Patti and Jerry in Italy, 1953

@ anarchistemma: To be honest, I thought there would be more feedback. It seems you're the only one interested.

OK, here goes. I'll do this in several installments.
Part 1
As I previously stated, I stumbled on the existence of the book Patti Palmer & Jerry Lewis: Due Stelle a Paganica (2004) while researching Patti Lewis – more on that at a later time. The author, Mr. Raffaele Alloggia, himself a native of the town of Paganica and something of a local historian and journalist, was trying to organize a photo archive of the town. One rainy day, he by chance met a woman at the post office and while driving her home, asked if her family might have old photos of the town. The woman said yes, there were some in a cupboard, and had them sent to Mr. Alloggia. They were of Jerry and Patti's visit in 1953. Seeing the photos, he did not immediately recognize Jerry as a famous actor. But his son, who also saw the photos, did. Only then did Mr. Alloggia recognize the famous Jerry Lewis and contacted the woman – named Antinisca, who turned out to be a cousin of Patti's – to get more information. So Antinisca told him the story about how the famous Jerry Lewis and his wife landed in the small Italian town of Paganica in the summer of 1953.

Patti's mother was born Maria Rotellini. According to town records, pictured in the book, she was born on February 28, 1901; her parents were Angelo Rotellini and Filomena DeCesaris. Her siblings were Franco (later to play an important role), Uliana, Agostino, Aronne, Antonietta and Finizia. Paganica was a town where poverty was rampant. In fact, poverty was a great problem all over Italy. Between the end of the 19th century and World War I, millions of Italians left their homeland in search of work and a better life, any life. Maria's brother Franco at some point left Paganica for America and found his way to the coal mines of Wyoming, where he lived the tough life of a miner.

To make ends meet, Maria's parents had sent her to work for a wealthy family in the town. She had to work hard and, since she had a rebellious character, was evidently frequently beaten. She wrote to her brother in Wyoming that she dreamed of joining him in America. But her brother wrote back that it wasn't so easy. The only way she would be admitted into the US, and especially since she was a minor, would be to marry someone already in the US by proxy. Mr. Alloggia told me that such marriages back then were common; the marriage by proxy was performed by the civil authorities, not by the church, and the couple, once united, would have a „real“ wedding with both parties present. It was indeed for many people the only way out of their poverty. Franco Rotellini had a miner buddy in Wyoming, a fellow Italian named Antonio (American records name him Angelo) Calonico who was willing to marry Franco's sister. They exchanged photos, and so Maria, armed with only a photo of her betrothed, was married by proxy by the civil authority in Paganica. She emigrated to the US, leaving Naples on the ship S.S. Duca D'Aosta on June 24, 1920, and arrived in New York in the first week of July 1920. Using Ancestry.com, I have found the ship's list with her name: Maria Rotellini, age 19, single (? What about the proxy marriage?), hometown of Paganica, father Angelo Rotellini, destination Cambria, Wyoming. (It seems Patti's family believes that Maria entered the US in 1919, but the ship's list tells a different story.) Maria Rotellini and Angelo Calonico did indeed have a „real“ wedding, on January or June (the record is illegible) 19, 1921 in Wyoming. (Source for this is also Ancestry.com.) Note: this last information about the actual year of Maria's emigration, ship's name, ship's list, wedding in Wyoming, etc. is my research; it is not mentioned in Mr. Alloggia's book.

This marriage produced two children: Pasqualina (Patti), born in November 1920 or 1921, depending on whom you believe, and Giuseppe (Joseph), born in 1923.

To be continued

any photos?

Part 3

As Loreta's daughter Antinisca later told the author, recalling Aronne's death was a very emotional experience for Loreta. Although many years had passed, it was still a painful and tearful memory.

In April 1931, Aronne had been politically persecuted, along with other townspeople. (Remember that Mussolini and his Fascists were in power in Italy long before Hitler and his Nazi Fascists were in Germany.) Aronne and the others had been accused of holding meetings and distributing „subversive“ propaganda in the form of leaflets. At first Aronne was held in the local prison, but later released on probation under the condition that he not leave his house between 8 pm and 6 am. During his probation the local police chief wrote reports on him every six months, saying that he was showing good behavior, working to support his family, avoiding political confrontations, but his political views had not changed. So it can be assumed that Aronne was anti-Mussolini.

One evening he had not returned home by 8 pm from working in a vineyard. Worried, his wife Loreta went out to search for him. She got Aronne's sister Uliana to help her. They went to the local winery to see if Aronne had possibly stopped there for a glass of wine. That was a popular thing for the men of the town to do. The women split up, hoping one would find him quickly. There was no public lighting, so the two women walked through the darkness. Hearing moaning, Uliana found her brother leaning against a wall with a hoe in his back. He had first been beaten by several people before someone had stabbed him with his own tool. He was immediately taken to a hospital, where he spent a long recovery, but he survived.

At the time, Aronne and Loreta had four children: Antinisca, Agostino and the baby twins Palmiero and Angelo. As was the custom, one twin – Angelo – was nursed by a neighbor (he later married this woman's daughter), so that only Palmiero was nursed by his mother. But the stress of constantly running to the hospital to look after Aronne was too much for her – she neglected her own health while still breastfeeding Palmiero. Unfortunately the baby became ill and died in September 1931 at the age of only seven months.

Although Aronne eventually recovered from his injuries, he was stricken with epilepsy. Never knowing when a seizure would occur, he could not be left alone. One day he had a seizure at home while sitting in front of the fireplace with a fire going. He fell into the flames. Only the youngest son Angelo was with his father. Angelo immediately ran to get help from his Aunt Uliana, who lived nearby and who for a second time was an unwilling witness to a tragedy involving her brother. She tried to pull him from the fire, but it was too late, he was engulfed by flames, nothing more could be done for Aronne. Officially he died of a heart attack on September 18, 1940, at the age of 42.

In the middle of World War II and left alone, Loreta struggled to raise her other three children. The family survived these very hard times.

To be continued

wow. thanks for all the great research and information! love it. 😘

what if you take a screen shot with your phone? that should be a small enough file to upload....? or is that what you tried already....