nicolettart's VirtualTourist Home Page

Well, here's my story. In 1921 my great-uncle Zio Domenico left his hometown of Molfetta in Italy and sailed to America. This picture shows the ship which brought him and many passengers to Ellis Island. He settled in NYC to raise his family. Eventually more of his brothers came to America, including my grandfather , Nonno Felice, who brought his family here in the '60's and settled in Hoboken, NJ. The family consisted of: my grandmother, Nonna Lucia, Zia Susanna, Zio VIncenzo, and my mother, Giulia, who soon married my father, Girolamo, and gave birth to me. Years later, I am happily married with a new baby named Sophia. I teach elementary art to small children and I believe that travel is really the best education.

Here are my grandfather Felice's parents,Giulia De Nichilo and Vincenzo Sciancalepore . These are not photographs, but paintings. They were made at the turn of the century by an artist in Buenos Aires.

The dream of the immigrants...America!
I can only imagine how
it felt to be on the ship
and finally see land...
I can almost hear the shouts
when they caught their first glimpse
of the Statue of LIberty.
Can you?

"What is your name?"
The immigrants were asked this at Ellis Island. Of course, the officers did not know Italian, so many names were misspelled, shortened, or just changed.

"What is your occupation?"
Italians could only speak, well, Italian. But they understood work. They wanted to work. Are you a plumber? Si. Are you a carpenter? Si. Even if they weren't, the answer was yes. They would learn the trade, as long as they could work.

Between the 1890's and 1954 people from all over the world came to America through Ellis Island. You can still visit Ellis Island today. Go to Ellis Island Official Site for more information. It's a good starting point if you want to research your heritage.

And on VT, don't miss my Ellis Island page!

I am building most of my travel pages from an artist's viewpoint (that's right, poor and starving, didn't you see all my food tips???). My degree is in Fine Arts and I have been teaching elementary art for 15 years.
I believe in learning about a culture by looking at what its people have created over time, and what they have left behind.

"Sogno
Qualcosa di buono
Che mi illumini il mondo
Buono come te"
-from "Il Volo", Zucchero Fornaciari

I listen to all kinds of music, and being from New Jersey, of course I am a fan of my fellow B+R's ("born and raised"): Frank Sinatra, Bruce, and BON JOVI!!!!!
...I listen to all kinds of Italian music, too, from Eros Ramazzotti to Antonello Venditti, Anna Oxa, and Zucchero.

***Zucchero in Atlantic City September 28, 2008***Check out my Atlantic City page***

...with the ones you love? With my wonderful husband, and our little girl!

Don't miss pages: Rome, Montreal, and currently working on my Mexico pages.

Best "Underdog" page; New Jersey!

Please leave a comment! Especially if you rate any of my pages, so I know who you are.

*Latest travels:

Saint Barthelemy, French West Indies: December 2008-January 2009
Mayan Riviera, Mexico: April 2008

2007:
New England: Nova Scotia
American Southwest: Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Phoenix

Don't forget to take a peek at my New Jersey page. You'll be surprised at what you'll find about my home state!

Happy Travels,
Nicoletta

Disclaimer: Please note that in some older tips info may be outdated. Always do your homework!!

from the song "You Want To Make A Memory"

If you don’t know if you should stay
If you don’t say what’s on your mind
Baby just, breathe there’s no where else tonight we should be-
You wanna make a memory.

I dug up this old photograph
Look at all that hair we had
It’s bittersweet to hear you laugh
Your phone is ringing, I don’t wanna ask.

If you go now, I’ll understand
If you stay, hey, I got a plan
You wanna make a memory
You wanna steal a piece of time
You could sing a melody to me
And I could write a couple lines
You wanna make a memory.
~Bon Jovi