This month, I share how La Gazzetta reader Terry Park of Cleveland and I tracked down his family roots in Calabria. Terry knew that his paternal grandparents came from Italy, but he did not know where nor was he certain of the family’s Italian surname. His family had been using the name “Park” for decades and it certainly did not have enough vowels to be Italian. His grandparents, father and father’s siblings are all deceased.

Several cousins and Terry’s late mother had provided some information over the years. Terry believed that the family’s original surname was Naccarato and that there was a connection to a family named Porco. Terry also thought that his family may have come from Northern Italy, specifically Milan, but his uncertainty led him to reach out to me for help.