William V. Fioravanti’s Book Description
This is a non-fiction account of the life of my grandfather. His life
starts in Sicily and follows him through his arrival in New York and his
experiences in the small colonial town of Johnstown and twin city Gloversville.
Although it is not permeated with gangsters and violence, there is much action.
Life for immigrants in these small upstate New York villages was not a simple
transition and there are plenty of unusual happenings.
I wrote this story as a treatment for a screenplay and when you peruse the work you will see how it flows from chapter to chapter. Some chapters are short but still very visual. It is my sincerest desire that you will find a very unusual and exciting journey of a Sicilian immigrant striving to survive in a new and fast changing world.
I wrote this story as a treatment for a screenplay and when you peruse the work you will see how it flows from chapter to chapter. Some chapters are short but still very visual. It is my sincerest desire that you will find a very unusual and exciting journey of a Sicilian immigrant striving to survive in a new and fast changing world.
Review
History,
love and passion are all prevalent in great abundance in A Sicilian’s Journey.
This book is full of interesting information about the actual events of one
family taken from all aspects. I have a great interest in Sicilian culture and
the history of Sicilian immigration to America and gained much knowledge from
reading this book. As soon as I had read two chapters I was engrossed to see how
the story unravelled and to reveal the final outcome.
The story
begins in Sicily in 1878 with Vincenzo Saviotti. Many villages at the time,
although beautiful and historic, did not have an economy that could support
families. Although the Saviotti family had lived in a small Sicilian village
called Castelmola for many years, Vincenzo decided to take his trade as a
cobbler to Messina. It is from this decision that the story of the Fioravanti
and Andreana family begins. As Castelmola, close to Taormina, is a town that I
visit often, I was very interested to read the differences between the
Castelmola that I am familiar with now and that of two hundred years ago.
Sicilian
Americans would relate to this book tremendously; I personally found it a truly
emotional read. I experienced a wide range of feelings and became very involved
with the story. It was easy to picture it all in my mind, making it very real
and prompting me to learn more about the immigration of Italian Americans and
the harsh reality of it; the dreadful conditions on the ships, the
claustrophobia, the dysentery and disease... how did they manage to survive?
The fact
that Italians changed their names from their own Italian birth names to
American names highlights the prejudice felt by the immigrants and the measures
that they were forced to take in order to be accepted. They faced terrible
unemployment and difficult housing situations due to their Italian nationality
and allegedly ‘lowly’ stature in America. It is easy to see why Ellis Island
became known as the ‘Island of Tears’.
I was truly
compelled by this book and by Guglielmo Fioravanti who, with great foresight,
kindness, generosity and hard work for his family allowed them to prosper and
to be blessed in his choice to relocate to the northern New York state of Johnstown.
This lovely book is a must-read.
A Sicilian’s Journey can be purchased to read on your Kindle at the
following link - http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Sicilians-Journey-ebook/dp/B00CUMSMXI.
A presto,
Debra Santangelo
