by Nick Santangelo*

 Philadelphia Bojano Prt 2. I was fortunate to experience a Tibetan style bridge, a medieval castle, a small water park / pool in the town of Roccamandolfi. There I was able to meet one of Franco’s cousins, Antonio. It was a great day filled with Bojanese Calzoni, Estathe Iced teas, & plenty of mountain sun. Obviously there is more to this beautiful area of Italy; for example there are ruins & portions of another medieval location called Civita Superiore. ENGLISH VERSION. (LEGGI QUI LA VERSIONE IN ITALIANO)

Philadelphia Bojano Prt 2 starts after a great conversation with Mina about the history of a pre Italics people I had loosely studied in school, called the Samnites as well as shooting locations for various Star Wars films, such as the Royal Palace of Caserta, we arrived in the center of town. (Read Italian Version of this newspaper article here)

Philadelphia Bojano Prt 2 with an amazing dinner

With our arrival in Bojano, we refueled the car & went to Alessandra’s parent’s house for the first of many nights where I was treated to an amazing dinner. Typical dishes that my grandmother & mother have cooked in the past; cotoletta, patate, pasta al mare, an Italian style BBQ, & some gabagool (capicollo).

Making cavatelli

We even talk about making cavatelli with her grandmother before we had dinner! The culinary familiarity made me feel that much more at home & able to further connect with my limited Italian.

They proclaimed I had to be Italian

Over the course of many nights spent there, the family accepted me as one of their own & proclaimed I had to be Italian; it was in my blood & in my conduct, something that gave me immense joy & pride in my will to retain every drop of Italianità my family has held onto since their immigration to the United States.

A Tibetan bridge, a medieval castle, a pool on the mountins

                Throughout the days I was fortunate to experience a Tibetan style bridge, a medieval castle, a small water park / pool for Italian locals near and in the town of Roccamandolfi. There I was able to meet one of Franco’s cousins, Antonio. It was a great day filled with Bojanese Calzoni, Estathe Iced teas, & plenty of mountain sun.

Civita Superiore di Bojano

Obviously there is more to this beautiful area of Italy; for example there are ruins & portions of another medieval location called Civita Superiore. Michele, an amazing & well-studied young man of Un Mondo di Italiani, gave me a history of the mountains, Civita, the history of Bojano, & even the events that happen in Civita, such as the earthquake.

A classic Italian Breakfast

I was able to travel to this location with with the guys from the Civil Service Comunità per Giovani, Molise Noblesse and Filitalia Youth Commission: Michele, Valeria & Daniele, on my 3rd day in town, which was finished with a classic Italian breakfast.

Mozzarella & Pizza

My 4th & 5th days consisted of exploring the city, trying some of Franco’s cousin’s mozzarella at their caseficio, experiencing a work day with Franco at his betting shop, & meeting up with another friend, Gianclaudio Mattiaccio for some pizza at his father’s restaurant.

Planning to traverl to Basilicata

For the weekend, Franco, Alessandra, & I went to the Vasto beach side to meet with her uncle & cousin. We were able to enjoy a wonderful weekend at the beach & experience what an Italian shopping mall is like! With that, we returned to Bojano & planned to travel to Basilicata the night of July 31st, 2024.   (LEGGI QUI LA VERSIONE ITALIANA DI QUESTO ARTICOLO)

* Nick Santangelo, Assistant Director Filitalia International, I.E.P., accomplished musician & teacher of drums & percussion

Leggi la VERSIONE ITALIANA di questo articolo QUI

Read the first part of Nick’s journey in English here

Leggi qui la 1 PARTE del viaggio di Nick in Italiano

Leggi qui la storia di NICK e del suo trisavolo Filippo Santangelo partito da Armento in Basilicata

Leggi altro

E ancora

• Dallas-Roma, decolla primo volo diretto che avvicina l’Italia ai connazionali all’estero
• Nasce Viaggio nel Molise
• Morto A.R. Penck. L’artista che sfidò il regime nazista
• 5 milioni di euro per gli italiani all’estero per emergenza Covid
• Dpcm prorogato a ottobre,restano in vigore le norme sulla mascherina