1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:03,159 Speaker 1: Hi, babe. Eh, I'm trying to solve a mystery. 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 2: Charlie, Charlie, what do you need? 3 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: What do you need? Disco Little Stone War? What's wrong 4 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:09,920 Speaker 1: with them? I think you had them on upside down? 5 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:10,120 Speaker 3: Man. 6 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: I'm sitting by the pool in Sciapello, Sicily, with my 7 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: podcast producer Kate and my three kids and cool easy. 8 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: Do you want to hear about the family mystery? 9 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:23,279 Speaker 2: No? 10 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: No, yes, yeah you want this. Charlie is much more 11 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: interested in the very deep pool. O b is freezing mystery. 12 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,840 Speaker 1: Everyone's jet lagged, and I'm questioning every decision that I've 13 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: ever made about my life because do you know why 14 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: we're here in Sicily? 15 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 4: Wow? 16 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: I'm trying to solve the mystery of my great great grandmother. 17 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 1: Of her Can I say murdered it? A three year old? 18 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: Her death, her deaf, How she died? Ha ha, We 19 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: don't know yet. We're trying to figure it out. We're 20 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: trying to learn. Do you want to help me? I'm 21 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,639 Speaker 1: not exactly sure what possessed me when I made this 22 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: plan jetting off to Sicily with a five month old baby, 23 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: a three year old and a six year old for 24 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 1: a vacation slash Fact funding mission to look for clues 25 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: into my investigation into my great great grandmother's century old 26 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: murder right here in our motherland. Do you want to 27 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: know what her name was? Her name was, Lorenza. Can 28 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: you say that, Lorenza. I keep telling myself that if 29 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: we can learn something new, something more concrete, about what 30 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: happened to her, it will all be worth it. But 31 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: just being here, it all feels more real. She feels 32 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: more real, and we are closer, closer to figuring out 33 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: if my great great grandmother really was murdered right here 34 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: on this island, and if so, why. I'm Joe Piazza 35 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: from Kaleidoscope and iHeart Podcasts. This is the Sicilian Inheritance, 36 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: Chapter one, Lorenza. 37 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 2: So take me to the Do you remember the first 38 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 2: time you heard this? 39 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: It's hard to say. I feel like I've always known 40 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: this story because Italian Americans love to tell stories, and 41 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: they love to embellish stories, and especially if it's really 42 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: salacious or it could possibly have something to do with 43 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: the mafia, they love that shit. Can you walk me 44 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: through the Yeah, the story, the story. The story is 45 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: one that I've known all my life. I've I've heard 46 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,959 Speaker 1: it over and over and over again, not always in 47 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: the same way and definitely not with the same information. 48 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: It's my family's origin story, the story of where we 49 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:16,679 Speaker 1: the Piazzas came from. It all starts a little over 50 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: one hundred years ago with my great great grandparents back 51 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: in Sicily, the ancestral homeland. As far as my dad 52 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:28,079 Speaker 1: said the family is concerned, my great great grandfather Antonino 53 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: and my great great grandmother Lorenza lived in this tiny 54 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: village called Caltibalota, where they had seven children one by one. 55 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: Around nineteen ten, Antonino and his son saved up enough 56 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: money to sail to the US, passed through Ellis Island, 57 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: and settle in the northeast the classic Italian American story. 58 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: Lorenzo was supposed to follow them eventually, but she never 59 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: made it. She died in Caltibalotta. According to my family's 60 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: one hundred year long game of telephone, she was murdered. 61 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: For years, this story has just been a mystery for 62 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: our family, something we've enjoyed speculating about, swapping different bits 63 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: and pieces and versions of the story. As you'd say 64 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: in Italian, La pierra caierra idle gossip. 65 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 5: Hello, Hey, Sharon, how you doing. 66 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 4: I'm okay. So now I hear you're writing my memoir 67 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 4: and I'm going to be some famous now right you are? 68 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 3: Yeah? 69 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, that's the plan, Yeshi. 70 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 1: And the story was always told with a kind of 71 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,559 Speaker 1: hand gesture where you push your thumb into your nose 72 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: and lower your voice when you say the black hand 73 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 1: or the mafia. 74 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,359 Speaker 4: Now in Sicily there's still tons of mafia, and of 75 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 4: course they called it the black. 76 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: Hand, which is why for me, for a long time, 77 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 1: I thought the whole thing might be bullshit. 78 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,359 Speaker 5: Well, nobody knows for sure. There's two stories. 79 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: But over the years, as I've heard it more and more, 80 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,359 Speaker 1: Lorenza's story and her potential murder have become a bit 81 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: of an obsession. Maybe that's because we're a family of storytellers, 82 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: sometimes liars, definitely myth makers, myself included. I'm a writer 83 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: and recently I turned my fascination with Lorenza into a novel. 84 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,839 Speaker 1: It's also called The Sicilian Inheritance, and it is loosely, 85 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: loosely based on my family story. A woman is left alone, 86 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 1: there's an unsolved murder. There's just a lot more food 87 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:41,359 Speaker 1: and wine and sex, thrown in, and look, my obsession 88 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: with this story, this family story, may have ended there, 89 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:49,480 Speaker 1: but the writing it got me fixated on the real 90 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: story and the real woman, who was the real Lorenza 91 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: Marsala and what actually happened to her? So I started digging, 92 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:05,239 Speaker 1: and I began with my best sources, my family. 93 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:07,920 Speaker 6: The first thing I'm doing is asking different family members 94 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 6: what they think the story is, what did they want? 95 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:11,719 Speaker 7: Good luck with that? 96 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:13,760 Speaker 8: Good luck with that? 97 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 7: Oh, dear Hi, how are you good? 98 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: This is Uncle Jimmy. He's my dad's older brother. 99 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 6: I want to hear everything. 100 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 3: You know. Well, I don't know any more than probably 101 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 3: you do. But Jimmy and I've been talking about it, 102 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 3: and our one concern is if it's two realistic, you're 103 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 3: going to wind up Startinger Vendetta again. And I'm too 104 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 3: old to go over there and shoot somebody. Jimmy wants 105 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 3: to bring his kids over there. 106 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 6: Are you too old to go over there and shoot somebody? 107 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 6: Uncle jim are you real? 108 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 3: Well? 109 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: All no shit, no Vendetta or not. I kept calling relatives. 110 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 5: You know that you have this book coming up. I 111 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 5: didn't know what was finished. 112 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: That was Aunt Gail. When I was growing up. She 113 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: lived down the street. She was like a second mom 114 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:00,520 Speaker 1: to me. 115 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:02,360 Speaker 6: I sat at writing sex scenes. 116 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,040 Speaker 9: Okay, like I am, I have to get like real 117 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 9: drunk to write them. I hope you don't write too 118 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 9: many sexcees. 119 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 6: Drunk all the time. 120 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: Cousin Sissy, she's a romance novelist. Cousin Sharon, Cousin Laura. 121 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: We have a lot of cousins. We are Italian Americans. 122 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: We breed like rabbit's. 123 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 3: All I know is just obviously. 124 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 4: Okay. So here's what I was told Grandpa. My grandpa said, 125 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 4: the Piazza immigrated to the US. 126 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 9: Sons came over with his siblings. 127 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 3: Large family and your grand sisters siblings and immigrated. 128 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 9: The boys came over to kind of settle in and 129 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 9: you know all of that. So they came through out 130 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 9: of island, settled in New York. 131 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 5: The boys came over from Italy to by two immigrated. 132 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 3: Then Dad came with him, but they left mom behind. 133 00:07:56,760 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 5: They left their mother behind, the mother to sell the farm. 134 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 9: His wife stayed behind to tend to She said they 135 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 9: had a family farm. What I heard was that the 136 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 9: mom was. 137 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 6: Interested in her land. 138 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 9: She refused to sell. 139 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 4: Now this part I don't know if it's true. I 140 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 4: don't know who told me, whether it was or not, 141 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 4: or somebody else. But they had a vineyard and the 142 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 4: black Hand took over the vineyards, so they have not 143 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 4: get access to the vineyards. 144 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: The black Hand. That's how my family tends to refer 145 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: to the mafia in this story. It is not how 146 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: Sicilians refer to the mafia. I just want everyone to 147 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: know that. But this right here, this is the reigning 148 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: theory of how Lorenzo was killed. And it's the version 149 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: of the story that's been in my head the longest. 150 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: It's the version where the Piazzas owned a farm or 151 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: a vineyard, it is unclear. And once Antonino and all 152 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: of Lorenzo's sons had been gone in the US for 153 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 1: over a decade, the mafia killed Lorenza to get that land. 154 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:09,960 Speaker 3: They owned a farm, and they left her behind it 155 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 3: us a transaction and did mafia leisurely stroll it from 156 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:16,439 Speaker 3: her and killed her. 157 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 5: She sold the farm and all the money was in 158 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:23,560 Speaker 5: the house, and they killed her for the money. 159 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 9: She was murdered while the boys were over here. 160 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:28,959 Speaker 1: Maybe she had already sold the land and the mafia 161 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 1: then killed her to get the money from the land. 162 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: Maybe it was that money that she was planning to 163 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: use to leave Cecily and finally reunite with her family. 164 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:40,520 Speaker 5: They were kind of stupid to leave all that money, 165 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:43,560 Speaker 5: but there were no banks in or anything, and that 166 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 5: was the money she was going to be using to 167 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:50,320 Speaker 5: come to the United States and get them started. But 168 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:52,800 Speaker 5: they were kind of stupid to leave her there alone 169 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 5: like that. 170 00:09:58,400 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 4: What was her name? 171 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 3: The name of whom. 172 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:06,440 Speaker 6: The great great grandmother who was murdered? 173 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 5: Oh, oh, I forget, I forget her name. 174 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 3: Oh, Lorenzo and Marcelle. 175 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: For all the times that I've heard the story about 176 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:21,560 Speaker 1: Lorenza being murdered, all the tellings and retellings, talking to 177 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 1: my relatives this time made me realize how little any 178 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:29,840 Speaker 1: of us knew about her actual life or her death 179 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 1: for that matter. 180 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 6: Did you hear how they killed her? 181 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 3: No? 182 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,679 Speaker 8: I never heard any details of her death. 183 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,600 Speaker 4: Andante and I didn't give any details. I don't remember. 184 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:45,440 Speaker 1: That's the thing. There have never been any real details 185 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: when this story gets told, things that you can prove, 186 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,839 Speaker 1: And that's always what's made me skeptical, Like maybe it 187 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 1: was never a murder, Maybe her story could be as 188 00:10:57,679 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: open and shut as a case of the floor. Maybe 189 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: she got sick and that's why she didn't make it over. 190 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 1: A tragedy for sure for her sons and her daughters, 191 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: but not exactly worth the legend status. Maybe the family 192 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,080 Speaker 1: needed to make her death into something more than just 193 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: a virus. I mean, my dad was a claims attorney, 194 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 1: my uncle Jimmy's a judge. Like, we're like, we're a 195 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 1: very basic Italian American family. But they love imagining that 196 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:35,800 Speaker 1: there's some kind of adventure and romance in possibly being 197 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 1: adjacent to the mafia, even though they're absolutely not, And. 198 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 2: This story gives it to them. 199 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 1: This story does give them that, this story gives them 200 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 1: some kind of connection, And I think that's what they 201 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 1: love about this story, Like if she was possibly killed 202 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: by the mob, why and like that gives them this 203 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 1: link to you know, Goodfellows as apanas the Godfather. When 204 00:11:57,760 --> 00:11:59,599 Speaker 1: I started writing my novel, I didn't want to know 205 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 1: the real story. I wanted to use the small bits 206 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 1: and pieces that I knew about Lorenza to get started 207 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 1: and then let my imagination run wild with the rest. 208 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:13,000 Speaker 1: But once the book was put to bed, I got 209 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: this tug in my gut. Something told me the story 210 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,440 Speaker 1: wasn't finished, and that's what I needed to know the 211 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: truth about what happened to Lorenza. I became obsessed. What 212 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:28,000 Speaker 1: really sent me looking for answers was this email from 213 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,160 Speaker 1: my dad from about a decade ago. Toward the end 214 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:33,679 Speaker 1: of his life, he used to send me dozens of 215 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,840 Speaker 1: emails a day, and one day a couple years ago, 216 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:39,199 Speaker 1: when I was cleaning out my inbox, one of those 217 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 1: unopened emails caught my eye. It was his grandfather's birth certificate, 218 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: Santo's birth certificate, and in the email, my dad remarked 219 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:54,560 Speaker 1: on how beautiful the mother's name was, Lorenza. She was 220 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,560 Speaker 1: the one who was murdered, he reminded me in all caps. 221 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 1: That email got me to start doing a little more digging, 222 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: just a little bit of reporting, and as soon as 223 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: I scratched the surface, it started to look a lot 224 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:18,960 Speaker 1: like I had one hundred year old murder mystery on 225 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 1: my hands. Would there be a. 226 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,840 Speaker 2: Peace record, yes, only in the case. 227 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: Of Mark one that I'm pretty sure I'm going to 228 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:32,840 Speaker 1: be able to solve. Why would they be muttered together 229 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: more after the break? Do you hear that? 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Check the show notes for the link and 244 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 1: all the details to buy. It's not only an incredible 245 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: olive oil, but it will completely transport you to the 246 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 1: beautiful and sometimes dangerous island of Sicily. So please do 247 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: check out the show notes now and thank you. Also 248 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 1: enjoy with something delicious. I just spent three hundred dollars 249 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 1: on ancestry dot com. Oh did as I tried to 250 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 1: solve this mystery. I forced my husband Nick to be 251 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: my enthusiastic sounding board for all of my discoveries. Here 252 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 1: is Santa, I've got all the dates. There's there she is. 253 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 4: That's her. 254 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 1: Wow, which, of course involved immediately googling genealogy websites. There's 255 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:34,880 Speaker 1: a picture of her. 256 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 9: No way, look at that. 257 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:39,680 Speaker 2: Have you ever seen No, I've never seen this. 258 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 3: Wow. 259 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 6: She looks. 260 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:48,520 Speaker 1: She looks unhappy. When you imagine an Italian Nona, what 261 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: do you think of got chubby lady in the kitchen 262 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: making pasta That is not Lorenza. Lorenza looks like she 263 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:00,280 Speaker 1: could kill you with her stare. Her cheekbones alone could 264 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 1: cut glass. She looks like someone who might have been 265 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: involved in some shit. But this is very helpful because 266 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 1: now we have the death date. 267 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, or with the death date right, yeah? 268 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,240 Speaker 6: Yeah? 269 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:12,560 Speaker 3: Whoa cool panda. 270 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:14,920 Speaker 1: So before we go much further, I think I need 271 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,400 Speaker 1: to draw my family tree for you all. In fact, 272 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 1: I now have a massive wall in my house where 273 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: I sketched it all out. Lorenzo Marsala my great great 274 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,480 Speaker 1: grandmother on my dad's side. She was born in eighteen 275 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:33,000 Speaker 1: sixty two. She married Antonino Piazza. Quick note here, just 276 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: to make things extra confusing. In Italy, women don't take 277 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: their husband's last names. Did you know that? I didn't 278 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 1: until we started doing this, So Lorenza kept the last 279 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 1: name Marsala Lorenza Marsala sounds like a pasta dish. Anyway, 280 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:53,280 Speaker 1: Lorenza and Antonino had seven children who lived to adulthood. 281 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 1: I personally have three children, and I think seven is 282 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 1: a lot of children. Anything more than one is a 283 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 1: lot of children. Anyway. Lorenzo and Antonino's kids, first, we've 284 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:08,520 Speaker 1: got Santo, he's my great grandfather. Then Joseph also known 285 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:13,159 Speaker 1: as Giuseppe, Veto and Caligaro also known as Charlie, and 286 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:18,400 Speaker 1: the daughters Josephine, Paulina and Rosa. All of them would 287 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 1: eventually come to America. The men first, Santo, the oldest son, 288 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 1: and Giuseppe left Sicily in nineteen oh five. Now, just 289 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:31,320 Speaker 1: to set the scene picture this pre World War One 290 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,879 Speaker 1: turn of the century. A lot of Italians were immigrating 291 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 1: back then, especially the ones living in intense rural poverty 292 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:43,200 Speaker 1: in southern Italy and Sicily. Between nineteen hundred and nineteen ten, 293 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 1: more than two million Italians made their way across the 294 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,679 Speaker 1: Atlantic Ocean, and among them were Santo and his brother, 295 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:56,960 Speaker 1: Lorenza's son. Santo is my dad's grandfather got it and 296 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: he worked in the coal mines and was also a farmer. 297 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 1: This is me trying to explain it all to Kate. 298 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 1: It's really hard to keep all this straight, and not 299 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,120 Speaker 1: that Kate is the best at keeping it straight either. 300 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:11,440 Speaker 2: And presumably Santo told him. 301 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: No, that's the thing. So Santo, like a lot of 302 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:19,280 Speaker 1: other Sicilians at the time, settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and 303 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: he goes to work in the coal mines. Two years later, 304 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:28,359 Speaker 1: their father Antonino joins them, bringing along another son. By 305 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:31,960 Speaker 1: nineteen twelve, most of the kids, all of the sons 306 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: are in the States. Lorenza and two of her daughters 307 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 1: are still in Sicily. In nineteen sixteen, Lorenza dies and 308 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:43,840 Speaker 1: a few years later her daughters would immigrate to the US. 309 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 1: Two Now Santo, the eldest son. He starts my particular 310 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,560 Speaker 1: branch of the family tree. Santo is the grandfather or 311 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: great grandfather to all of my relatives that you've heard 312 00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 1: so far. 313 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 3: They held they reunion one time where all of the 314 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 3: ass the first generation Piazzas were there. They were fantastic. 315 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:11,560 Speaker 3: All my uncles and my dad were playing more which 316 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:15,639 Speaker 3: is the finger game. You know, rock Stone scissors are 317 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:19,080 Speaker 3: most and they played bacci on a dirt road and 318 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 3: it was a great time. And it's one of the 319 00:19:22,119 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 3: few times I have memories of seen all Santo's brothers 320 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 3: and sisters. 321 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:32,119 Speaker 1: Santo also had a lot of children, ten of them, 322 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,040 Speaker 1: and here the family tree gets even more confusing for 323 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:38,480 Speaker 1: a lot of reasons, namely because everyone seems to have 324 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:44,680 Speaker 1: the same names. There's so many Giuseppes, Giuseppas, Josephine's, Vetos, Vinni's, 325 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 1: and then the names they get anglicized when people come 326 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:52,840 Speaker 1: to the US. The Giuseppas become Joe's, the Lorenzo's become Lauras, 327 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:57,280 Speaker 1: the Veto's become Vinni's. You get the picture. Santo at 328 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,399 Speaker 1: some point lived with each of his children, and for 329 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 1: as Sicilian as Santo was, he didn't like to talk 330 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:04,879 Speaker 1: about Italy. 331 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,920 Speaker 4: I remember going there and my old great aunts would 332 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 4: get my face and squeeze it and hurt the hell 333 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 4: out of me and talking Italian. 334 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:19,119 Speaker 1: Cousin Sharon, she's my second cousin, I think I'm bad 335 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: with the seconds and the thirds. Her mom, Rose was 336 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 1: one of Santo's children. 337 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 4: Santa was very quiet about his past growing up. I 338 00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 4: remember he wouldn't He didn't even want to acknowledge that 339 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,040 Speaker 4: he was Italian for a while there, really, but yeah, yeah, 340 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:39,000 Speaker 4: it was very strange. Somebody would come to the door 341 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:43,080 Speaker 4: and see that he was clearly Italian with his you know, 342 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 4: deep accent, and he'd say, you're in America. You speak English, 343 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:52,120 Speaker 4: no Italian. I mean, she didn't want It was strange. 344 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:56,560 Speaker 4: He was very close mouth about much of his younger life, 345 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:01,200 Speaker 4: very close mouth. So it's worth to investigate and looking into. 346 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 1: Santo definitely didn't talk about what happened to his mother. Lorenza. 347 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:09,600 Speaker 7: Your dad knew the most. 348 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:14,959 Speaker 1: I think, didn't I know, But John, my dad and 349 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:20,640 Speaker 1: his siblings and cousins are the complete opposite. They're obsessed 350 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 1: with their Sicilian roots. Santo was first generation. He wanted 351 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: to hide being Sicilian so he could fit in in 352 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:32,960 Speaker 1: this country, which for some immigrants was a pretty common reaction. 353 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,600 Speaker 1: My dad, on the other hand, he used to say 354 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:43,680 Speaker 1: things like capiche instead of understand, or mazzaro instead of mozzarella, pitch. 355 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 2: You this Sicily nineteen twelve, so. 356 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 1: That everyone would know he was Italian. 357 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 7: Everything from Sicily means something. 358 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: My dad loved to pretend to be this kind of 359 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: tony soprano tough guy, especially with my high school boyfriends. 360 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 1: Sorry Kurts, not with this Sicilian thing that's been going 361 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 1: on for two thousand years. In the early two thousands, 362 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 1: my dad started to get really sick with a rare 363 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:15,159 Speaker 1: form of muscular dystrophy. But instead of saying housebound or 364 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:20,680 Speaker 1: just feeling sorry for himself in bed, Lorenzo's story became 365 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:24,480 Speaker 1: this kind of unfinished business and it seemed to light 366 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:28,639 Speaker 1: a fire in him. He started researching genealogy and taking 367 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: trips to Sicily. By that time he had to use 368 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:35,320 Speaker 1: a cane and a walker to get around, and his 369 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:40,440 Speaker 1: obsession had gone into overdrive. It's like falling in love 370 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:44,120 Speaker 1: with Sicily and with learning new things about his family 371 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 1: gave him this way to escape his broken body. He 372 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:51,560 Speaker 1: did some crazy stuff too. He started he got this 373 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: hair brained idea to start importing Sicilian organic olive oil, 374 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:58,280 Speaker 1: and he bought a shit ton of it. I think 375 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 1: he blew probably about one hundred grand on locals. Silly 376 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:05,199 Speaker 1: and olive oil, and then there was something wrong with 377 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,199 Speaker 1: the caps and the labels and they leaked, and it 378 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 1: just sat in our garage for years and years, and 379 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:16,160 Speaker 1: he just pissed away all of his remaining money on 380 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:19,440 Speaker 1: this business that would never exist. But that was yet 381 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: another way to keep him going back to Sicily. As 382 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: he got sicker and less mobile, my dad could still 383 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:31,440 Speaker 1: sit at a computer making calls and researching his leads 384 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 1: on Lorenzo's murder. At the time, I found all of 385 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:39,600 Speaker 1: it a little bit silly. I was so disinterested in this. 386 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 1: And if you think about two thousand, I was in college. 387 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: I was twenty years old, graduate, I moved to New York. 388 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:48,679 Speaker 1: I'm not living with my parents. I could care less 389 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:51,400 Speaker 1: about my dad's obsession with Cicily. I'm like, that seems 390 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:54,040 Speaker 1: like a nice hobby for you, dad, I'm happy for you. 391 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:59,120 Speaker 1: But we never talked about it, And now I really 392 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,320 Speaker 1: wish that we had. Like now, I really wish that 393 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:03,480 Speaker 1: I'd paid more attention and I'd listen to the things 394 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:05,959 Speaker 1: that he was finding out, because so much of it 395 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,879 Speaker 1: is also just now gone. I can't find anything in 396 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 1: his email, I can't Facebook won't let me into his 397 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:16,040 Speaker 1: Facebook account, so a lot of what he learned died 398 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:21,239 Speaker 1: with him. A lot of parts of him are gone, 399 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,480 Speaker 1: and he would hate that. He wanted to know the 400 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: answer to this mystery, and I wish that I'd been 401 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:31,680 Speaker 1: there to help him, but I was on my own journey, 402 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 1: searching for a life partner, falling in love, getting married, 403 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:41,359 Speaker 1: getting pregnant, and then he was gone. I never properly 404 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,400 Speaker 1: grieved for him at the time, and it's just been 405 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:51,280 Speaker 1: hitting me now his legacy and what he left unfinished, 406 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:56,360 Speaker 1: And now I feel like I owe him something by 407 00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 1: finishing what he started. 408 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 2: And why do you think you care about it? Is 409 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 2: it really like to do this thing for your dad? 410 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:17,600 Speaker 2: Do you feel that you have the same motivation he 411 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:19,280 Speaker 2: did or. 412 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,000 Speaker 1: I think my motivation is different than Dad's. There's a 413 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,840 Speaker 1: part of me that wants to do this because he 414 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,439 Speaker 1: didn't get to finish it, And there's another part of 415 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:30,960 Speaker 1: me that wants to do it because I feel like 416 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:35,159 Speaker 1: this woman's real story deserves to be told, like for 417 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 1: people to really know the truth about what happened to her, 418 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:42,919 Speaker 1: instead of just becoming a character in everybody else's life. 419 00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:47,280 Speaker 1: Lorenzo Marsala was born in this village called Caltabalota, had 420 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: a bunch of kids, and died there at age fifty four. 421 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,400 Speaker 1: That's pretty much all we know of her life. When 422 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:58,920 Speaker 1: she died, it was nineteen sixteen. She still had two 423 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,159 Speaker 1: young daughters at home. The First World War had just 424 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 1: broken out. Now that I'm a wife and a mother 425 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:10,880 Speaker 1: of three children, thank god it's not seven, her story 426 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:17,040 Speaker 1: just hits different. I'm getting closer to Lorenzo's age every year, 427 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:22,080 Speaker 1: and I can't stop thinking about our family story. From 428 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:26,200 Speaker 1: her perspective, how did she feel about being left behind 429 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,119 Speaker 1: by her husband for more than a decade. Did she 430 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:33,240 Speaker 1: miss him or was it liberating to finally not just 431 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:37,640 Speaker 1: be someone's wife, to finally not be getting pregnant almost 432 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: every single year. Did she feel safe in her own village? 433 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:45,640 Speaker 1: Was it okay because she had a lot of her 434 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:49,400 Speaker 1: family members around her, or maybe she was in constant 435 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,000 Speaker 1: danger in this village surrounded by mafia bandits. 436 00:26:53,280 --> 00:27:01,040 Speaker 7: I was asking somebody about her, and they just looked 437 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:03,639 Speaker 7: at me and they kept saying morte, morte no, and 438 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:04,760 Speaker 7: they're like they shut it down. 439 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:05,520 Speaker 8: They wouldn't talk. 440 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:09,520 Speaker 6: Really, you just said the name. You're like Lorenzo Marsala piazza, 441 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 6: and they. 442 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:11,560 Speaker 9: Were like. 443 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:15,000 Speaker 3: Interesting. 444 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:19,240 Speaker 1: Over the years, many of the piazzas have gone back 445 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:23,439 Speaker 1: to Sicily looking for answers about our families past, and 446 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,040 Speaker 1: a lot of them have returned with stories of dead 447 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:30,640 Speaker 1: ends and also unsettling experiences that happened when they tried 448 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:32,119 Speaker 1: to find out more about Lorenza. 449 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:34,119 Speaker 3: They knew about the murders. 450 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:38,120 Speaker 1: They knew about it, right, Yeah, they did. My uncle 451 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 1: Jimmy claims that when he was in call, a bunch 452 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,080 Speaker 1: of police officers warned him off this case. 453 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:51,200 Speaker 3: He should you'd never drop it, not any trevening matter whatsoever, 454 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:54,480 Speaker 3: but just just as a matter of the you don't 455 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:57,400 Speaker 3: want to start it off, you know, they don't want 456 00:27:57,440 --> 00:27:59,119 Speaker 3: the vendetta to continue. 457 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:04,040 Speaker 1: And if the warnings from the cops weren't enough, they 458 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:05,399 Speaker 1: also got a sign from above. 459 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:06,639 Speaker 8: When we were there. 460 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:08,439 Speaker 1: We were at the church. 461 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 8: Lightning struck the church. Okay, we were actually yeah, we 462 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:16,040 Speaker 8: were in the church where they got married, and lightning 463 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 8: struck the seople. And while you were in it, while 464 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:25,119 Speaker 8: we were yeah, while we were yeah, while we were 465 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 8: in the church. We were in with the priest going 466 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,879 Speaker 8: through the records right in the in the rectory and 467 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 8: lightning struck the top of the church. We had to 468 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 8: get out. Wow, my sister and Lassa, that is a 469 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:39,800 Speaker 8: sign get us out of here. 470 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,680 Speaker 1: I'm starting to think that maybe my family doesn't want 471 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:54,800 Speaker 1: to know what really happened. They're pretty attached to the 472 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,560 Speaker 1: stories that they've been telling themselves for all these years. 473 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,320 Speaker 2: Well that's interesting because I wonder how people will feel, 474 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:03,160 Speaker 2: like if we actually get to like a truth, will 475 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:06,480 Speaker 2: it be disappointing or satisfying or you. 476 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 1: Know, I don't know if my family wants to know 477 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:14,120 Speaker 1: the actual truth. That's the interesting thing. Like, for as 478 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 1: much as like people have come back here and tried 479 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:21,720 Speaker 1: to like dig up more information, I think if the 480 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:26,760 Speaker 1: truth ended up being less interesting than their story, I 481 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:30,239 Speaker 1: don't think they're going to change their story. I think 482 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 1: they're going to continue to tell the story the way 483 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 1: they want to tell the story. But I need to know. 484 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:37,600 Speaker 1: I have to solve this mystery. I don't know if 485 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 1: it's for me or for my dad or for Lorenza, 486 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 1: but I have to solve it. So here I go. 487 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:47,560 Speaker 1: I'm looking for long lost relatives. I'm digging through archives 488 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,960 Speaker 1: covered in dust and trying to trace back a family 489 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:57,920 Speaker 1: history that's been twisted by secrets, omissions, and vengeance. I 490 00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:00,440 Speaker 1: can't do all of this from my desk in filling Adelphia. 491 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:05,040 Speaker 1: I've got to go back back to, as my dad 492 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:08,880 Speaker 1: liked to call it, the Motherland. I've got to go 493 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: to Sicily, to the village of Caltabalota, where all of 494 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 1: this happened in the first place, back to where Lorenzo 495 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:20,960 Speaker 1: was born, and maybe just maybe back to the very 496 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:25,920 Speaker 1: spot where she was murdered. There's a landside, there's a landslide. 497 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:26,960 Speaker 1: This is a place. 498 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 3: We have the absolutely certainty one hundred and ten. 499 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:35,840 Speaker 1: Honestly, a picture and she died. We don't have a 500 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:39,040 Speaker 1: picture of that. Actually a video you can see a video. 501 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,640 Speaker 1: Videos didn't exist. I'm bringing all of you on my 502 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:45,560 Speaker 1: summer vacation with my husband, three kids under the age 503 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,120 Speaker 1: of seven. Everyone is coming to Sicily with me to 504 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:50,680 Speaker 1: solve this one hundred year old murder. Now, I think 505 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:54,800 Speaker 1: it's pretty clear that something bad did happen to her. 506 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:58,640 Speaker 5: Your father had his story that she was like the 507 00:30:58,680 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 5: witch doctor. 508 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:04,200 Speaker 1: Could Lorenzo have been killed by the mafia for being 509 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 1: a witch? 510 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:07,240 Speaker 9: So I'm wondering, how is the story similar or different 511 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:09,160 Speaker 9: than what you got so I heard two stories. 512 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:11,680 Speaker 6: One story is over Land. 513 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:17,000 Speaker 9: And the other story is that she was a witch. Well, 514 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 9: that's even more interesting. 515 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:24,320 Speaker 1: That's all coming up on the Sicilian Inheritance. 516 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 8: I'd love to know what the hell happened. Wouldn't it 517 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 8: be great to solve this mystery. 518 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:31,720 Speaker 1: I feel good my Sicilian witchy powers. I feel like 519 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:40,960 Speaker 1: we're on the right path. The Sicilian Inheritance is a 520 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:45,600 Speaker 1: Kaleidoscope production in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The series is 521 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,640 Speaker 1: produced by Jen Kinney, Kate Osborne, Dara Potts, and me 522 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:53,480 Speaker 1: Joe Piazza, with key help from Laura Lee Watson of 523 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,280 Speaker 1: Digging Up Your Roots in the Boot and Chiro Grillow 524 00:31:56,360 --> 00:32:00,400 Speaker 1: of Sicily Roots. Many thanks to Julia Pair of Chini 525 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:04,840 Speaker 1: and Theancestry dot com research department. You can get your 526 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,600 Speaker 1: copy of The Sicilian Inheritance the novel right now at 527 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:12,000 Speaker 1: Truly anywhere that you get your books, anywhere you get 528 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: your books. It's got the same name as the podcast, 529 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:18,560 Speaker 1: but with more food, wine, and sex. Also, do not 530 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 1: forget to get a taste of Sicily in the form 531 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:25,520 Speaker 1: of delicious Sicilian olive oil at Cardena's tap Room. Make 532 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 1: sure to check out our show notes for a link 533 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 1: to buy it, or if you find yourself in Philly, 534 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:36,040 Speaker 1: just stop by. Our executive producers are Kate Osborne, mangsh Hetikador, 535 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:41,520 Speaker 1: Costas Linos, and Oz Woolloshan. From iHeart, executive producers are 536 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:46,280 Speaker 1: Katrina Norvelle and Nikki Etour. We also want to thank 537 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:51,240 Speaker 1: Will Pearson, connel Byrne, Bob Pittman, and John Mary Napolis