Brazil – Monte Siao pays homage to six Italian immigrant families

The Brazilian city of Monte Sião officially opened its celebration of Italian immigration with a special tribute to the six families of Andretta Corsi, Favaro, Giarolla, Rosa, and Tortelli on Monday. A motion of congratulations for the Italian Consul in Minas Gerais, Aurora Russi, was also made during the ceremony, which was organised with the support of the Italian-Brazilian Club in Monte Sião. The city commemorated the Italian families that settled there, such as the Andretta, Corsi, Favaro, and Tortelli families, who reached Monte Sião a few months after arriving in the Port of Santos aboard the Bourgone on April 27, 1887. Other families that came later, such as Rosa and Giarolla, were remembered for helping create the Italian Immigrant Festival, which is being held for the 25th time. Research by writer Lourenço Guireli Junior for his 1998 book “Monte Sion, Amore Mio”, found that more than 400 Italian families moved to the city between 1887 and 1902, a period in which more than 900,000 Italians emigrated to the South American nation in search of a better future. Many of the families were from northern Italy. The Andretta family has its roots in the small town of Morgano, in the province of Treviso, in the Veneto region. The Favaros also came from Veneto (Venice), as did the Giarollas (Verona), while the Corsis and Tortellis originated in Lucca, in Tuscany. The Rosas came from the same region. Monte Sião’s Municipal Chamber will host a solemn session as well as two sessions of an exhibition on Italian cinema organised with the Italian-Brazilian Club. Two films will be screened on 31 August and 1 September. The Italian Immigrant Festival begins on 7 September in the Prefeito Mario Zucato Square, with musical shows by Violeiros de Sion at midday, the 150 Tons group at 3 p.m., and Musical Veredas at 9 p.m. The Crisdance School of Dance will perform at 8 p.m. on Thursday, 8 September and Fred Rovella will sing on Friday, 9 September. Singer Franchesco will perform at midday on Saturday, 10 September, followed by the Zucca group at 3 p.m. and Tenores do Brazil at 9 p.m. The festival ends on Sunday, 11 September with performances by the Seresteiros di Monte Sião at 11 a.m., Choro & Cia at 12 p.m., and Sambacidade at 3 p.m.