Agnone

CHAPTER 35

It turns out that one branch of Kacey’s family tree can trace it’s roots to a small hilltop village, north-east of Naples, in the Central Apennine Mountains. Agnone, as it is called, was Kacey’s great-great-grandparent’s hometown, and their decision to sail for America in 1880 was a good one, as far as I am concerned. Returning to the sleepy village 132 years later, we thought it unlikely that anyone would remember ol’ Domenico Zarlengo, but to our surprise, there still happen to be a few Zarlengos in town and our airBnB host made an effort to introduce us, which ultimately led to an appointment with the town archivist, and a bemusing hour rummaging through centuries old birth registries.

The other thing Agnone is known for, aside from being the origin of the Zarlengos, is the Marinelli Pontifical Bell Foundry, which has been casting bells since the mid 1300’s, is one of the three oldest family owned companies in the world, and has been commissioned by the Catholic Church to provide most of their bells for at least the last century. The tour was amazing- seeing how all the work is still done with the traditional, hand engraved, lost-wax process. Though we hadn’t yet purchased our boat, the Saint Robert, I was all ears when the foundry foreman answered my question about how much it would cost to have a custom ship’s bell cast. The answer: about a thousand more than I would want to pay for a ship’s bell.

Note: Photos with a “VS” suffix are credited to Val and Steve