The Valledolmo Connection

Since the inception of this web site, a number of visitors searching for information on their family roots have stumbled upon Vallone's World.  It has been a rewarding experience to correspond with each of our visitors who have expressed an interest in researching the history of the Vallone family.  Vallones across the country and the world are joining together through the power of the Internet to combine search efforts in an attempt to unravel the story behind the evolution of the Vallone family.  Family members and visitors to the site have been kind enough to share some of their stories and photographs of their journeys to the "Old Country".  Here you will find images of the church where all the Vallones were baptized and married through the generations, and the cemetery where our Vallone ancestors are buried.  Vallone's World thanks all Vallones across the globe who are helping write the history of Vallone's World!

In 2009, I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Sicily and visit our ancestral village.  Relatives welcomed me into their home and helped me navigate the region.  Some of my photographs appear below.  You will also find photographs submitted by other Vallone family who have visited the Old Country.

 

Many thanks for our media contributions go out to:

Joyce Vallone-Vcelik
I met Joyce online through this site.  She lived in California.  She and I corresponded for a couple of years, and she shared photos she took on a 1999 trip to Valledolmo with her sister, Charlene.  She was also responsible for acquiring the video, "Valledolmo: Il Pane", which you will be able to view from this site.  Sadly, Joyce passed away on 12/8/2002.

Jim & Phyllis Vallone
Jim and Phillis live only a few miles from me and I had never met them before 2007!  We met through email with the help of their son, Jim.  They shared a travelogue of their 2007 trip to Sicily, including a photo of them taken in the town of Vallone and many from the town of our ancestors, Valledolmo!  Together, we are untangling our family roots to find our common ancestor!

Welcome to Valledolmo, Sicily!

On your way into the village expect to share the roads with a ALL of the local "residents"!

This is the church in Valledolmo.
It is where all of the Vallones were baptized and married!

This is me on the steps of the church.

The road behind the church winds uphill into narrow residential streets ("strade").

Don't drive your car through most of the streets....it will not fit!  The roads were build hundreds of years ago for mules and horses to pull carts through.  The roads, having been built long before the industrial age, are not the same width in any two spots.  They grow unexpectedly narrow in spots.  I discovered this when my car got stuck!  My left sideview mirrow was jammed against someone's kitchen wall and my right mirror was scraping against their neighbor's living room wall.  With much struggle, I was able to fold the sideview mirrors in and drive in reverse all the way back to where the road started.  I wonder if anyone picked up on the fact that I was not a local?

Here in Valledolmo the homes are simple and reflect an ancient tradition.  The way of life here has changed very little in many centuries.

The village square is the central business district.

Local elections are tabulated on this wall at the center of the village.  

Near the center of the village there is a fountain and bocce court.

 Here are some of the local businesses that bear our name!  Coffee at the Torrefazione Vallone is "delizioso"!

The cemetery where our Vallone ancestors are buried.

A parting view from the village..........

Here is another town that bears our name!