Searching for Lionardo DiCapua (Part 3)

ITALIAN CLASSES

The unlikely discovery of the The DiCapua Family Crest.

Adele Lord moved to Seattle from Campobasso, Italy after World War II with her since deceased husband, Will Lord. He had been an ambulance driver for the British Army as it marched up the eastern side of the Italian peninsula. They met and were married in Campobasso then returned to Will’s hometown of Seattle. Adele told me that she began studying English in Italy but really learned it by reading Perry Mason novels.

I started Italian classes with her at her home, on a weekly basis. The classes were three hours long with a break in the middle for tea and homemade sweets. It was during these breaks we would converse. A few months into the lessons, I mentioned my interest in learning as much as possible about my famous relative Lionardo DiCapua. Somewhat surprised, Adele asked me to spell the name. She told me that her mother’s family was named “DiCapoa”, but that Italians sometimes interchange U’s and O’s as well as E’s and I’s.

I mentioned the piazza that honored him in his birthplace of Bagnoli, Irpino. She hadn’t heard of the town and didn’t know of anyone in her family who was from there. She said that she had a younger sister living in Italy and she would write to her to see if there was any connection to Bagnoli, Irpino or to Lionardo. Her sister replied that there was no known connection.

return to italy

About six months later, Adele received news of her sister’s sudden death. Adele was now the sole survivor of her immediate family, so she and her daughter, Adrianna, made reservations to return immediately to Italy to arrange the burial and handle legal issues, properties, bank accounts and the household goods. They were gone for about 6 weeks. When they returned, Adele called me to make arrangements for our next class.

discovery

That first session back, we spent a longer time than normal on our tea break. Adele mentioned all the difficulties of dealing with the Italian bureaucracy and the enormous amount of accumulated material in her sister’s home. She poured another cup of tea as a smile crossed her face. Then, in her usual calm manner, she said she had a surprise for me. Next to her on a side table was a thick, leather-bound book, with the name “DiCapoa” embossed on the front cover. Adele had found The DiCapua Family Crest.

She asked me to open it to the last page and unfold the piece of paper glued to the inside of the back cover. I unfolded it to see a hand-scripted family tree. At the end of the tree on the bottom right were two ovals, one with her sister’s name, the other with Adele’s name. I followed her oval up several branches to a central oval that contained the phrase “Lionardo, nato 1617 Bagnoli, Irpino” along with the name of his wife Annamaria. I was, at first, speechless, before screaming with delight and amazement, “Siamo Cugini!” (We are cousins!).

It was an unbelievable moment. All the events that had to align to make it happen made me realize there was some fateful force pushing me onward to connect with Lionardo and my distant past. Meeting Adele would prove to be the key to uncovering the important details of his life.

(The DiCapua family crest shown at the top of this page is one example of the many pieces of information obtained from Adele.)

Thank you for reading. Please continue to discover more in Searching for Lionardo DiCapua: Part 4.