The Mondello's of Casteltermini now !
The Mondello's were very warm and
inviting. They accepted my son and I immediately and did everything
possible to make us feel welcomed. During our personal tour of the city,
word spread of our arrival and cars stopped in the road and Mondello's that
heard we were here jumped out to meet us ! At several meetings they brought photo's
and diagrams of how we were all related. It seemed our visit pulled
this family even closer. Brian's 18th birthday was in a couple
of days and the family reserved the pizzeria in town for a big party.
They made a wonderful birthday cake and gave us all sorts of gifts but most
of all they devoted their time.
Grazie !!
The man of the hour is pictured on the left. He is Guiseppe Mondello, his grandfather and my great grandfather were brothers. He told us stories about my great grandfather and great grandmother and gave us the history on Casteltermini. He never left our side. The excitement our visit gave him brought me the most satisfaction of all my research. His wife Cristina and their 4 children have continued to correspond with me as have a lot of the other Mondello's and relatives from Casteltermini. We will all miss Guiseppe very much, he passed away shortly after my visit.
The Mondello's of Tampa
I did not know any of my relatives that were descendants of Guiseppe and Cruz's other children. I shot gunned letters to Mondello's in Tampa and hit the jackpot. I am extremely grateful to Joe and Edna Mondello and his sister Cruz Mondello Gonzalez and her husband Robert, Sam Mondello and his niece Jeannine Sala. They went to great lengths to send me pictures of Guiseppe and Cruz and our other relatives and provide invaluable information. THANKS EVERYONE !!!!