Ciao. My name is Beth and this is my Italian history: My great grandfather Andrea Bavetta immigrated to the United States in 1915 from Santa Margherita di Belice in Sicily. His first wife was Liboria Giovenco who died in Santa Margherita in 1908 before the family immigrated to the United States. Their children, all born in Santa Margherita, were Luciano (my grandfather), Giuseppe, Calogero, Caterina, Rosalia and Domenica. Andrea Bavetta remarried after the death of his first wife Liboria to Grazia Puccio and they had a son, Vicenzo. After the family immigrated to the United States, they had two more children, Grace Helen and Liboria Bertha. For me, what began as a simple search for ancestors in Italy has turned into a love affair. This blog is my story.
Beth Beeman lives and writes from the beach city of San Clemente, California. She is interested in food, genealogy, wine and all things Italian.
Publications/Credits:
Review: Sicily, editors of Phaidon Press Limited with narrative text by Pamela Sheldon Johns, Christian Science Monitor, May 2013
Pre-Editing: Figghiu Beddu by Alfred Zappala, March 2013
Photography: Fugitive Pigments by Ruth Bavetta, June 2013
Italy....and Me 
Hello Beth…nice to meet you!! i’m honored by your presence! Luana / Rome
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Ciao! Your photographs are beautiful!
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Thanks for following me. How interesting to discover your roots. I would love to visit Sicily.
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Genealogy is a passion of mine. I will visit Sicily for the first time in September!
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I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time.
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Thank you for liking my blog Beth. We are very lucky to be living in the Chianti hills of Tuscany. Do follow my weekly blogs. June x
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Likewise! I will 🙂
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Beth – I was just in Rome last week! Stumbled upon your blog this morning and it’s great. We moved to England a year ago and are loving the new way of living. (Colder, wetter, smaller.) Let me know if you make it over to the UK. My wife is blogging about our experiences here. 5280milesfromhome.wordpress.com
Lance Hastings
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Lance!!!! What a wonderful surprise. I’m getting ready for work at the moment, but will FOR SURE take a look at your wife’s blog. So great to reconnect 🙂
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Thank you so much for following my adventures on The Reluctant Retiree. I do hope you will enjoy the posts even though we have now moved on from Italy. Good luck with your rediscoveries! Garrulous Gwendoline
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Thank you Gwendoline!
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Hi Beth, thank you for your “like” on my blog, it always positively surprises me and make me feel someway lucky the love which people around the world show for Italy or, as in your case, how proud are of their italian origins.
Take care, ciao!
Gabriele
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Thanks Gabriele…. I think I surprised myself.
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great to meet you. thanks
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Thanks for the follow. 🙂
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You too!!!
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Enjoying your blog, Beth. I found you on another blog, Majella Home Cooking. Do you stay mainly in Tuscany?
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Hi Julia..No. In fact I was in Rome, Puglia and Sicily in Sept-Oct of 2013.
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Thanks for following The Italian South. Nice variety of topics/photos you have here!
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Grazie!
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Gosh, what a marvellously classic bunch of Sicilian names you listed!!!!
Do you know about the Times of Sicily?
http://www.timesofsicily.com/
It’s an online newspaper for Sicilians abroad and for expats living in Sicily. It’s developing into a really friendly community and they are always looking for new contributors. So that might be a fun way for you to network – I am really enjoying it!
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Hi… I know – and the very marvelous part is that they are recycled over and over again throughout family history and into the present. On occasion I read that publication..I should do it more. Thanks for following!
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Hello Beth, thank you for visiting our blog. It’s great to see your love for Italy and the way you are “promoting” Italian culture on your blog!
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Grazie! Your photographs are amazing.
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Hi Beth! Thank you for following my blog, I’m glad it’s led me to yours!
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Ditto! thanks for the follow.
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Nice to meet you Beth. My niece by marriage has her ancestry in Sicily.
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Thank you for following! NIce to meet you 🙂
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Hi Beth, really nice story of your family and I really enjoy your love for Italy!!
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Thank you!!! I’m glad you enjoyed the story. Genealogy is a lot of fun.
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Somehow we received a package that I think belongs to you from Lipault Paris. Please email me if it is yours jodytirone@gmail.com
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Ah!!! and you found me here too. Good investigative work 🙂 Thank you so much
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Your story is very interesting! Actually I graduated with a thesis focused on genealogical tourism, so it’s always a pleasure when I come across blogs like yours. I’m gonna follow you 🙂
Ciao,
SaRA
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Thank you! That’s a great thesis topic. I would love to read it. I started learning Italian to read original birth r cords.
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How cool! And I must say one feels like a detective when reading those records 😁 The professional genealogist has surely an interesting job.
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