GHEZZO is a name found only in the Northern Italy, particularly in and around Venice.
My great-grandfather, Luigi Ghezzo was born in Venice, on August 29, 1822 and grew up to become a very fine boat builder (carpenter). Together with his two brothers, became involved with the Carbonari movement of Garibaldi for the movement of independence of Italy. After his two brothers were executed by the Harbsburgs, he escaped as a political refugee, crossing into today's Croatia, working in Fiume (today Rieka) and later into Romania. On July 16th, 1849 he married Antonia Rumich, at the Santa Maria Parochial Chruch on the island of Cherso (today's Crec, of Croatia), and soon after moved to Romania, where he kept his Italian citizenship until his death. His son, my grandfather, Giuseppe (Josif), was born in Galati (Romania) and remained an Italian citizen for the rest of his life.
From left to right: Luigi Ghezzo, Giuseppe Ghezzo, Giuseppe and Amalia, with Luigi and Maria
My father, Eduard Ghezzo kept the Italian identity, sending my brother Mihail to the Italian School in Constanta. By the time it was my term to attend that school, the Romanian comunist regime closed all minority schools for good. I learned the language by myself, and for the past 27 years I am going to Italy at least three time per year, developing inter-cultural events, with the hope that someday, I will retire part of the year there.
Sadly enough, none of the descendants of our revolutionary great-grandfather Luigi Ghezzo, returned to the motherland, until we did it in 1998, first our daugther and the following year, me and my wife.
We indeed kept the Italian identity in the family, and soon after our escape from the communist Romania in 1969, had aimed to find our roots again. Actually, our trip from Greece to the US was on the Italian ship "Cristoforo Colombo", making stops in Napoli, Messina and Palermo. Soon after earning my PhD from UCLA (1973) we started our yearly visits, and in 1982 created the foundation of permanent activities there, as the director of the ANMC Inc. (American New Music Consortium), followed by directorship of the NYU MUsic in Italy Program, and presently as director of the INMC Inc. (International New Music Consortium). I have directed more that 400 concerts, recitals, lectures, exchanges in Rome, Florence, Venice, Perugia, Assisi, Arezzo, Belveglio (Asti), Montevarchi (Arezzo), Todi, Gubbio, etc. Presently I am directing the INMC residencies in Assisi (as codirector of the Giornate Internazionali di Musica, Assisi), also with short residencies at Teatro Maddalene in Padova, and most recently at Teatro Groggia in Venice, where I intend to expand the activities.
In the mean time, while directing festivals and NYU residencies in Italy, we have sent our daugther, Christine, to Italian summer camps, and as a result she is speaking very nice Italian, and has many friends there. In November 1998, she discovered the little village suburb of S. Pietro in Volta -
Venice , on the tip of Pellestrina island, south of Lido, where more than 100 Ghezzo families live today.
San Pietro in Volta is a little place, not a tourist attraction, with hard working people in the
boat building and Venetian jewelry trade. According to the local history researchers, Ghezzos were most
likely Goths, established here during the many waves of barbaric invasions, around the time of the
collapse of the Roman empire.
Half of the town's population, as well as the funeral tombs in the cemetery are Ghezzo !!! Also, the Venice telephone book has ca. 362 entries with the same last name as ours .......
Were we excited with this discovery ? You bet we were, to the effect that in Nov. 1999 I went with my wife, Marta, there and visited SAN PIETRO IN VOLTA, meeting a good number of GHEZZOs ........... and, we intend to return and find some real-very-distant-relatives ......
Are you a Ghezzo also ? if so, get in touch with us
at: dinu.ghezzo@nyu.edu
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