OMG, it's taken me about 13 years to find this.
.............
I had a great-uncle named Carmine Lonardo. His mother was Isida Lizza, and his father was Remualdo Ferdinando Lonardo (although from what I've heard, great-grandfather changed his name a number of times. At one time he was known as Edwardo. It's possible he used the name Vito at some point in time).
.............
Many years ago, I sent a letter to Uncle Carmine to ask about the family in Italy, and one of his grandsons wrote me back with some information.
.............
What was said of his mother, was that she came from a very rich family, but when she married great-grandfather Lonardo, she was disinherited and totally cut off from the family (they wouldn't even acknowledge her existence). She was very unhappy about that, and if I remember the story, she died of a broken heart shortly after their fifth child was born. He remarried and had more children with his second wife (name unknown). Elvira/Alvera being the oldest girl was put to work pretty much as though she were a servant, probably raising her younger brother and sisters, and was treated rather poorly by the second wife. Eventually she was sold to my grandfather as a wife and came to America in 1922.
.............
Isida Lizza and Remualdo/Edwardo/??? had 5 children who were: Carmine (b 1901 in Sao Paolo, Brazil), Elvira/Alvera (b 1903 in Peekskill, New York - maybe, not sure), Cubio (b. in San Giovanni di Ceppaloni), Filomena (b. 1908 in San Giovanni di Ceppaloni) and Leontina (b in San Giovanni di Ceppaloni).
.............
Uncle Carmine had three daughters. I know for sure one of them is still alive, but have been out of touch with most of the family since 1993 (not my fault - a story broke nationwide that involved people getting killed who happened to have the same names as myself and my family and no amount of reassuring anyone that I was still alive helped matters since I have been living about 2000 miles from back home and had been unable to visit). The grandson who wrote me had the last name of D'Angelo and was a child of the second daughter.
.............
I'm always trying to get more information on this side of my family as well. If your great-grandfather is my great-uncle, it would be cool to keep in touch and share family history stories.