Veneto market gardeners 1927

The year is closing and it’s appropriate to reflect on the past 12 months and the blogs on the website related to the Veneto market gardeners oral history project.

In January we held a gathering of Veneto market gardener families and it was a lovely social occasion at the Mater Christi parish hall, Seaton. About 40 people were present and for the first time, we welcomed grandchildren – it was great that Lina and Lui Campagnaro’s granddaughters were  there to learn about the Veneto market gardener community, see the connections between families and view the photo loop of wonderful old family photos that people have given me permission to use for the Veneto market gardeners’ project. Oh! And they tasted the delicious food that people so generously contributed to the event.

At the gathering, Angelo Piovesan spoke about the value of the website in maintaining the history of the community and the possibility of gaining support from the Veneto Club so that it is maintained into the future. It was pleasing that the Veneto Club agreed to provide financial support for the costs of the website. Thank you to Angelo for his advocacy. Fortunately, Michael Campbell continues to manage the website and gives his time voluntarily. I am very grateful for his assistance in maintaining the content, making it accessible and keeping the website safe. Michael has managed the website since 2014 and I thank him for his support – and his skills.

During 2021, a blog has been posted every two weeks. This year 12  blogs were written by guests. It is really wonderful that so many readers have either volunteered or accepted the invitation to write blogs.  And at times, people leave comments, and this shows that the website is becoming more interactive and a more lively community resource.

Through the year I’ve written  blogs about different subjects – stories of some of the families or relatives, reflections on the seasons and reports of unusual events on the  market gardens. I also used some of the research I had undertaken for my thesis and wrote about leisure activities of the market gardeners and returned Anglo Australian soldiers from World War I who were market gardeners in the area. And I have also written about some of the photos to highlight the lives of the Veneto families in different periods.

Thank you to everyone who contributed blogs to the website this year. I’ve been looking back and realise there is a great richness in the variety of subjects that were covered by guest bloggers. In March Linda De Marchi nee Cescato and Nives Caon nee Cescato wrote about their memories of boarding houses in the west end of the City of Adelaide where Italian men lived when they first arrived in Australia. Alex Bennett researched the vagón of the Tonellato family in April and wrote two blogs.

In May Aida Innocente, and her uncle and aunt, Gino and Mary Innocente, collaborated to write two blogs about about the steps involved in the ritual  of making salami.

Lynn and Gary Vanzo produced two blogs about the  story of the Vanzo family who originated from San Martino di Lupari and are connected to some of the Veneto market gardeners. In July, Michael Quirk who had lived in Garden Terrace, Lockleys, wrote two blogs about the friendships he made with some of the young Australian-born Italians who played football in 1959 for the Thebarton Young Christian Workers football team which won the 1959 Grand Final. Several of the young men were from market gardener families in the Lockleys area.

After I completed my PhD studies Michael Campbell wrote a blog in June about my thesis and how it developed from the 58 oral history interviews that have been gathered for the project since 2008.

 

In November the transnational connection was renewed with the blog that Cathy Crenna wrote about Italian migrants in Canada.

 

 

Finally, in December through the blog that Christine Rebellato nee Mattiazzo wrote, we learned about the Christmas traditions that originated in the Mattiazzo family.

One of the people who loved the Veneto market gardeners oral history project, Maria Rosa Tormena, died in March. I remember her and all the others who have been interviewed over the past 13 years. I value their contribution and generosity in providing information about their families and their connection to the pioneer Veneto market gardeners who arrived in Adelaide in the late 1920s.

And to 2022 … I invite you to consider writing a blog about your family or about memories of the Veneto market gardener community. Please contact me so we can discuss ideas.

I wish you all a happy new year. Buon anno!

Madeleine Regan
29 December 2021

 

Guest blogger, Christine Rebellato nee Mattiazzo, reflects on the Christmas traditions that were important in her family as she grew up. Christine focuses on the presepio or the crib that has great significance for her and her family. Christine has provided all the photos.

 

When it came to the emotional time of dividing the estate of our parents, Virginia Santin and Oscar Mattiazzo, our presepio (or presepe) was at the top of my list. That surprised me and I questioned my choice.

Our presepio natalizio was made in Italy. There are 14 hand-painted hollow statues made of plaster.  The tallest figure measures 30 cms. As seen in the photo, we have Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, a manger, three shepherds, two sheep, three wise men, a cow and a donkey. The painting is detailed, bright and ornate with highlights of gold. The set may be, or is very similar to, a vintage Fontanini Nativity. The Fontanini company was formed in 1908 by Emanuele Fontanini in Bagni di Lucca , a small Tuscan village. The House of Fontanini is today run by his descendants.

According to dad, Oscar, our nativity set was bought to be displayed in my parents’ shop, Croydon Park Provision Stores which they owned from 1949 to the early 1960s. The Nativity set was likely purchased from Pellegrini’s Christian Supplies in Adelaide. Later it was brought to our home and  displayed every Christmas in our fireplace at Croydon Park then at West Lakes Shore, until dad died in 2017. Now, my family sets it up in our fireplace. The presepio is creating new memories for the next generation of Mattiazzo great-grandchildren. A couple of years ago I found two mini toy cars in the manger with baby Jesus, a gift from our three-year-old grandson Oscar!

When we were young, our Mattiazzo nonni, Maria and Angelo, lived with us. The presepio reminds me of my Nonna Maria who shared this great love. She told us of making the presepio in Bigolino when she was young. She would add moss to the floor of the nativity scene.  In our primary school years at St Margaret Mary’s, we would have school crib competitions initiated by the parish priest, Fr Michael Murphy. Nonna would delight in our creations.

Making or displaying the presepio has been a long tradition in Italy. St Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first live nativity scene in 1223, il presepio vivente. The presepio has been a symbol of Christmas for Italian families for perhaps as long as a thousand years. Some presepi include scenes from everyday life.

On Christmas Eve our parents worked at their shop til late. No matter how tired they were, they always made it special for us. The Eve was serene. My sisters, Helen and Vicki, and I rested, then our family went to Midnight Mass either at our local church, St Margaret Mary’s at Croydon or to the Chapel of the Calvary Hospital at North Adelaide. We went to Calvary for years, from my childhood until our own children were young. For many years Zia Anna and Zio Vito Santin would join us.

The Midnight Mass was intimate and beautiful, accompanied by the angelic voices of the nuns of The Little Company of Mary in their white habits and wide pale blue veils. Of course, the crib was prominent and in 1994 the priest asked to carry our young baby daughter, representing new life, to the altar. After Mass we would go home for coffee, a liqueur and Christmas cake. When we were children we were allowed to open one gift before bed.

Helen, Vicki and I grew up with a strong sense of family. Our Christmas time centred around the sharing of a meal on Christmas Day, usually with our nonni who lived with us, dad’s zio Beniamino Buffon who was the brother of Oscar’s mother, and later Modesto Rossetto who was the son of Oscar’s zia Carmela Rossetto. The meal was delicious but simple. The first course was risotto al ragù o ai fegatini followed by roast chicken which was prized in the 1950s and 1960s. In later years chicken was replaced by turkey, pork and ham. Mum always prepared salads and cooked a variety of vegetables in olive oil with onion and tomato. Sometimes there was soft polenta.

Christmas was usually a time for trifle in long parfait glasses then Christmas pudding, Christmas cake and later panettone. Mum and dad immigrated as young children in the mid 1930s in an era of poverty in Italy when there were few delicacies, so we didn’t have many sweets of Italian tradition passed down. However, mum was a great cook who shared recipes and successfully made a wide variety of dishes. Crostoli, custard-filled cornetti, fritole and croccante were made. Bought mandorlato (torrone) was also an annual favourite.

When we were young, some Christmas meals were shared at home with many of our relatives. The days were noisy and filled with laughter. We loved listening to the stories of the older generations and being with our cousins. The women all helped out in the kitchen. I can still see mum stirring that huge pot of risotto!
The men would share a drink, reminisce and re-tell stories.

On the quieter Christmas Days when we were young, we would go to Lockleys later in the afternoon to visit the Santin families and mum Virginia’s parents Nonna Cea, Costantina Santin, and Nonno Giovanni. On some hot Christmas Days we even went to the beach.

These memories are special to me. They return when I look at our presepio in the fireplace. I guess that’s why the presepio was at the top of my list. It links me to our nonni, our parents, my sisters and their children, our zii and cousins, our children, and now our little grandchildren.

It’s a presepio and more!

Christine Rebellato nee Mattiazzo
12 December 2021

Guest blogger, Cathy Crenna,  writes about the history of Italian migrants in Canada where she lives in Guelph. Cathy’s ancestors are linked to Secondo Tonellato, who had migrated from Caselle di Altivole to Adelaide in 1927.
Cathy wrote two blogs last year about her family history research

Italian immigration to Canada occurred in two main waves, from 1900 to the First World War and from 1950 to 1970. The second wave of Italian immigration was second only to immigration from Great Britain. The northern Italian rural Venetian and Fruili regions, along with almost all regions of southern Italy, were sources of Italian immigration to Canada.   There are about 1.4 million Canadians of Italian descendent in Canada today. Most arrived by ship at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, or at Ellis Island, New York, U.S.A.

By far most immigrants came for the work offered in major centres of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, however, a number of labourers eventually decided to settle in smaller numbers in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and communities surrounding the major centres.  Some Italians established orchards, vineyards and vegetable farms in agricultural communities in western Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Alberta, and British Columbia. Many Italians living in the outskirts of Montreal grew small crops on unoccupied fields for local consumption and to provide additional support for their families. They came to make money, planning on returning to Italy, often travelling back and forth many times. Often the return trip to Canada would include relatives and friends inspired by the opportunities in Canada. Some immigrants came to stay.

In areas where Italian families settled, often because of kinship or village ties, “Little Italys”, or ethnic neighbourhoods developed. In Guelph, where I grew up, our neighbourhood of Italian immigrants was known as “The Ward”.  Identifying with other Italians and sharing family and group loyalty provided a sense of security and extended families into a much larger group of paesani connected by personal bonds.

The Italian-Canadian Cultural Community had a strong role in supporting Italian identity and success in Canada.  In Dominion, Cape Breton Island, one of the largest Italian communities east of Montreal, immigrants built the Dominion Italian Hall in 1936.

Most families originated in the province of Treviso.  In the Lakehead area of Northern Ontario, there were over 2,000 Italians by 1921 – Port Arthur predominantly southern Italian and Fort William, northern Italian.   In 1929, an Italian Society was formed and their first Italian Hall opened in 1939. In Port Colborne, the Italian Canadian Cultural Centre was established in 1935.  In cities and towns all across Canada societies were formed and halls were built that were a great source of pride for the members and the community

Mutual support societies and Italian cultural communities, with or without a formal club or hall, provided an element of dignity and self-respect. It gave the Italian community support with integration and growth into the Canadian society. Members now had a place where they could meet, gossip, play cards, and play leadership roles inside and outside the membership.

Cultural Associations are very much alive in Canada today, particularly in the large cities.  Serving several generations, Italian Canadians clubs offer Italian language school for adults and children, financial assistance for pensioners, choir, social events, sports programs and events, and food and drink throughout the year.  Italian clubs in smaller cities struggle with declining membership.

The Italian Canadian Club of Guelph in my hometown, serving a population of about 20,000 citizens of Italian heritage, was central to many social activities for the Italian Community.  In 1989 the I.C.C. hosted a Caselle di Altivole, Treviso reunion with attendees coming to Guelph from All Canada, USA and Italy.

 

 

The Festival Italiano was a favourite every summer, but with declining attendance, 2017 was the last year it was held.  Second, third and fourth generation Italian family lifestyles had changed. Cheese-rolling, grease-pole climbing, grape-stomping and spaghetti eating contests, were not as interesting to the younger population.

Shared stores enrich the history of our community. Stories of childhood memories in Italy, the courage and sacrifices during and after the war, reasons for leaving the homeland, challenges of crossing the Atlantic, the arrival and its first hardships, accomplishments and personal and career successes, all these stories and more reveal the vibrancy of a people whose deepest wish was to improve themselves and the lives of those they loved.

Since 2011, June has been known as Italian Heritage Month in Ontario. The province aims to recognize the contributions Italian immigrants have made in building Ontario’s communities.  The contributions of Italians to the development of Canada are respected and honoured.

Cathy Crenna
28 November 2021