Returning ‘Home’ after 150 years!
by Graham Paolo MUschialli
(Bridgend, UK)
I was born and grew up in the UK but knew I had Italian origins by my name ‘Muschialli’ It was only when my Grandfather died and we met lots of relatives in the UK that I had never known before, that I found out where my family came from.
It appears that my ancestors left Northern Italy from an area called ‘Alto Lario’ way back in the 1800’s when Austria ruled the area. Three brothers from a small village in the Albano Valley, named Germasino came to the UK and settled. Two of the brothers eventually sailed to Australia and settled there, with the result that there are lots of ‘Muschialli’ there today. The one that stayed in the UK, was my ancestor.
Once I found out where we came from, I planned to travel back to look for distant relatives. I did this in the late 1980’s and found the little village in the mountains and the cemetery with many of my ancestors buried there.
Through a series of enquiries, I eventually found a family that knew my family and they telephoned them and they came up to the village and we met for the very first time. Excitement was overflowing and it turned out that I was the first ‘Muschialli’ to return to the village in 150 years. That made me special!
Now, over 20 years later and just as many visits, I am still greeted in the village by the 250 inhabitants as someone special. Its a real thrill to go back and I love Lake Como.
My ‘Italian’ family now live in Gravedona and I visit at least once each year and am due back again in June 2011 with a number of friends and work colleagues as I am celebrating my retirement at 65 with them and my family in a small restaurant overlooking the lake.
I never cease to be amazed by the absolutely breathtaking beauty of the lake and I still get that buzz of excitment as the boat turns the corner and head towards Gravedona on yet another ‘pilgramage’ home.
I have started something called the ‘Lake Como Appreciation Society’ on Linkedin just as an area where all my friends and family can get together electronically and at least feel one for a short time. On Linkedin they ask for a website name. I do not have one and would dearly love to add this website name as the default unless that would be wrong.
Whatever, thanks for ‘selling’ our lake so well and lots of happiness to you and your family.
Graham Paolo Muschialli
Originally posted 2014-07-18 09:30:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
I was interested to read the story of Muschialli finding his ancestral village. One of my great grandfather’s came from Careno, having swum the border with Switzerland and walked the Alps ending up in Birmingham UK. He married Ann/Anna? Muschialli and had a large family of sons and one daughter. Ann/Anna died when the daughter was three and the last baby, a son, died about three months later. I have been to Lago di Como three times and am about to go again on 6th June for a week. I always visit Careno when I go. There were too many Zambra families with the same Christian names for us to know which one our Great Grandfather came from though; Francisco Saverio Zambra, known as Savi. As a boy he used to row “men with papers” across the lake with muffled oars at night in the time when Austria ruled Northern Italy and Garibaldi was a freedom fighter. We think he left because he didn’t wish to be called up to the Austrian Army to fight against Garibaldi.
Hi Celia…. we are definately related then, although distantly. I will be in Gravedona from June 7th to 14th so why not come along and say hello. email me on muschialli@hotmail.com
Its so good to hear your story, although I do not know of the village or town you mentioned. Give me n email and we can persue it further.