Bronte's Families, Genealogies

Bronte's  history, together, in the Web

The branch of the Di Bella Bronte family consists essentially of "Artisans" and, most probably, from the builders section, given the family ties that the Di Bella were establishing with the families of "master masonry" of the country (the Barbaria, Bonaventura, i Salanitri, ...) as well as with some element of so-called "Cappelli", see Nunzio Di Bella.

From what we have seen from the old records of the matrix, from pages, worn and sometimes illegible, the progeny of the Di Bella in Bronte begins with Rosario Di Bella (sequence number 1. Family tree) that, around the end of 1700, moved to Bronte with his wife Rosaria Grasso, (most likely from the area of Acireale).

He became the father of 13 children, seven boys and six girls:
Paolo (1788),  Rosaria Benedetta (1790), Giuseppe Salvatore Basile (1791), Anna Concetta Gaetana (1793 ), Paola Innoccenza (1795), Nunzio Graziano Carmelo (1796), Paolo Giacomo (1799), Nunzia Paola Innoccenza (1801), Giuseppe Pasquale (1804), Margherita(1805), Francesco Gaetano (1806) and the last, the 13th, Giuseppe Vincenzo Innoccenzo (1808).

These pages will discuss particularly the descendants of two of their seven sons, of that of their first son, Paolo (born in 1788, Sequence number 1.1) and that of the third son, Giuseppe Salvatore Basile (born in 1791, Seq. # 1.3).

The descendants of Paolo

As shown by the records double, Paolo in 1855 (1) married Maria Reina and, following the example of his parents, from 1809 to 1845, became the father of twelve children (six males and six females):
Nunzia Rosaria (1806), Francesco Giacomo Nunzio (1811), Rosalia Signorina (1814), Placido (1815), Santa Nunzia (1817), Rosario Giuseppe Illuminato (1821), Giuseppa Nunziata (1824), Francesca (1824), Salvatore (1831), Rosario (1839), Luigi (1843) and Rosaria (1845).

-- The first daughter, Nunzia Rosaria (Seq. # 1.1.1) was born in 1809 and, in the first marriage, she married Matthew Carrubbo with whom had no children.
After the death of her first husband,  she marries Vito Scoglio and has six children.

-- Placido (the fourth son, Seq. # 1.1.4) married in 1838 Rosalia Camano, had one daughter Nunzia (1.4.1) that in 1858 married Francesco Mirenda and had eight children.

-- The fifth daughter, Santa Nunzia (Seq. # 1.1.5), married Antonino Mannino in first marriage and two children are born (Concetta and lIlluminata); similarly Nunzia Rosaria's sister, her husband died, his second wife, married Nunzio D ' Errico but the couple has no children.

-- The sixth son of Paul Di Bella, Rosario Giuseppe Illuminato (Seq. # 1.1.6), in 1842 married the sixteen years old Nunzia Calanna. The couple had two children: Anna and Giuseppe who in 1869 married Mary Schilirò that had six children: Angela, Giuseppe (married to Maria Cirritto), Luigi, Rosario, Biagio (married to Mary Catherine Gaios) and Vincenzo.

-- The seventh daughter of Paul, Giuseppa Nunzia (Seq. # 1.1.7) marries Salvatore Gorgone and has four children (Rosario, Carmela, Nunzia and Domenico).

-- His sister, Francesca (Seq. # 1.1.8) marries Paul Bonaventura and generates eight children (Maria, Francesco, Salvatore, Venerando, Giuseppe, Grazia, and Nunzia and Nunzio).

The descendants of Giuseppe Salvatore Basilio and Innocenza Pace.

Of the third son of the head parent Rosario Di Bella, Giuseppe Salvatore Basilio (Seq. # 1.3), who originated the more consistent and developed branch of the Bronte's Di Bella, we have enough news to go from the end of 1700 to the present eighth generation.

Born in 1791, when he was 27 years old, Giuseppe Salvatore Basilio in 1818 marries the seventeen years old Innocenza Pace.

From 1820, two years after the marriage, to 1845, nine children are born: Antonino (1820, who married Concetta Amato, (Seq, # 1.3.1), Rosaria (1823), Maria (1827), Giuseppe Pietro (1830), Carmela (1833, who at seventeen years of age marries Nunzio Vincenzo Camuto, (Seq, # 1.3.5), Nunzio (1836, Seq, #.3.6), Rosaria (1839), Luigi (1843) e Rosaria (1845).

The sixth son of Giuseppe Salvatore Basilio e Innocenza Pace, Nunzio Di Bella (Seq, # 1.3.6, see photo 1) marries Maria Rosa Salanitri and the couple generates fifteen children and a host of grandchildren.

Leaving aside the latter, we list below the fifteen births (four males and eleven females) from the marriage of Maria Rosa and Nunzio:

Salvatore (1859, marries Nunziata Patti), Giuseppa (1860, died a year later), Innocence (1861), the twins Maria (1863, who died two years later) and Giuseppa (1863, who married Antonino Mavica), Rosa (1864, married in 1885, Salvatore Russo, Labbruni (Seq, # 1.3.6.6), Maria (1866), Giuseppe ( 1868), Giuseppa (1869, who died in 1880), Salvatore (1871, married Clorinda, see photo 2), Maria Giuseppa (1873), Angela (1874, married in 1892 Nunziato Meli, (Seq, #1.3.6.12), Maria Cristina (1876, became a cloistered nun with the name of Sister Maria Annunziata), Giuseppa (1881, married to Antonino Mavica) and the last (2), in 1882, Alessandro (Seq, # 1.3.6.15) who marries Carmela Barbaria.

It is worthwhile to recall Angela (the twelfth child, (Seq.# 1.3.6.12), who marries Nunziato Meli giving him six children and, especially, the fifteenth, Don Alessandro Di Bella (Seq.#1.3.6.15, see photo 3), known in Bronte for being the proprietor of Bronte's municipal slaughterhouse until its closure, that relates the Di Bella family with the Barbaria.

In fact, he married in 1908, Carmela Barbaria (Seq.# 1.1.7.2.5), of the genealogy of Barba­ria's family), and to the descendants of the Rosario and Rosaria are added another six children, (see photo 3), four males and two females: Nunzio (1909), Giuseppe(1911), Maria Rosa (1913), Vincenzo (1919), Salvatore (1920 ) and Clorinda, (called Linda, 1923).

-- The first of these six children, Nunzio (Seq.# 1.3.6.15.1) married in 1947 Giuseppa Ignazia Musuraca. From their marriage (see photo 5) are born Alessandro (1.3.6.15.1.1) and Nicolò. Alessandro's grandsons, Leonardo, son of Francesco and Charlotte, daughter of Nunzio, are the latest arrivals in the family and represent, with the sequence number 1.3.6.15.1.1b.4.3 and 3.1, the eighth generation from the head parent Rosario.

-- The second, Giuseppe (Seq.# 1.3.6.15.2) marries Concetta Battiato and Alexander and Vincenzina are born (see photo 4).

-- The third is Maria Rosa (Seq.# 1.3.6.15.3) who married in 1937 Angelo Romeo. (From them Emerenziana, Alessandro and Michele are born).

-- The fourth, Vincenzo (Seq.#. 1.3.6.15.4) in 1950 married Maria Rosa Mavica.

-- The fifth child, our beloved Salvatore, (Seq.#. 1.3.6.15.5), (one of the four founding members of the Bronte Insieme Association, having traveled the world, ends up in Australia where he soon became an established and well known builder, giving rise to the generation of the Australian Di Bella.

In Australia, Sam, so it is called by his friends, meets Maria Catena Lo Blanco and marries her in 1953.
The couple produces two daughters (photo 6): Sandra Carmel Catherine (Seq.#. 1.3.6.15.5.1), who marries Stephan Fiztsimons and generates Sarah, Nicole and Thomas) and Marilyn Rose, (Seq.#. 1.3.6.15.5.2), who married Roger Sewell and gave him a son named Luke Matheu.

Sam could not resist the nostalgia for his native country and about twenty years ago returned to Bronte, where he lives surrounded by friends from the Culture Club (of which he was president), websites and video links with Australia.

Nunzio Longhitano

August 2009

Notes:

(1) On the marriage' s Register of the main church (late 1700) it is mentioned that Paul had married at twenty years of age and his wife Maria at sixteen; from this I calculated the year of birth. In other papers I discovered that his wife was born in 1806 and therefore something does not add up, missing the exact date of birth of Paul, who probably may have been born in Acireale, as claimed by "the aunt the nun," since before the marriage there are no other births until 1795. (N. Longhitano)

(2)My father was not the last. I know of my uncle Antonino, younger than my father, who lived in Sortino. (Sam Di Bella)

A comment by Salvatore (Sam) Di Bella

I, descendant of Rosario

by Sam Bella

I was asked to say something about the excellent work carried out by the distinguished Professor Nunzio Longhitano compiling the family tree of the Di Bella.

Well! To tell the truth, I was somehow disappointed by the result. Since my childhood I was convinced to be descended from ancestors arrived to Bronte from Acireale, according to a story that my aunt the nun, Sister Maria Annunziata (Maria Cristina Di Bella, (see photo 2) had always told us.
And I must add that my father, probably influenced by his sister, told us often that we all had heads of iacitani (inhabitants of Acireale considered rather dumb).

Some of you may recall that Peppino Di Bella, said "Maccattìu", with whom, during my university years, I was very friendly. He was a Bronte's shoemaker with an extraordinary sense of humor and a permanent and genuine cheerfulnes and so many of us students frequented him to hear his funny jokes.

One day, while I was in the balcony with my aunt the nun, in front of my house passes Peppino with his friends, and greets me, putting his hand to the forehead as do the military, and saying :"- Mister Cousin!"

My aunt went back in the house muttering, "But what cousin?!!, They are "Cichitabèlla"!

And off to tell me more of the four brothers who left Acireale to settle, three in Bronte and one in Regalbuto, and one of these would be my grandfather or great-grandfather.