family travel Italy small
towns Naples
A travel client from my home town
of Philadelphia visited for the first time the place in Southern Italy where
his parents came from; he was accompanied on the trip by 14 family members
spanning three generations.
One of the objectives of the trip was
to find and meet his relatives and, over the course of several months, we
inquired without success by phone and in person with the local officials of
this small town to identify these relations. We were told to seek additional
documentation such as marriage certificates to speed-up the search, which we
did, but without results.
When our client finally arrived
in the town, he went to the municipality where he was promptly invited to
return in the afternoon. More of the
same! While waiting to return, he and several family members decided to go to
a nearby restaurant; here, over a leisurely Southern Italian lunch, he explained
his predicament to the host who volunteered to accompany him to his afternoon
appointment as well as ask around regarding his relatives.
When my patient and savvy client recounted
this experience and how his family went on to have a pleasant stay getting
together on numerous occasions with the local
family members, I said to myself all is
well that ends well; but there is more to this story.
I have heard this happen over and over in Italy and
elsewhere; it once happened to me too in Naples when a shopkeeper left a store
full of customers and personally escorted me to one of those impossible to find
addresses in the old quarter of the city. When I reminded him of his store full
of customers, he just shrugged and replied that they could wait!
I
can think of several reasons; they all revolve around words and themes such as respect,
responsibility, values and culture. You are cordially invited to post your
views and true stories on communities, travel and related topics.