Recently Lisa Infantino-Joyce, her siblings and spouses visited Montedoro, Sicily to trace back their roots, spend time with family members who reside there and to meet the mayor of the town, the honorable Renzo Bufalino.
Prior to their departure, Infantino-Joyce coordinated with Pittston City Mayor Michael Lombardo to prepare a proclamation to be presented to the mayor of Montedoro.
While in Montedoro, Infantino-Joyce and her family had a meet and greet with Mayor Bufalino and some residents of Montedoro, including Infantino-Joyce’s cousin Giuseppe Infantino.
During the meeting, Infantino-Joyce, on behalf of the City of Pittston, presented Mayor Bufalino and the town of Montedoro a proclamation from the City of Pittston to explore the possibility of the towns becoming “sister cities.” With the help of translator and resident Davide Petix, the meeting was a memorable one.
Many people immigrated from Montedoro, including Infantino-Joyce’s grandfather, Calogero (Charles) Infantino in the year 1911. The citizens of the small town in the central mountains of Sicily were gracious hosts and are very interested in joining the towns as “sister cities.”
The names of the people of the town were also very familiar, including the surnames of Sferazza (Sperazza), Augello, Mantione, Falcone, Farrugia, Agro (Argo), to name a few. On the trip, the group met many people related to people from our area and they would ask, “Pitts – tone,” knowing members of the group were guests of the small town.
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