Portal To The Past

Faithful readers, the extraordinary power of digital media has opened a new portal into my past: Michelle Arata, a third cousin who had read my blog post highlighting the pair of fruitless attempts to find the family home in Orero, Italy (just north of Portofino, above), contacted me by email with more information on “mia familia.”

Our great-grandmothers -- Anna Arata and Maria Arata -- were sisters. Although the two of us both grew up in Portland, we had never met. However, she has conducted extensive genealogical research and provided a veritable treasure trove of information. My family history is now coming into view in ways in ways I never imagined possible.

The timing couldn't be better because my brother Richard and his family will travel to The Motherland next month, and as a result of our newfound connection, we have narrowed the focus of our search in an effort to locate the family homestead in the hills of Liguria northeast of Genoa in the Apennine Mountains.

Cross-referencing the new information is nothing short of mind-boggling; the epiphanies are cascading and the family portrait is starting to come into view even more. Best of all, it looks like we’ll be able to find the farmhouse owned by the Brichetto family before they left for America in 1912 prior to World War I. Che fortuna!