When I first visited my tiny ancestral village in the Trentino-Alto Adige 40 years ago, emotions ran as high as the Dolomite mountain peaks that surrounded me. The sheer beauty of the place my grandparents (nonni) left 60 years earlier when they immigrated to the United States left me breathless.

And, the thought that my ancestors founded the little village of Andalo nestled in the majestic Dolomite mountains before the 1500’s sent a shiver down my spine. This heart-warming reunion with my great aunts (zie), uncles (zii) and throngs of cousins (cugini) felt like a generational homecoming.