Jack Petronella has never been to Altamura in Southern Italy. But he knew he had family there. That's the town his grandparents left in the 1900s to immigrate to New York. When Petronella, who also owns the bakery Manhattanjack, opened an Italian restaurant in the Magnolia Mansion last summer, he called it Altamura to honor his grandparents. "My grandparents were very proud of Altamura," he said.
Through the power of Facebook, in the course of a just a few days, Petronella now has 100s of friends in Altamura. And they've invited him to visit. The story began with a text. A writer whom Petronella knows messaged to ask if he could share Petronella's story "with Altamura." Since Petronella was standing in Altamura on Prytania Street when he got the message, he was a bit confused. He said, sure, and forgot about it.
