Inspiration Project: Forging Family Ties in Italy

Boston partner Michelle Gergerian was one of the six participants selected for our first annual Inspiration Project, sponsored by Seyfarth Life. 

In her application, Michelle noted that she was raised Italian, in an Italian neighborhood with Italian relatives and friends—but had little information about her Italian heritage. Starting with an Ancestry.com account, Michelle began to piece together her family tree, which led to a commune called Serre, located in the Campania region of southwestern Italy. When Michelle learned of the opportunity to receive a scholarship from Seyfarth Life to pursue her inspiration, she jumped at the chance to trace the footsteps of her grandfather, Alfonso Impemba, a shoemaker born in 1878. Her husband, Sarko, and her two children, Giada (10) and Michael (8), accompanied her. Funded in part by the Inspiration Project, the family enjoyed two weeks of travel throughout Italy while learning more about her roots. 

Speaking to why she wanted to be considered for the Inspiration Project, Michelle said: "This trip would allow me to connect with my roots, which is deeply meaningful for me, and it will also force me to 'unplug' a little. My children will also derive a significant benefit. They would be given the gift of an international trip to a place that is special to our family. It will also give them perspective of their ancestry that I never had as a child."

Below is Michelle’s first-person account of her trip, along with photos of the journey.

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Above: Serre, Italy

Above: Alfonso Impemba’s Declaration of Intent, dated 1911.

Our Italian adventure began in Venice, Florence, Sorrento, and the Amalfi Coast. We then traveled two hours from the Amalfi Coast to Paestum, and then drove an hour to Serre, where my great-grandfather, Alfonso Impemba, was born and lived until the early 1900s, when he emigrated to the United States.

We arrived in the village, unannounced, to the center of town, and our first stop was Serre’s City Hall. We hoped to track down information about my great-grandfather as well as any information that would lead us to family members still living in the town. We could not have been met with a warmer welcome. We first encountered a town politician/municipal worker by the name of Martino Di Rosario. When Martino learned that we were from the United States searching for family, he and his colleagues dropped what they were doing, sprang into action, and began pulling town records from the archives. We uncovered my great-grandfather’s old property registry, and then Martino offered to take us on a tour of the village.

Above: Searching Serre’s town records for family

One of our stops was a small meat market owned by Vito Impemba, and when we arrived, Vito himself was behind the counter. As we were talking, a woman with the Impemba surname walked in. She knew our of our immediate family, and was able to provide us with some interesting facts about the number of children and the giant size of the men (and women!), but it remained unclear as to whether we had an immediate familial connection to her or to Vito—as it turns out, there are four Impemba families in Serre. Still, Vito and the other people in the shop were gracious and happy to see us, and they gave us gifts of Italian meats and cheeses. After leaving the meat shop, we called a law firm with the Impemba name and talked with some very nice people, but there were no strong indicators that we were from the same family. Having toured much of the village, we called it a day and headed back to our hotel in Paestum.

Above: Vito Impemba at his store

Later that night we were swimming in the hotel pool when the hotel owner approached us. He was on the phone, and knelt down to the poolside to ask if we were the people searching for family in Serre. He said he had a man on the phone by the name of Antonio Impemba, who thought we might be related. Antonio’s sister, Giuseppina Impemba, happened to be scrolling through Facebook, and saw that Martino (the municipal worker) had posted photos, along with our story, to the Comune di Serre (town) Facebook page. The hotel owner informed us that Antonio would be driving an hour to Paestum to meet us and would be there by 9 p.m.

When Antonio arrived later that night, he was accompanied by Giuseppina and her husband, Luigi Romano. They handed me photographs of my father, my uncle, and my great-grandparents, as well as a list of our Italian ancestors, which included their dates of birth, spouses, and in some cases, dates of death. Next to my great-grandfather’s name, there was no information—only an entry that read, “Emigrated to America.” I gave them all of the information and documents they needed to complete my great grandfather’s entry—his Naturalization records, the ship records from when he came to America, and his military records. The hotel owner was so touched by our story that he brought out a bottle of Prosecco and made an emotional toast in both Italian and English.

Above: Meeting Lucia

Above: Lunch in the mountains with family

The next day, Antonio picked us up from Paestum and drove us back into the village. We visited every landmark that was—and continues to be—important to our family: the home where my great-grandfather was born; the homes of Antonio, Giuseppina, and Luigi; the village church where my great-uncle, Don Martino Impemba, was a priest for many years; and the cemetery where the Impembas in our family were laid to rest. We also had lunch in the mountains followed by a quick pit stop to a fresh water fountain on the side of the road. We then met another relative, Lucia, the sister of Antonio and Giuseppina, in the center of town.

Above: (Left) The house where great-grandfather was born; (right) church where uncle was priest

We are so fortunate to have had this experience. We continue to keep in touch with our family (as well as Martino!) by Facebook message a couple of times per week, and we have been invited back next August for the village’s annual feast.

Above: At Serre City Hall with municipal workers

Above: The Serre countryside