To my friends at Abruzzo Tours: Molte grazie! I owe almost everything I know about my italian heritage to you, and I am very grateful. Just over two years ago I had the good fortune to find your website. Until then, all I knew was that my grandparents had emigrated to the USA from Chieti. To many (maybe most) of us growing up in America, our italian past was rarely thought about. As we grow older and reflect on our ancestors, we finally realize how important they were to what we are now. And we want to know more about them. With your genealogical expertise and your help in so many ways, I now know my ancestors back to the mid 1700's. What a wonderful warm feeling it is to resurrect the memory of these gallant, industrious people, and to begin to understand the source of my own values.
I have visited their village, Torricella Peligna, and met relatives and made friends there. I have seen their farms and experienced their culture. I could not have done that without your kickstart: paving the way there with the priest, providing guidance in my travels there, arranging for my accommodations, and then translating the documents we found initially and many times subsequently. Your personal attention to making my trip a success was beyond all my expectations.
I'm glad I was able to take the Abruzzo Tours heritage tour with you this past summer. It was an experience I will never forget. We Abruzzese are very fortunate that the Abruzzo region remains in many ways unspoiled, and can still impart the flavor of Italy that has persisted from the time of my ancestors: the beautiful countryside, the quaint villages, the warm people, the customs, the art, the food, the glorious churches and castles -- these made me proud to be a product of this culture.
I greatly appreciated the way you conducted the tour. Every detail was well-planned and the guides assured there was never a problem. Each site we visited was fascinating, educational, and fun. The group was not too large, so we were always individuals, never a crowd. Our daily trips were led by well-informed guides, and actually they were just like friends, always assuring that each of us was comfortable and very well-fed! Bottom line, you made us feel part of your family. And we on the tour became a sort of family, too. In fact, many of us continue to correspond and even to visit. Again, MOLTE GRAZIE!