My great-great grandmother Rosa Pace, born in 1858 in San Fele, Basilicata, married my trisnonno Giuseppe Sabba and had 6 sons.  They were poor farmers but were as strong as the oak tree and as fruitful as the chestnut tree (it was customary to hang these two branches over the doors for that symbology).

When Rosa was young, Basilicata suffered from extreme poverty, the brigand war in Southern Italy (San Fele, along with Rionero in Vulture was in the epicenter of brigands war) and the Italian diaspora.  Although they hardly had anything to eat, they managed to give me and my family members the most beautiful gift. The gave us America.