The Story of Him... So Far

   Antonio's** ancestors hail fr om Italy and below is the family crest. The surname Venturelli has many different variations including  Venturi, Venturella, Venturelli, Venturin, Venturino, Venturini, Ventura, Venturoli, Tura and Turella. Venturelli may have been a variation of the surname Ventura which is the shortened version of Bonaventura which means good fortune or good luck.  ** Antonio's name has been changed to protect his privacy. 

  Here you see where the majority of people with the last name Venturelli resided. This is from 1881. By 2014, people have migrated worldwide. On a much smaller scale, Antonio's family had a move that mimicked the diffusion of the Venturelli name. 

 Antonio was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the third oldest child in a family of four. His parents were an unlikely match with his mother being from a small Jewish family and his father being from a large Italian Catholic family. Antonio did not know his grandparents well as his maternal grandmother passed away before he was born as well as his paternal grandfather.  Antonio remarked that he remembered going back to Boston as a small child to visit his maternal grandfather who was in a nursing home at the time.  This is Antonio's maternal grandfather, John gazing at a picture of his wife while on a battleship during World War II.  Antonio's maternal grandmother passed away before he was able to know her and for many years, she was not spoken about at home because her death had such a strong impact on Antonio's mother. Both Antonio's maternal grandparents had been older in life when they started a family.  Antonio's maternal grandparents - last photo of th...

 When Antonio was 4.5 years old, his family relocated from the 'burbs of Boston to Northern Maine. According to his father, there were many factors that lead to this decision with the larger concerns being crime and costs. By the time Antonio was 4-5 years old, the family had two older children aged 12 and 10. Antonion's parents worried about the life they would be able to provide their growing family if they remained in the suburbs of Boston.  In Maine, the family would have more. More room to grow, more room to learn without overcrowded classrooms, more freedom to have hobbies and passions and their parents would be able to give their children more as costs were lower. Antonio's father was a welder and his mother worked in a manufacturing facility, so the family did not struggle for the necessities.  Antonio remarked, "I knew that we weren't rich growing up but I also knew that at no time, did we not have a meal to eat. We were able to play sports and had bikes a...

  With all his parents hopes and dreams about the move from city life to rural living, Antonio recalls thinking later on, perhaps his parents had been a bit naive. Neither had ever lived in a small town, neither had lived away from all immediate family and neither had to make it in a brand-new environment. Both Antonio's parents had been born and grew up in the suburbs of Boston and now they were going to reside in a town that had a total population of approx.4500. Antonio's parents had chosen well when they decided to move. They had used some savings to place a deposit on a home and property in town and had chosen a town that had a variety of manufacturing industries. Neither would know that over the next 20 years, those places of business would slowly close up shop, leaving many people unemployed with no real options. Antonio's hometown has lost 25% of its inhabitants from 1990 to 2020.  Antonio told me that he learned his work ethic from his parents. His father was a wel...

  I found some really interesting poems and works about relocating and family and the art of moving. I would like to share some with you now. My Foundation © Annette R. Hershey Published by Family Friend Poems on 01/29/2018 This structure is very special. It means the world to me. It began on a strong foundation, A very secure place to be. When I have been threatened, It has sheltered me from the storm. Individual bricks placed by loving hands Make up this solid form. The walls echo with sounds of laughter, The decor shows signs of wear. Warmth emits from every room, Reminiscence events for us to share. My parents are my foundation. They mean the world to me. The structure is our family, A very secure place to be. My Foundation   Alla Sera   ( To Evening  ) by Ugo Foscolo (Translated by Nick Benson) Forse perché della fatal quiete tu sei l’immago, a me si cara vieni, o Sera! E quando ti corteggian liete le nubi estive e i zeffiri sereni, Perhaps because you are the i...

 I appreciated speaking with Antonio. We discussed some challenging topics such as feeling alienated, being on the outside, the hardships with moving from one place to another, starting over and how his family has been integral to many of the values he holds dear today. Hardwork, integrity, honestly, dedication but also qualities like keeping your head up, "run some dirt on it and walk it off", as well as what he believes he was taught about being a man today.  Antonio states that while much of this has shaped him into the person he is, he credits education and found family and friends with changing some of those misguided concepts into better practices for his life now. For example, he said while he doesn't plan to have children, if he did, he couldn't imagine ever doing the "tough love" that was a part of his childhood. He cannot recall ever seeing his father cry and talks about hard things were sometime swept under the rug. He has challenged himself to be...

  Venturelli Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History (forebears.io) Venturelli Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms (houseofnames.com) St. Francis de Sales | Discover Mass Our Beliefs - St. Francis de Sales (stfrancisparish.net) Dexter (Town, Penobscot, USA) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location (citypopulation.de) 6 Short Italian Poems with English Translation | Talk in Italian UGO FOSCOLO - Alla sera (interpretata da Germano Bonaveri) - YouTube Poem About Warmth And Love Of Home, My Foundation (familyfriendpoems.com) Amazon.com : Boston, Massachusetts Wall Map, Large - 22.75" x 29" Paper : Office Products Photos provided by Antonio