Name
DOMENICO VENTRESCA
RITA SCIARRA
Residence
DOMENICO VENTRESCA
TORRE DEI NOLFI, L'AQUILA
ABRUZZO
RITA SCIARRA
CASTROPIGNANO, CAMPOBASSO
MOLISE
Date of Arrival
DOMENICO: JAN. 29, 1962
RITA: May 21, 1960
Age on Arrival
DOMENICO: 19
RITA: 15
Marital Status
DOMENICO: SINGLE
RITA: SINGLE
Port of Departure
NAPOLI
ITALIANO | DOMENICO VENTRESCA and RITA SCIARRA
By Annie Ventresca
L' AQUILA
My father was born in a small village called Torre Dei Nolfi in the province of Aquila, in the region of Abruzzo, Italy. My father immigrated to Canada in January of 1962 when he was 19 years old, with his older brother. He arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada's "Ellis Island") on January 29, 1962. The two brothers left behind my grandparents and their two younger sisters. My father arrived in
Canada in mid-January to discover what a "TRUE" Canadian winter was about. He was not impressed and wanted to return home the next day (for more reasons than just "snow"). He missed his family and life
back home in Italy. He didn't understand the language here, and Canadians were not very welcoming. Soon, he discovered the larger "family" he had in the Italian community in Welland, Ontario-Canada.
After several years, he and his brother were joined by their parents (my grandparents), their grandmother (my great-grandmother), and their sisters. The entire family had immigrated to Canada and began to re-build their lives.
CAMPOBASSO
My mother first came to Canada when she was 15 years old. My mother was born in a small village called Castropignano, in the province of Campobasso in the region of Molise, Italy (next to Abruzzo). She was
number eight (2nd youngest) in a family of 9 children. One of her brothers, and two of her sisters had already immigrated to Canada earlier in the decade. But early to mid 1960s, after one of her sisters
became ill here in Canada, my mother was 'chosen' to help with my aunt's (my mother's sister's) store in Canada. A young and excited 15 year old arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada's "Ellis
Island") on May 21, 1960. She was not aware that she would stay and become a citizen and build her life here in Canada. She believed that this was a "short term" stay and that she would return to Italy to be with her parents and other family. Eventually she did return to Italy, only to decide that her future was much brighter in Canada. Although she faced many hardships in Canada, she does not regret her decision. She returned to Canada during the mid-1960s, met my father at a wedding (here in Canada), and became a Canadian citizen. My parents were married in 1969, and eventually had three children who became what is called, "first generation Canadians."
