta di Salvatronda, and found records of Desiderio's  baptism.  They match information from the city hall for his birth.  It was emotional for everyone there as we carefully searched through the ledgers together.  To think Rick's father was baptized here 115 years ago, walked these streets, and maybe tried to imagine his future.  Now we try to imagine his past.

With the help of Alice and her father, Emanuele Simioni, we met Sergio Simioni (above, left. Priest in center) who's father was also a Desiderio Simioni, and who also had a brother Fortunato Simioni, same as Rick's father and uncle. It's possible their grandparents were related.  If so, we are related to the Simionis in Montreal: Lisa and family. We'll be following up when we return.

There are so many things we learned, like family nicknames (because there are so many Simionis here).  Rick's family is part of the Cecconato branch.  (translates to "born thin".)

Meanwhile, the Simioni families in the Castelfranco area have adopted us!  We been treated to family dinners, shown us around, picked us up when it was pouring rain (Often!!), and just have been fun to meet.  They are family group #12. They even through me a birthday party down one of their basements! And they have family in California near us!  We have not been able to connect with them as direct relatives, wouldn't it have been wild to find out in Italy that the relatives we were searching for were just an hour or two away from our home?*

Mattia Simioni was my first Facebook contact in Castelfranco, and he led me to Alice and her family.  Unfortunately, Mattia was in Greece when we visited.

Mattia's family:

(me, Elisa, Emanuela Zampieri, 

Rick, & Germano)

Below: Lucky Alice, she's the only one in the 3 families who spoke fluent English and Italian!  We kept her busy!  A job that was often repeated on our trip by my other English speaking Facebook Simioni friends!

Here we are with Alice's family: 

Emanuele, (me), Alice, Renata Zampieri, 

Gianluca, and Rick

Brothers Emanuele & Germano Simioni married sisters Renata & Emanuala Zampieri!


Barbara, Silvia, & Jennifer are also Facebook friends and cousins of Mattia & Alice. Silvia was in New Zealand while we visited.

Gabriele, me again, Jennifer, & mom Ilde,

Barbara, & Rick.

Simionis:
Giuseppe Simioni had 5 sons.  
Gabriele, Emanuele, & Germano, plus Mario and Franco.
I need to check to see if it was Mario or Franco who moved to the USA. Olga and Lynda are two of the Simionis in California...  update please!  Alice?  ;)




*Update Summer 2010: Alice Simioni came to California to visit her Simioni relatives and us.  We had a wonderful time showing her around San Diego, sharing classic American movies, food, and customs.  And we met her Simioni relatives who live just an hour north of us.  We plan to do some additional research, and fully expect to find we are related.  Here's a picture of the California Simionis.

 Lynda Greene (Olga's daughter), Olga Simioni, Alice Simioni

 Craig Acerboni (Olga's son) and Rick Simioni 

becoming fast friends/relatives

It was just like meeting Simionis in Italy! Everyone so friendly and fun to meet.

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Giro di Simioni - Cartigliano and Cittadella

Oscar, Annalisa, Silvia,  Federica Simioni: Cartigliano

Now here's a Simioni family we have met before!  Last year they drove down to meet us in Rome!  Time they took us to Venice for lunch and showed us around their hometown of Cartigliano -- although the rain began to fall (and we ended up with 17 days of rain!)  With Silvia as our translator again, we managed an afternoon in Venice and an unbelievable lunch. Silvia and I have been very active Facebook friends for over a year, and we have Skyped with her family so we felt like old friends by this trip!

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Rick and I have been on our personal "Giro di Simioni" for a week now and it has been fascinating! 

Milan to Thiene to Cartigliano to Castelfranco to Cittadella so far.  I'll update here more later but want to capture some of today's events while my brain still has some details.

With the help of Gabriele Simioni of Castelfranco Veneto, we made a little trip to Cittadella today.  We wanted to see Stradella Simioni and meet Carlo Alberto Simioni.  

Carlo met us for caffe and with our limited knowledge of each others language, we still managed.  Carlo told us some background on the Simioni name and showed us the family history book, which dates back to the 15th century! He also showed us a local phone book as Simioni is the 2nd most popular name in Cittadella!  Rick gets a good laugh when he explains that for the first 55 years of his life he thought he might be the last remaining Simioni in the world!

After posting these photos on Facebook,  Cherie Simioni (Chicago, USA) and Sandra Simioni (Argentnia/FloridaUSA) found out they are related to each other, and Carlo!  ...and now Marco (Paris) also!

Marco Simioni (in Paris) tells me this Simioni history book is the one he has been telling me about.  He and his father have both contributed to it, and his father was working on  a 2nd one when he passed away just a few months ago. So, now I'm waiting to see if Marco is also related to Carlo.  I don't think we are, but we'll see!  Tomorrow we visit Salvatronda to look for records of Rick's father, Desiderio Simioni, son of Giovanni Simioni.  All these Simionis, but so far, no relatives for Rick....

 Rick (California USA) & Gabriele (Castelfranco Italy) Simioni

Nancy, Carlo (Cittadella Italy), Rick

If you expand this photo of the Cittadella map, you'll see Stradella Simioni!

Giro dei Simioni e Italia 2010! Family in Gorla Minore and Belluna, Italy?

We are so excited!  We just booked our long awaited trip to northern Italy to visit Rick's father's hometown of Castelfranco, Veneto! 

All our research for Simioni del Mondo started in effort to find relatives of Desiderio Simioni, Rick's father, born in 1895.  When we started we had never met another Simioni, other than Rick's uncles who are now all deceased.   We had no idea there were so many in Italy, and around the world!  

We plan to spend time in Castelfranco/Salvatronda to go through church records and hopefully re-find Desiderio's sister's family, or any other relatives.  Her name was Amabile Simioni.  Their parents:  Giovanni Simioni and Anna Cecchetto*.  More family details:  simionis.blogspot.com/-usa-california

Today we also connected with cousins in the mid-west USA, in the State of Michigan, where we are from and were told we have Italian cousins in Gorla Minore, north of Milan.  We are trying to get more details, but for now, their names may be: Luigina, Renata, Ricardo, and Cesare Simioni. And, we found we may have cousins in  Belluna, Italy! Unfortunately, we don't have enough information to confirm.

If we don't find them it will still be fun. We have many Simionis to see -- We have met (online) many nice and fun Simionis! It will still be an awesome experience for Rick to walk the streets of his father.

Thanks also to our new Castelfranco Facebook friends who are already helping us in our records search.  Thanks Signor Emanuele Simioni!  <3  also known as: "Alice Simioni's Dad".  

 So many details to work out now!

Ciao and piu tradi!

Rick's father, Desiderio Simioni circa 1960's

*new spelling from Castelfranco records:
  Anna Cecchetto
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#20 Italy, Cittadella - Carlo

Here is a space for Carlo!

It is fun to learn his shop is in the photo on this blog title page that Lucas Simioni took and contributed!

Looking forward to more news from you Carlo.

"ciao nancy io abito a 20 metri dalla foto che hai come copertina del tuo blog ,la mia casa e il negozio sono praticamente dove vedi la persona sotto al porticato..."


"Ciao Nancy, I live 20 meters far from your blog's cover picture, my house and the shop are close to the person in the gallery..."


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#1 CANADA, Montreal: Stephan & Tania's family history

Here is some family background from Stephan Simioni in Montreal Canada. I gave their family #1 status because Stephan and Tania were the ones who came up with the idea of "Simionis of the World" group on Facebook. Aren't we glad they did?

From Stephen:

My grandmother’s name is: Amabile Bordignon born on the 18th June 1928 in Belvedere Italy.

Her sisters and brothers names : Zita Bordignon, Letezia Bordignon, Amabile Bordignon ,Giorgio Bordignon, Maria Bordignon, Camillo Bordignon & Silvia Bordignon the youngest sister.

Her Mother’s name was: Giuseppina Poggiana /Bordignon born in Rosa near Bassano Born on 22nd May 1899 and she died on 06 September 19 72. Her father: Angelo Silvestro Bordignon was born on the 27th Dec 1893 born in Belvedere and he died on 02 Feb 1938.

The SIMIONI SIDE: My grandfather’s name was

1. Allesandro Simioni born on the 3rd February 1915 in Cittadella he died on the 2nd April, 1966 in Montreal and was buried in Cittadella.

1. My grandfather had two sisters Nella Simioni and Rosa Simioni.

1. and two brothers, Luigi Simioni and Tarcisio Simioni (see note below on them)

This is a list of my grandparent’s children including my father.

-- 2. Aunt: Lugina Simioni / born in Cittadella, 1949

My family came from Italy to Halifax and they arrived in Montreal by train in 1951.

-- 2. Uncles: Angelo Simioni, Mario & Pietro Simioni who lives in Australia.

-- 2. Aunt: Zita Simioni / born in Montreal 1956

-- 2. My Father: Silvio Simioni born in Bellevedere 1951. Our family:

--- 3. Stephan Simioni

--- 3. Tania Simioni

INTERESTING NOTE:

The photo of the Simioni Street in Cittadella provence of Padova was named after my grandfathers two brothers during the war. (1# Luigi Simioni 2# Tarcisio Simioni).

Note from Nancy:

That is the street shown on the blog header photo, and the medallion shown below.
So, are Stephan & Tania in Canada related to Robbie & Natalie in Australia? I'm going to have to make a spreadsheet of all these Simionis and dates!! whew!

3D steel street layout showing Simioni street.

You may click on the photo to get an enlarged view.