Rocco Lozzi emigrated from Calascio in 1906. He was a carpenter, just as his father, uncles and brothers were. He had attended a vocational school in L'Aquila to become a furniture maker. Unfortunately, his dream of making furniture ended when he went to work as a coal miner in America. He made various pieces in later years, but he made his living mining coal. His wife, Anantonia Iocca, did not want him to go into mining, but there was no other choice, and so he lied to her to pursuade her and their daughter to join him in Riverton, Illinois, where he had settled. They sailed from Naples on the
SS. Barbarosa in the fall of 1913.

Anantonia did not want to leave Calascio but agreed to come, expecting to return in three years time. She left their home in Calascio, along with most of their money and possessions.  She never returned. She died in Riverton at age 94.

Their daughter, Michelina, was eight years old at the time of their sailing to America in 1913.  When she was 85 years old, she was asked by the teacher of the local junior high school class in Riverton to speak to the students about her experience as an immigrant.
Here are excerpts of what she spoke to them, taken from the notes she made at the time:

"We had to go to Naples to get our ship...  we also had to go through a physical examination and they gave us vaccinations. My mother wiped it off - she didn't want me to be sick on the boat...we could see Mt. Vesuvius smoking for miles. We stopped at Gibralter to load up with food and fruit."

"It took us more than two weeks at sea...  It was a wonderful sight when we saw the Statue of Liberty. Some of the older women got down on their knees and gave thanks - like Columbus did. We had left Italy on a ship named Barbarosa, meaning red beard. It made one more trip and was retired."

"The first thing when you embarked, they put a number on your back. I don't remember too well, but I suppose it had the address of where you were going.  Then you got a physical, especially your eyes. If they find anything wrong with your eyes, they will send you back. They gave us a shopping bag that contained bread and cheese and some salami...   you wait around a lot. A lady
came by and gave the children some bread with butter on it. I had never seen butter before so I threw it away."

"Some of the ladies had told Mama that if you slipped the customs agents a dollar, they would not cut your baggage to inspect it. She wanted to hold on to her money so she did not tip them, and they cut the bag, and then gave her a needle and thread to repair it."

"Processing took one day and we were finally put on the train for our destination. The conductor would look at our number and put us on the right train. We could not speak a word of English. Vendors came through the train and my mother bought me an ice cream cone. I had never seen
one before... she saw someone eating the cone and took a bite of mine. I started crying because I wanted to keep the cone. A man was selling popcorn in small bags. The wind was blowing and some fell on the baggage cart. My mother picked up a piece and tasted it. She didn't like it - said it had no taste."

"When we finally arrived in Riverton, my father was waiting for us. We were so happy we found so many people that spoke Italian. I was in the third grade in Calascio...   they put me in the first grade here because I could not speak english... it only took me six months to learn the language."
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Rocco and Anantonia lived in Riverton, Illinois until their deaths. They lived in an area known as Italyville. He was a coal miner all his life.

Submitted by Mrs. Ann Ippolito Fitzgerald, daughter of Michelina Lozzi Ippolito and granddaughter of Rocca Lozzi.

If you would like to share information about this family, contact Ann Fitzgerald  at annifitz@aol.com