Ciao a tutti,

I became fascinated by your thread here. From my last name, you can probably tell that my family also comes from Ischia. In fact, both sides of my family come from the small island in the Bay of Napoli. My mother's side (Di Costanzo, another popular name on the island) is from Barano and my father's side is from Buonopane. If your relatives have Ischia listed on their paperwork as the town from which they came, then you will probably find all of their records in the municipo at Ischia Porto. On the other hand, people who came from Testaccio, Barano, Buonopane, Piedemonte (or Starza) will find their records in Barano.

My background is that my father came here in 1960 with his family from Buonopane, D'Ischia when he was almost 14. My mother was born in the States but her father was born in Barano, D'Ischia and came here after World War II. My maternal grandmother was also born here but her father was also born and raised on Ischia and came here right before World War II. (My grandmother's mother was from Sorrento and that's the only branch I can find that came from a different part of Italia.)

I have been visiting Ischia every couple of years since I was 2 years old and know many people on the island. I have a whole bunch of cousins who I am close to who still live there. My last trip to Ischia was for Easter in April of this year. If you are trying to track down relatives, I am sure you can find them rather easily, especially if you speak Italian (or even the Napoletano dialect) and head straight for their town. When I walk down the street people recognize me and stop me just because I look like my mamma and nonna and they remember them. It's a wonderful place and you should visit.

Frankly, it is an island and all the last names are the same, so most of us are related if you trace far back enough. Please let me know if you have any questions about Ischia or finding your relatives there.

In bocc' al lupo!

Ciao,
Francesca
P.S. Most of the women there still don't take the names of their husbands, so you'll need to know "maiden" names.