Who were the Sacco's?
Download the Sacco Family Tree
A look at this family begins with Antonio Sacco, born in 1850 in Penne, Province of Pescara, in an area called “Conaprato”. We do not have the date for his marriage to Maria Antoinetta Giancaterina and no information on their early years. His granddaughter, Teresa, age 94 in 2003, tells us that he was a small shopkeeper in Penne.
In the late 1800’s, he co-signed a loan agreement that failed to be repaid. She attributes this action as the reason for Antonio’s packing up his family and moving some distance away to Lanciano in the Province of Chieti. Here good farmland was available and it is believed he spent his last years as a “contadino”.
His arrival in Lanciano probably occurred around 1898. His children, who numbered seven, may have all been born before this move. They were: Maria, Supino, Rosaria, Raffaele, Louisa, Grazie and Teresina. In 1899 or 1900, his daughter, Rosaria, was seen by Antonio DellaPietra, and a marriage was arranged for September 13, 1900.
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By the time World War II broke out, Antonio was living with his daughter Rosaria and her family. German soldiers, however, moved into the Abruzzo region and occupied the home of Rosaria and Antonio. The family took refuge in an aqueduct nearby.
The Allied forces were soon to follow as part of a liberating force. We know that Antonio Sacco tried to escape from some bombing in 1944. He was about 95 years of age at the time. It is believed that while running, he fell and was taken to the American-English hospital in Vasto. Although Rosaria attempted to find him, the whereabouts of his death and burial are unknown to the family. |
While some Sacco relatives remain near Lanciano, their history has not been investigated yet. So in telling the story of the Sacco’s, we will concentrate on the story of two sisters: Rosaria, whose sons emigrated to America, and Grazie, who after marrying Giuseppe Ciampini, moved to Toronto, Canada. The children and grandchildren of these Sacco sisters remain in touch and their family stories are contained here.