Welcome to ricoNet — the Ghidellis!
Gathering Ghidellis' traces
(last entry: 17/07/26)
I admit, I do concede: Sometimes I google myself, and surely it is vanity too — but not only. I google «Ghidelli», because I skimpily know nothing about us, «the Ghidellis». I have no clue about our roots, so I would like to learn a bit more.
Many, many years ago, while visiting Ricengo (a hamlet in the province of Cremona, and my grandfather's, my father's and my own «hometown» by civil law — even I was born in Switzerland), I tried to find out more about my ancestors. But no chance, neither in the citizen services department, nor in the parish registry. WWII burned to ashes and forever away whatever was recorded times ago … I just know a lilbit from hearsay and stories told by my grandfather, my maternal grandmother and my father. Thus I like the net and to google.
Neither am I a Sucrologist, but I do really like this sugar sachet
(thank you, fratellino, for the souvenir from Cremona :-)
… nor am I a Genealogist, and it is not my goal to build a perfect family tree of the Ghidellis (the Sopranos are anyway more thrilling), but I have a mind to grab and gather. If at least I will be able to draw a few lines and paint a raw picture, that would be fine — and if this is a topic to you too, please feel free to mail me whatever you know or would like to know.
Thus brace yourself: More will have to come …
Finding paths and keeping track
As it seems there are not a lot of «us», and we are spread out in the world: It starts in Italy, where the most Ghidellis still live. The name then pops up in Europe — some are in Switzerland, a few ones in Germany and France —, in the U.S. (about all being registered at Ellis Island and then settling California), and in Argentina and Brazil too; obviously «go west!» was a common motto.
Crema Met Haer Iuridictie/Cremæ Ager, map from 1598,
and the suitable text, excerpt of the french edition
Apparently there are two main original «nests» of the Ghidellis: One in Lombardy, between Crema — in the province of Cremona, the luthiers' capital: remember Amati, Guarneri and Stradivari? — and Bergamo, and the other one in and around Naples/Campania. Both lines may someway connect, but I still do miss the link …
Città di Crema, 1936, municipality bond 6% LIT 500; the pic shows the city
hall's arch «Torrazzo» (and the lion) on cathedral's square «Piazza Duomo»
Probably the most prominent namesake is the Archbishop Carlo Ghidelli. The Right Reverend and internationally well known bible expert was born 1934 in Offanengo (a neighbor village of Ricengo). Ordained in 1958, he served many years as secretary of the Bishop of Crema and became end of 2000 head of the archbishopric of Lanciano-Ortona in the southern Italian Abruzzo-Molise region.
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The bishop's see in Crema and its episcopal balcony |
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il Duomo |
campanile |
back view |
xylo |
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main entrance |
Pal. Comunale |
Garibaldi |
v. XX Settembre |
Reverend Monsignor Ghidelli is a respected and loyal representative of the Roman Catholic Church — just read John Paul II letter to Carlo Ghidelli —, but he is dissident to the conservative fractions, and he does not always just absorb what Benedict XVI decrees (i.e. he was a prominent critic and expressed open defiance to the pope's motu proprio «Summorum Pontificum» re. the traditional Tridentine Roman Missal). This topic continues to be a passionate, true and important issue, because it is a main part of the puzzle that cares about what truly could be a base; it is a corner piece.
Before I may acquaint you with other Ghidellis, I would like to solve a mistery about a geographical place: Next to the beautiful Portofino there is a small area called «Costa dei Ghidelli» (a scarp) and even a «Via dei Ghidelli», heading Northwest, from Crocetta towards San Fruttuoso dei Camogli and the abbey … uhh?! What happened there to some of us? Still no idea … can you help?
Alessandro Maffeis took a few nice shots of the Ghidellis' trail in
(what he
calls) «one of the most beautiful places we have in Liguria,
the Parco del Monte di Portofino»
—
go have a look!
On ebay I got a vintage postcard that shows the town of Pizzighettone with the bridge crossing the Adda river (named «ponte Trento e Trieste»), then on the left the «Torre del Guado» (the ford tower) or «Torrione», and further on the right the church of San Bassiano.
«Greetings from Pizzighettone», 1920's, 9.0 x 13.8 cm,
edited and printed by Stab. Dalle Nogare e Armetti, Milano
Pizzighettone forms together with Crema and Soncino the committee of the «Tre città murate» (the triple «town wall» cities) of the province of Cremona. But the reason why I bought this card is a inconspicuous mention on the verso: It seems in Pizzighettone lived some Ghidellis publishing postcards …
the exclusive right's note on the back
I do not know more about all of this, but as stated above: More will have to come!