As an Italo-American now living in Sicily, I've discovered a
very interesting and rewarding way to make a living. With the Internet growing at a fast pace,
more and more Italo-Americans, like myself, are finding it easier to learn more about their
family history and the town of their origin.
I am a family history researcher working primarily in Sicily since 1994.
My name is Emilio Terrazzino and was born in 1959 in Agrigento, Sicily, which is on the west
coast of the Mediterranean also called the African Sea since it faces Tunisia and is only about
100 miles away. Like most Italian immigrants who went to America, my father could not support
his family in his own homeland and was thus forced to find a better opportunity elsewhere- and
America has always been the land of opportunity.
At the age of two, I began my new life in Cleveland, Ohio- in Little Italy, of course.
We soon blended into the mainstream of the American society. I then went on to college
and graduated in 1987 from Cleveland State University with a Master's in Education.
And like most Italo-Americans, I grew up with a strong work ethic- working my way through
school in grocery stores and then worked as a sales rep for 7-UP for 2 years. However, my
career objective was to become a counselor or therapist. I obtained my Ohio Social Worker
license in 1988 and worked in an institution in Cleveland for troubled teens.
In 1992, I finally had the opportunity to visit Sicily for the first time since I left. I had always heard
my parents talk about aunts, uncles, and cousins in Sicily, but I had never really met them before.
Upon my arrival, I immediately was made to feel like a lost family member who had finally come home.
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I soon discovered a
deep appreciation and attraction for Sicily- my place of birth and family origin. My family in Sicily suggested that
I try living here for a while and offered help in getting acclimated- which was difficult at first- but I'm still here.
I got into doing family history research almost by accident. Unemployment is high here (over 20%),
but I was able to find work as a tour guide not long after moving here. I noticed that quite a few members
from each tour group had an interest in going to the town of their origin to find out more about their
family history. I thus decided to offer family history research and escort services over the Internet to
give more Italo-Americans access in finding out more about their roots. I had no idea how rewarding it
would be to bring people closer to their origins. It is quite heartwarming to either find relatives, or
data on family history, or to just bring people to the place of their origin. Most of my clients are quite
successful- doctors, lawyers, engineers, business people, etc. whose ancestors came to America with little
more than the clothes on their backs, looking for an opportunity to make life better for their families and
the generations to follow. Today's Italo-American has made the dream come true for those ancestors.
And I feel blessed to be able to help in some way, for I too share in this dream.
TonysEMT@aol.com wrote:
Dear Emilio,
We received your package yesterday. Everything in it was wonderful.
My whole family, especially my grandfather, was extremely excited by your findings.
You have done a fantastic job and we sincerely appreciate your hard work.
We are interested in having you search the church records as well.
Please let us know how we can help you go from here. Again, I cannot tell you how pleased I am with your work.
It has been a pleasure dealing with you.
Thanks,
Tony Occhipinti
Pignola@aol.com wrote:
Emilio,
Thank you so much. That is quite a bit of information you have collected for me.
I will sit down with it and try to decipher it now. I am looking forward to the package in the mail.
I should be doing business with you again soon, I am very happy with the information.
Tony Sasso
Read the article that Tony Sasso has dedicated to Emilio in the October 1999 issue
of the Italian Genealogical Group (IGG) Newsletter
For those of you who dream of discovering the land of your Ancestors and plan to travel to Italy,
Emilio can escort you and research your family together with you in the town of origin.
