The museum was happy to host researcher and photographer Valerio Geraci originally from Palermo, Italy, now residing in Paris, France. Valerio arrived in America and began his travels through the south documenting Italian communities for his book, starting in Little Italy, AR and then from Tontitown he journeyed to Lake Village, AR and onwards out of Arkansas, with plans for future visits.
During this visit we spent time at the museum taking photos and chatting about Tontitown and what makes our story unique. While driving through town we stopped at the old Morsani house on Mantegani Road, while in disrepair Valerio was glad to see the inside as he commented much of the architecture is what you would find in Italy from that same era, with the curved ceiling of the cellar and the high ceilings in the upper levels, it is like stepping back into time.
While looking for photos of the home as it stood originally all that could be found in our catalog was that of the Morsani family standing outside the home, which you can see the façade and windows are the same. We would love to have more photos of the home if any can be found!
SOURCE: Tontitown Historical Museum
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