The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
~Clemens
Cleulis, Italy
This is the birthplace of my ancestors– Cleulis, Italy.
With only about three hundred inhabitants, this small villiage lies between the mountains of Austria and Italy in the province of Udine in Northern Italy.
It has always been a dream of mine to visit the places where my family’s history began. (Especially since my oldest recorded ancestor dates back to 1630 AD!)
So, seeing our three week European roadtrip as a perfect chance to mark that dream off my bucketlist, Claudio and I arrived in Cleulis with curious hearts.
Our Instructions
My grandfather sent me an email with an attachment of my family tree, and instuctions on what to do once we arrived.
“When you arrive in Cleulis, the person to ask for is Dorine Puntel, go to the small grocery store at the top of the hill and ask the proprietor where Dorine lives.”
(Keep in mind that I don’t speak Italian !)
“Tell Dorine you are Mate
o Primus’ great great granddaughter and Bianca Primus’ great granddaughter.
And that you are Louis and Palmi’s granddaughter.
She’ll know who you are.
If you go to the cemetary you will see headstones with the names of Primus, Puntel and Prodorutti.
They are all family.
Take the family history I sent you and refer to it as you look at tombstones.
You’ll be able to somewhat follow your past roots.”
Listening to our instuctions, the first thing we did was go to the grocery store and ask the owner (via google translator) where we could find Dorine.
After some rapid fire Italian words, and wild hand gestures to a young girl about the age of twelve, we found ourselves following the girl through the steep and winding streets of Cleulis– until we arrived at an old house overlooking the mountains.
The young girl pointed to an older woman working in her garden, nodded politely, and walked away.
I smiled awkwardly over to a suspicious Dorine, and called over a nervous “Choa!”
Holding out my cellphone, I showed Dorine a message translated into Italian explaining who I was.
After quickly scanning the message, Dorine dropped her gardening tools and grabbed me hard, a big smile on her face, and kissed both of my cheeks speaking in rapid Italian.
It was difficult at first, but after trying out a little English, Spanish, and German we finally figured out how to communicate.
An Italian Welcome
Dorine brought us into her home and made us coffee as I showed her my family tree—our family tree.
Because as it turns out, Dorine Puntel is my distant cousin.
Stories were told; dozens of questions asked.
And I found out that I have another living relative! Another distant cousin Giovanna who was about to turn 93.
Dorine making us lunch, serving us fresh salad from her garden and cheese covered in clay from her cows.
Later in the afternoon, I spoke to Giovanni (through her great granddaughter), and was told stories of Matteo Primus (my great-great-great-grandfather) , and how he moved to America.
She spoke of the death of his wife, and the struggles of trying to survive in the small town of Cleulis—how he sold everything he had, asked for money from friends and relatives so he could take his only child with him to start a new life.
Mesmerized, I clung on to every word.
Time for Goodbye
However, my time in Cleulis was coming to an end day.
Claudio and I needed to leave before night fall so we could make it to our next destination, Slovenia.
I was fed and kissed and told to come back, and that I was always welcome…because I was family.
Phone numbers were exchanged and I was ordered to take some of cousin Dorine’s cheese as a parting gift.
Without this trip, I would have never walked through the grave stones of my ancestors. Never would have learned about Matteo Primus– my family’s first explorer.
The man who started it all.
A traveler, with a deep desire to search for more.
A person who left everything behind, all for the hope of a happier life.
This day will never be forgotten. And even as I write, tears fill my eyes from an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and awe, that I could be this lucky.
I discovered so much more than I could have ever imagined.
If you haven’t put “Find Your Roots’ on the top of your bucket list yet, I strongly urge you to do so.
I promise, you won’t be disappointed.