The earliest record of the Demma Family in Sicily is found in the baptismal archives of San Nicola Bari, the Mother Church of Termini-Imerese. Notated in Volume I on page 54 versus at the bottom of the page, it reads as follows in translation from Sicilian-Latin into English:
Additional Entry for February 22, 1545: The same priest, Father Basilio D’Arena, baptized the son of Luigi Demma. He was named Giovanni Pietro. His godfathers are Maistro Giuseppe DiBlasi and Monsignore Cesaro Carrozza. His godmother is the same as in the previous entry, Sister Filippa L’Angelica.
The Demma surname is derived from the term demesne, a translation into Medieval French of the Latin word, latifundum. Medieval French was the language of the Sicilian Norman Kings Roger I & II, and as such, demesne refers to the huge estates established during the latter years of the Roman Empire which passed, over time, into the hands of the all-powerful Sicilian Barons.
In addition, Termini Imerese, the home of the Demma Family, was one of 42 Città Demaniali (Estate Cities), administered directly by the crown (Kingdom of Aragon/Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, etc) rather than local nobility. Therefore, the surname Demma appears to mean: a citizen of the estate-city of Termini.
Records of the LaScola Family in Termini-Imerese can be found in the same baptismal volume as those of the Demma Family. The following entry on page 115 recto from December 29, 1547 is a very interesting example, as it involves the baptism of the daughter of a slave named Giovanni who was owned by Petro LaScola. It reads as follows in translation from Sicilian-Latin into English:
On December 29, 1547, Father Martino Romano baptized the daughter of Giovanni, the latter of whom belongs to Petro La Scola. She was named Sapia. The godfathers are Monsignore Filippo Satti and Monsignore Battista l’Abbate. The godmother is Sister Filippa L’Angelica.
The Quest to Discover the Origin
of the Surname LaScola
in Termini Imerese
1) La Scuola Grande di San Rocco, a Religious Confraternity and its Meeting Hall in Venice
A confraternity is a voluntary association of the faithful, established and guided by competent ecclesiastical authority for the promotion of special works of Christian charity or piety. They are canonically supported and they regard the personal sanctification of the members. Confraternities are divided into those properly so called and those to which the name has been extended. Both are supported by canonical authority, but the former have a more precise organization, with rights and duties regulated by ecclesiastical law, and their members often wear a peculiar costume and recite the Office in common.
Confraternities first expanded rapidly with the mendicant urban missions of the 1200s, when they emphasized peacemaking, mutual support, and egalitarian brotherhood. Into the early modern period, their individual and collective religious exercises adapted mendicant models to lay life, and included praise singing, penitential flagellation, processions, funerary and requiem services, and charity exercised to members and the urban poor. Their administration followed guild models, and most guarded their autonomy from the clergy. In larger cities, confraternities organized members according to devotional preference, trade, nationality, neighborhood, or charitable activity, and took on extensive social responsibilities as a result. Theirs was a distinctly local piety, and confraternities were often the custodians of local shrines, the organizers of civic religious rituals, and the administrators of local hospitals, orphanages, and hostels. They were the lay face of the church, and most of what passed for social welfare was organized and run by the brotherhoods.
Perhaps the most famous structure in modern Italy built for a confraternity is the Scuola Grande (construction began in 1517) next to the Church of San Rocco in Venice.
Its great rooms are covered with a fabulous series of paintings created by Tintoretto and his son. It is a very traditional structure, similar to other Venetian Scuole, consisting of two halls, one above the other, which make up the main body of the building. The Ground Floor Hall, divided into three aisles by two rows of columns, is accessible from outside through the portal onto the campo. From the hall, two doors give access to two symmetrical arms of a staircase (scala a tribunale) which end on a landing, at its height covered by a cupola and which opens onto the Upper Hall (Sala Superiore), the site of processions and meetings of the Confratelli. Between 1587 and 1618 the altar in the Sala Superiore was built. In this hall, a door was opened to give access to the Sala dell’Albergo (Hall of the Hostel), the room used for meetings of the Banca e Zonta. This room was built over an arcade known as “dei Morti” which opened on the campo through a secondary door in the façade.
To which structure and confraternity in Termini Imerese the family name La Scola refers is as yet unknown. But it could be that there was once a Scola for the guild of shoemakers and cobblers located next to the church dedicated to their patron saints, San Crispino & San Crispiagnano.
2) La Scola Grande Tedesca, a Synagogue in the Venetian Ghetto
Known as Scole, the five synagogues of the Venetian ghetto were constructed between the early-16th and mid-17th centuries. (The word Scola can be compared with the Yiddish ‘Shul’ meaning synagogue.) Each Scola in Venice represented a different ethnic group that had settled there and obtained a guarantee of religious freedom: the Tedesca and Canton Scole practiced the Ashkenazi rite; the Scola Italiana, the Italian rite and the Scole Levantina and Spagnola, the Sephardic rite. Despite a few later interventions, these synagogues have remained intact over time and testify the importance of the Venetian ghetto. The unusual tall buildings found here were divided into floors of sub-standard height, demonstrating how the density of the population had increased over the years.
The Scola Grande Tedesca (Great Ashkenazic Synagogue) was founded by Ashkenazim (the Hebrew word for German Jews). Although they first settled the German speaking lands of Rhine Valley, most Ashkenazim were pushed out of Western Europe during the era of the Crusades and found refuge primarily in the Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania where they lived for hundreds of years. Their brethren, the so-called Spanish Jews, that is to say, Sephardim, were forced out of Spain in 1492. A large number of them converted to Catholicism rather than leave, but an equal number fled to the East, settling primarily in the Ottoman and Persian Empires. By good fortune, some Ashkenazim and Sephardim also found refuge in Venice.
The Scola Grande Tedesca occupies the top two floors of an ordinary-looking building and recognizable only by the five big windows on its third floor. Built in 1528, the Scola Grande Tedesca is the oldest of the three synagogues in Campo Ghetto Nuovo and among the oldest surviving synagogues in Europe.
And, to be sure, Termini-Imerese in Sicily once had a synagogue (Scola) with the unusual name ‘La Moschetta’ (The Little Mosque). Torn down in 1492, it stood in the Jewish Quarter on the land now occupied by the Monastery of Santa Chiara:
The mother of the Demma children of Springfield OH (Rosalia, Teresa, Angelina, Francesco, Joseph, and Sebastiano) was Liboria LaScola. As the Demma Family name appears among the family names of the Neofiti (Jews who converted to Catholicism) of Italy published by Nardo Bonomi, there is a strong possibility that the LaScola family, like the Demma family, was Jewish until the years following 1492 when the Jews of Termini had to make a choice to leave the island kingdom, or convert to Catholicism and hand over 45% of their assets to the Crown. To be sure, it does make sense that the families of Neofiti, as the converts were known, continued to intermarry just as they did when they were adherents of the Jewish Faith.
Two other Matacia family names also appear on the list of the former Jews of Sicily: Restivo and De Stabile. Rosalia ‘Rosina’ Demma was married to Agostino Matacia who had several siblings. Agostino’s sister Rosa ‘Rose’ Matacia married Antonino ‘Tony’ Restivo, and Rosa ‘Rose’ Matacia, one of the six daughters of Agostino’s brother Antonino ‘Tony’ Matacia married Dominic ‘Fred’ Stabile. Of course this begs the question: were Matacias also descended from Neofiti?
3) La Scola di Vimignano, a Village in Emiglia-Romagna
Greg LaScola has discovered yet another answer to origins of the LaScola surname. It is his understanding that his LaScola forbears came into Sicily from the area around Bologna. In fact, there exists a village southwest of Bologna formerly in the Papal States called La Scola di Vimignano, then located in the Legazione di Romagna (now part of the administrative region of Emiglia-Romagna).
The village of La Scola di Vimignano in central Italy, derives its name from the Lombard term Sculca, which means a lookout from a high position. The village’s defenses were strengthened over the years with the construction of walls and towers, as a final bulwark of defense. The most important building in the village, Casa Parisi (named after the family that owned the village until the eighteenth century), which dates from the second half of the fourteenth century, is a massive construction that follows the shape of defense fortresses. The higher part of the village still houses the Oratory of S. Rocco which, built with blocks of sandstone, is the only example of this type of building left in the Bolognese Apennine.
Maps showing the location of the remote village of La Scola di Vimignano in the Apennine Mountains south of Bologna.
According to Greg’s family’s oral tradition, his family’s move to Sicily from the village of La Scola di Vimignano occurred only a few generations before they emigrated to America. But it is certainly possible that LaScola family emigres from La Scola di Vimignano actually arrived in Sicily centuries earlier, and that their names or those of their descendants are the ones recorded in the 1542-48 baptismal records of Termini Imerese. Greg has also informed me that an analysis of his DNA does not indicate Jewish ancestry.
Greg added the following details:
“So all of our ancestors came from either Trabia or Termini Imerese. My father remembers his grandfather and father talking about both the two towns because they are literally right next to each other; almost intertwined. So I’m not sure which one they came from, but it’s all the same area. The “Borgo La Scola” connection is only known through oral tradition, so before Termini Imerese, we do not have any data pointing to where they were born, who their parents were, etc. All we know is that our La Scola ancestor’s name was Ignazio Lascola (yes, spelled without a space and with an uncapitalized ‘S’). I know from his tombstone that he was born in 1856 and died on Feb 1, 1911. He came in through Ellis Island, and they all ended up settling in Fredonia, New York where our relatives still live. Many Sicilians and inhabitants of Trabia/Termini Imerese ended up going to Fredonia and Dunkirk NY (they’re within 5 miles of each other). We believe he had some siblings, but we don’t know who they are or where they ended up. I do know that Ignazio lived in Dubois, PA for some time where my grandfather was born, but that’s all. He married a woman by the name of Antonina (aka “Lena”) Leone (of whom we know nothing). She was buried in St Joseph Cemetery in Sheridan, N.Y (right next to Fredonia).”
Russ LaScola adds the following information:
La Scola (derived from la Sculca = lookout) was named by the locals as a place where they could keep an eye on the Lungobardi of Pistoia–‘un posto di guardia dei lungobardi di Pistoia’. Pistoia is just south of La Scola.
Greg LaScola continues:
I recently found the Sculca website and passed it on to my father. La Scola actually means a “lookout from an elevated position”. Sculca is itself of Germanic etymology. The village became a center for masonry and architecture characteristic of the Comacini Masters (an ancient Guild of Master-builders and Stonemasons) who were themselves from the area of Lake Como (Note “Comacini” is itself derived from the word “Como”). They spread this style throughout Italy as previously discussed.
A great history of this little village “Borgo La Scola” is summarized below. [This was obtained from viewing] http://www.iguidez.com/video/guides/vimignano/la-scola-village/
Construction of this village began in the second half of the 1300s though most of the buildings date to the early 15th century. It’s an exceptional example of medieval architecture designed by master tradesmen referred to as Maestri Comacini. They belonged to a distinguished school of craftsmen who came from Milan and Como. There are many other examples of their work throughout this region but none more so than this village.
We are now in the tiny square named Piazza della Meridiana, which is overlooked by this Meridian clock on the side of a house. In one of the houses is an inscription and a painting dated 1610. It also bears the coat of arms of the Parisi family who may have stemmed from Tuscany. Another room illustrates two paintings of St Anthony and the Madonna with Child. They are attributed to the Carracci school of art and said to adorn the walls of a bedroom.
This cosy little chapel called St Peter’s Oratory is at the entrance to the village or at least what is now the modern entrance. Mass is occasionally still said here. There is no information about the painting above the altar and judging from its faded appearance it’s in need of restoration.
There are certain times of the year when local actors pose as medieval inhabitants and when it’s also possible to see inside a typical residence.
Walking through the cobbled-stoned streets you will notice numerous towers – albeit not so high – which are part of the natural construction of the houses. The reason for this was so that the inhabitants and those on guard could watch out over the hills. In fact, the name of Scola is derived from the longobard origins of Sculca meaning ‘look-out post situated at a vantage point’. Another inscription above a door way obviously intended for those not welcome reads: ‘Entry not opened to enemies, 1638’.
There are still people living here however anyone walking around these streets now are more often than not tourists. The local history and picturesque scenery leaves little to the imagination of how life used to be here over 500 years ago. There are no modern facilities at all so the uniqueness and magical splendor of this village will certainly leave an enduring mark upon your memory.
This page has the following sub pages.
Surnames of the former Jews of Sicily:
After the Edict of Expulsion of 1492, part of the Jewish population of what is now the Repubblica italiana, converted. These are some surnames adopted by Jews after the conversion. This list was compiled by Nardo Bonomi Braverman.
Abene, Accardo, Accolla, Actuni, Acugna, Adario, Aiello, Ajello, Alagona, Alaimo, Alaymo, Albertino, Alessandro, Alessi, Alessio, Aloysi, Amato, Ambrosio, Amore, Andrea, Andriano, Anello, Angrida, Angrida, Anigito, Anquida, Antilla, Arberiz, Arena, Ariola, Ariza, Attuni, Attuni, Atuni, Aurifici, Ausello, Ayello.
Balam, Balbenta, Balbentano, Balbo, Ballester, Balsamo, Balventano,Balvo, Bandira, Barbara, Barbarino, Barbaruso, Barbato, Barbeno, Barbera, Barberi, Barberino, Barbusa, Bardaro, Barisano, Baro, Barone, Barresi, Bastone, Bayna, Bella, Bellavia, Bellissima, Bellocchi, Bellomo, Benjamin, Bentevegna, Bernardo, Bernentano, Biancolilla, Billardita, Bivilacqua, Blancolilla, Blunda, Bochino, Bon, Bonafide, Bonanno, Bonavoglia, Bondelmonte, Bonfiglio, Bongiorno, Bonifazio, Bonina, Bonjorno, Bono, Bonsenor, Bonsignore, Bordonaro, Borrusio, Boxino, Braçavento, Brancato, Branchiforte, Branciforte, Brazavento, Briatico, Brigandi, Briyogna, Bruno, Bucchere, Buchere, Bucheri, Bufalo.
Calandrino, Calanterra, Calcasia, Calcaterra, Calderaro, Calì, Calvi, Calvino, Cameriere, Cammarera, Cammareri, Campagna, Campano, Campanya, Campisi, Campulo, Canador, Candela, Candelaio, Candila, Candilaro, Canizzaro, Cannata, Capello, Carbi, Carbon, Cardamoni, Carini, Caro, Caruso, Casachio, Casacho, Casciara, Casciaro, Caserma, Castaeli, Castaneda, Castillo Bono, Caxaro, Certa, Chagegi, Chancho, Chaniteri, Charissimo, Chiarol, Chicala, Chillarano, Chinello, Chinirella, Chirmino, Chirri, Chirullo, Ciccardo, Cimatore, Cocubella, Coggi, Cohino, Coino, Coloca, Compagna, Conciatore, Conso, Contaturi, Conuxenti, Conzatore, Corbiseri, Costa, Costantino, Coyno, Crapi, Cresi, Criscimanno, Crisi, Crispo, Cubaytaro, Cuchino, Culcara, Cundari, Curjali, Cusimano, Cutilli, Cutraro, Cuxino, Cuyno.
Damiano, Dangelo, Daniel, Danieli, Dardo.
De Abene, De Accardo, De Accolla, De Acugna, De Adario, De Alagona, De Albertino, De Alessandro, De Alessi, De Alessio, De Alotta, De Alotta, De Aloysi, De Amato, De Ambrosio, De Amico, De Amico, De Amore, De Andrea, De Andriano, De Anello, De Angelo, De Anigito, De Anquida, De Antilla, De Antonino, De Antonino, De Aquino, De Aquino, De Arberiz, De Arena, De Ariola, De Ariza, De Atilia, De Atuni, De Ayello.
De Balsamo, De Balsamo, De Barberio, De Barberio, De Baro, De Baso, De Bella, De Bella, De Bellissima, De Bellissima, De Bellocchi, De Bellochi, De Bernardo, De Bernardo, De Blunda, De Blunda, De Bona, De Bonanno, De Bonanno, De Bono, De Bonomo, De Bonomo, De Borrusio, De Borrusio, De Brancato, De Brancato, De Briatico, De Briatico, De Bucheri.
De Camastra, De Cardonas, De Carlo, De Caruso, De Certa, De Cervellon, De Cesare, De Cola, De Colacerdo, De Composta, De Cona, De Costa, De Costancio, De Costanzo, De Cotrona.
De Diana, De Donato.
De Fassati, De Favata, De Ferlito, De Ferrante, De Fide, De Figlia, De Flore, De Fluri, De Francardo, De Furnari.
De Garcia, De Gennaro, De Giansardo, De Grande, De Grimaldo, De Gualterio, De Gurreri, De Gurrerio.
De Hector, De Heredo.
De Iona, De Iurato.
De Jaffe, De Jenaro, De Jeronimo, De Jesu, De Jop, De Jordano, De Judeo.
De Lauria, De Lazaro, De Leofante, De Levi, De Li Causi, De Lione, De Lione, De Liotta, De Lippo.
De Macri, De Mancuso, De Mandato, De Manuel, De Marchisi, De Maria, De Marino, De Marquesi, De Mayo, De Maystro, De Mela, De Melito, De Melzo, De Merion, De Michele, De Migna, De Millisio, De Minardo, De Minutili, De Moncada, De Mufari.
De Nardo, De Nava, De Nechito, De Nichito, De Nicolao, De Nonis, De Nuchio.
De Oliva, De Oliveri, De Oviedo.
De Pagano, De Palma, De Paolino, De Paolo, De Parisi, De Patela, De Peri, De Perino, De Perna, De Perollo, De Perrino, De Pimentorio, De Porreta.
De Rafaeli, De Rainaldo, De Rainerio, De Recupero, De Requesens, De Rizo, De Rizzuto, De Rodiglia, De Rogeri, De Rosso, De Russo, De Sagona.
De San Martino, De San Michele, De Sancto, De Sangiorgi, De Sansoni, De Santa Fe, De Santa Luchia, De Santapao, De Santelmo, De Santo Padre, De Scalona, De Scavello, De Sena, De Simone, De Soldano, De Speciis, De Spines, De Stabile.
De Tirpiano, De Turri.
De Villesima, De Vita, De Vitali.
De Zacaria, De Zacco.
del Pesce, Demma, Despecie, Dexne.
di Alvaro, di Anigito, di Bruno, di Cappitello, di Chirico, di Corno, di Fontana, di Franco, di Gavarecto, di Gerardo, di Giorlando, di Greco, di Jeso, di La Turri, di Leo, di Martino, di Milicia, di Monpilleri, di Muchera, di Paulino, di Peralta, di Ricardo, di Romano, di Russo, di Vento, di Vignuzo, di Xurtino.
Embarbara, Estabele, Estaiti, Estanataro, Estayte, Estayti.
Falcon, Falcone, Fardella, Farna, Faso, Fava, Felipponi, Ferlisi, Ferlito, Ferrante, Ferranti, Ferrantí, Ferrario, Ferro, Filippazzo, Filippuni, Finocchi, Firruni, Fois, Formica, Fornaia, Fornazzo, Fragano, Franamonaco, Frantiza, Fratello, Fundacaro, Furnari, Fusaro.
Gagliardo, Galefi, Galeon, Galiano, Galifi, Galifo, Galisi, Galiuni, Gallardo, Gallo, Galluxo, Galluzzo, Galofaro, Gambadauro, Gandarano, Garcia, Gargana, Garrafa, Garraffo, Garsia, Garzìa, Gato, Gatta, Gatto, Gavarreta, Gentil, Gentili, Geremia, Giannotta, Giganti, Gipponaro, Grabynia, Granatino, Grasso, Greco, Grimaldi, Grimaldo, Guaglardo, Guagles, Guagliazzo, Guallardo, Guillermoso.
Imbarbara, Imbo, Impignolo, In Parrino, Inserra, Iob, Iop, Iurato.
Jaffe, Joffe, Jofre, Jucondo, Juda.
Karissimo.
La Biscania De Toledo, La Bonanno, La Bufala, La Buffa, la Cachara, La Carruba, La Castellana, La Castillana, La Chiana, La Chinia, la Cofinata, La Costa, la Delia, La Fenza, La Gaipa, La Gallola, La Gambina, La Giyusa, La Juppa, La Liota, Maccayuna, La Madiana, la Madiuna, la Manczuna, La Matina, La Mendola, La Muta, La Muta, la Oliva, La Padula, La Parrina, la Requesenza, la Restiva, La Rosa, La Russa, La Sala, La Scaletta, La Sena, La Valle, La Villa, La Yupa.
Lagunari, Landolina, Lanza, Lanzafame, Lanzarota, Lanzarotta, Lanzarotto, L’Arricchito, Laudato, Lauria, Laurichito, Laurifichi, Laurifici, Leone.
Li Castelli, Li Chiavi, Li Duchi, Li Pira, Li Puzzi.
Libertino, Lione, Lixandro, Lixandro.
Lo Bianco, Lo Biundo, Lo Buccheri, Lo Campo, Lo Castello, Lo Cheraulo, Lo Conte, Lo Conzo, lo Ferraro, Lo Gallolo, Lo Guzardo, Lo Lippo, Lo Marcho, Lo Mosuto, Lo Nanfrio, Lo Nobile, Lo Palazzo, Lo Porto, Lo Preste, Lo Presti, Lo Puzo, Lo Russo, Lo Surdo, L’Orefice.
Lu Battiatu, Lu Janco, Lu Monaco, Lu Perno, Lu Pichulo, Luchiani, Luchiano.
Maccagnuna, Madioni, Madiuni, Magistro, Maimone, Maiolina, Maiolino, Malaherba, Malandrino, Malaventano, Malerba, Maltisi, Malventano, Mamiuni, Mammana, Manegla, Manescalco, Mangananti, Manganaro, Mangiavillano, Manilla, Mansone, Manuel, Manuele, Manuello, Manzone, Marchesano, Marinara, Marinaro, Marsello, Maymuni, Mayo, Mazone di Aragona, Mazulo, Mazza, Mazzullo, Melito, Mercheri, Merciero, Mezaparti, Midari, Modioni, Modioni, Monello, Monj, Montalbano, Montaperto, Montemagno, Monterusso, Montinero, Montiviridi, Morello, Morso, Mozzicato, Mucicato, Mufori, Mulè, Muleto, Mulino, Murales, Murella, Mustaza, Musulione, Musuliuni, Muzarolo.
Napulino, Naso, Nasone, Naynere, Nichifora, Nigrelli, Nuchifora.
Occhipinti, Oliveri, Ottone, Ottone, Ottuni, Ottuni.
Pagunj, Palagio, Palazo, Palmerino, Palumba, Palumbo, Pancarj, Papaloro, Paparone, Parquitano, Paschali, Pastorella, Patela, Patella, Patella, Pecoraro, Pegna, Pellegrino, Pelliceri, Pelobianco, Perella, Perna, Pernichi, Perrone, Petrosino, Pettula, Pezzimenti, Pidalu, Pidolo, Pimentel, Pizzimenti, Pizzolu, Pontela, Ponti, Porco, Porreta, Preste, Provenzano.
Rabbi, Rabbiba, Raffa, Rali, Rangulosa, Raynaldo, Recaro, Remissana, Restivo, Ricotta, Riczo, Rigio, Rizo, Rizone, Rizzo, Rocaforte, Rosela, Rosello, Rossello, Rosso, Rotolo, Rubino, Russo.
Saba, Sabeti, Sabia, Salamon, Salichito, Salicoti, Salinaro, Salvo, Sama, Sami, Samma, Sanso, Sansone, Sansoni, Santa Croce, Santa Lucia, Santafè, Santafide, Santangelo, Santanisi, Santantoni, Santiglia, Santilla, Santoro, Sanzapace, Sapia, Sarto, Sartori, Satariano, Savarino, Scamiglia, Scandiano, Scanomontano, Scantiglia, Sciandiano, Sciarrat, Scono, Sellaro, Senia, Senia, Sgrima, Silvestro, Sinacolfi, Sinorello, Sirina, Solana, Soldano, Sonzeri, Sorino, Sosini, Spataro, Speciale, Stagnataro, Stagno, Staiti, Statella, Svaglia.
Tavaglia, Terra, Timpa, Torregrossa, Torturici, Tramontana, Traper, Trubitteri, Truppiano, Turpiano, Turriforti, Turturici.
Valentino, Valisti, Vanarco, Varisano, Ventimilla, Ventuni, Venturino, Vergogna, Vriatico, Vriatico.
Xandiano, Xarat, Xernera, Xortino.
Yelpo, Yona.
Zabateri, Zacarias, Zacco, Zaffarana, Zafuta, Zafuto, Zafuto, Zapateri, Zarzana, Zavatteri, Zebedeo, Zingarella,
Bibliography:
– Vito La Mantia in Origini e vicende dell’Inquisizione in Sicilia, Palermo, Sellerio editore, 1977.
– Carlo Alberto Garufi, Fatti e personaggi dell’Inquisizione in Sicilia, Palermo, Sellerio editore, 1978.
– C. Di Giovanni, L’ebraismo in Sicilia, Palermo 1748, Sala Bolognese 1976.
– N. Buccaria, Sicilia Judaica. Guida alle antichità giudaiche in Sicilia, Palermo 1996.
– Giovanni Modica Scala, Le comunità ebraiche nella contea di Modica, SETIM, 1978
– F. Renda, La fine del Giudaismo Siciliano, Sellerio, Palermo 1993.
– Gaudioso Matteo, La comunità ebraica di Catania nei secoli XIV e XV, Catania, Nicolò Giannota, 1974.
My grandmother was from Sicily and her maiden name was Zarzana. Do you know the meaning and origin of the name Zarzana ? Is the name Zarzana a good indication of a families Jewish origin or is it also common among people with no Jewish heritage. Thank you. Bill Young
LaScola is also derived from the “longobardo” (long beard = german) word “La Sculca” meaning a ‘look-out post situated at a vantage point’. My family was from Trabia/Termini Immerese too, but our oral tradition has our line coming from around the Bologna area. It took some time, but I ended up finding a town called “La Scola” almost halfway between Florence and Bologna. I also took a genetic test that pinpoints both my father and I in Tuscany. Given the oral tradition, and the genetic test (23andme), it could be that some of the LaScola’s from the Trabia area were from this area of northern Italy.
My maiden name is Mangiavillano and my ancestors are from Caltinettsia, Italy. Anyone related to Filippo Mangiavillano?
You have written Caltinettsia, Italy. Do you mean Caltanissetta, Sicily? This town is located more-or-less in southern Sicily. The entirety of our family is from the town of Termini-Imerese on the coast of northern Sicily. Please let me know about your spelling of the town, because perhaps there really was at one time a town near Termini-Imerese named Caltinettsia.
Regards, Chick
Wow what a wonderful site of family history! My grandfather came from Sicily and his name was Mariano Demma, born around 1887 in Termini. He had two brothers Joseph and Frank, neither of which had children. When they came to America both Mariano and Joseph lived in the Pittsburgh, PA area. My mother, Antoinette Demma Bruno, and her eight siblings (Josephine, Anna, Augie, Leo, Mary, Rose, Antoinette, Frank and Virginia) often said that they had no relatives in Sicily or America since neither of their uncles had children. It would be great if I could find Demma cousins to tell her about. Does anyone recognize the name Mariano Demma? His parents names may have been Josephine and August Demma. We do not have a lot of family information, any help would be greatly appreciated!
Josette:
If I am right, our great-grandfathers were brothers. Here is how I think the genealogy works.
At the top is Francesco Demma. He had several children in Termini Imerese: Lorenzo (my great grandfather), Isabella (my great-great aunt), Giuseppe (my great-great uncle), and Agostino (your great-grandfather). Which means that my grandmother, Rosina Demma Matacia in Charlottesville and your grandfather, Mariano Demma in Pittsburgh, were 1st cousins.
I extrapolated this using the Sicilian naming system, whereby the first son is always named after the grandfather and the 2nd son is usually named after the father of the grandmother.
In the case of each Demma family in America there is a Francesco ‘Frank’ Demma. In my family and in the Indianapolis family, Frank is the oldest male. If your great-uncle Frank was your grandfather’s oldest brother, then we are on the right track.
Furthermore, in my family and in your family, there is a Joseph. In my family, Joseph is the 2nd male. Hopefully, Joseph is the 2nd male in your family, too. Also, the presence of a Mariano in two of the three families is an indicator that an important relative or godfather was being honored. If so, we’ve got it all figured out and we are 3rd cousins.
Let me know about your great uncles Frank and Joseph.
Regards,
Chick Matacia-Lehrer
SPRINGFIELD OHIO (My Family):
LORENZO ‘Lawrence’ DEMMA m. LIBORIA LASCOLA. Children:
Rosalia ‘Rosina’ DEMMA Matacia (My grandmother)
Teresa DEMMA Pace
Angelina DEMMA Papania
Francesco ‘Frank’ DEMMA: 1st male
Joseph DEMMA: 2nd male
Sebastiano ‘Babe’ DEMMA
PITTSBURGH (Your Family):
AGOSTINO ‘August’ DEMMA m. GIUSEPPA ‘Josephine’. Children:
Frank DEMMA: hopefully the 1st male
Joseph DEMMA : hopefully the 2nd male
Mariano DEMMA (Your Grandfather)
CHICAGO (my great-grandfather’s brother):
GIUSEPPE DEMMA m. MARIA ‘Mary’ GALLURRO. Children:
Francesco ‘Frank’ DEMMA: 1st male
Mariano ‘Mike’ DEMMA
My grandfather’s name was Mariano as was my father’s (Mariano George). They were from Chicago. He had a brother named Anthony and a sister named Catherine (Sis). I don’t know if we are related but I do know that grandpa was from Sicily.
Gloria
Your grandfather is the brother of my Grandfather, Antonio (Anthony). They have two other brothers, Joseph and Sal. Both of our grandfathers immigrated from Termin-Imerese to America (Cleveland) around the turn of the century and later moved Chicago. Guiseppi and Salvatore immigrated in the 1950’s.
Our great-great grandparents were Antonio Demma and Angela Dindia and they had five children; Antonio, Salvatore, Maria, Rosina and Josephina. Antonio (our great grandfather) married Marina Battaglia and had the four boys – Antonio, Mariano (your grandfather), Guiseppi and Salvatore.
Antonio married Anna Guinta; Mariano married Sophie Webel; Guiseppi married Marina Calderone and Salvatore married Josephine Gallaggo.
You went to St. Jerome’s with Ruth Ann Demma (her parents were Anthony and Edna). My parents are Joseph and Barbara and I believe Helen, was in my class.
I’m very interested to know the results of the genetic testing mentioned above.
Our branch of the LaScola family, all from Trabia, has haplotype G-M201, which I’ve learned includes about 10% of Ashkenazi and 10% of Sephardic Jews.
There is no one marker for Jews.
This is Greg LaScola. My paternal Haplogroup (100% from Trabia / Termini Imerese) was R1b1b2a. My grandmother’s side of the family was from Valledolmo Sicily (not Trabia / Termini Imerese) and her maternal haplogroup was H2a2a.
Be careful on which genetic testing you get, and the respective interpretations. Just because 10% of Jews have this haplogroup, doesn’t mean YOU are 10% Jewish. That would like saying that 10% of Norwegians have dark hair, and you have dark hair, so you must be part Norwegian. It just doesn’t follow. Also, the paternal or maternal haplogroup tells you very little about ancestry; it’s a crude way of locating where your ancestry may have originated, but it only tells you what your father’s father’s father’s etc haplogroup was, or you mother’s mother’s mother’s etc haplogroup.
To ascertain your ancestral composition, I would recommend 23andMe.com. Unlike other companies that only use a handful of genetic markers to determine your ancestral background, 23andme uses thousands of genetic markers (and they give you health assessments).
My mother is a Demma and her family is from Termini-Imerese And I had her father my grandfather take a dna test and his Y haplogroup is j2b2 which is common in Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews, Lebanese. But another dna test shows I have Persian/turkish ancestery im me. has any Demma in your family take a dna test? or no of any?
Please see my comment I left for Linda above. It applies here as well.
Regarding your conclusions, are you sure you’re looking up J2b2? The distribution of J2b2 is much difference that other “J2” haplogroups. From my own quick research, J2b2 appears to heavily reside in Greece. Regardless, it exists throughout the Mediterranean so its hard to point to a particular group of people. Statistics don’t say anything about the individual.
As stated above, for ancestral composition, you really need to have another genetic test performed. 23andme is only $99 right now.
Thats one of the places I had my dna tested is 23andme which is j2b2. I also had ethnic test done and it showed far easten and middle eastern. And the one I took at ancestry showed Persian/turkish ancestry.
This is great! Thank you!
voglio saperne di più grazie a tutti
Thank you very much for this enlightening information! I am sure my Demma descendents would be proud to hear that I converted to Judaism and have a son serving in the Israeli army!
Is the Bellomo Family of Roman descent?
I am a descendent of Salvatore Lascola born in Italy in 1815 and died in Italy in 1877. I am planning a trip to Italy and Sicily in October of 2017 and would like to visit with anyone of my ancestors or anyone that can assist me infinding any more about this family.
I am researching my ancestry and discovered that my great grandfather was Salvatore Frank Lascola who was from The village of La Scola di Vimignano and Termini Imerse. I will be visiting there is April and wanted to visit where he lived. My understanding was that he traveled to Italy as late as 1913.
Hi Shelia. Can you email me at g_mylastname at yahoo.com. Our oral histories regarding il Borgo La Scola sound the same. I’ve searched high and low for my gr. grandther’s brothers in the USA but have not been able to find them. I’d also like to see if you’ve had an ancestry test performed (autosomal) from a company like 23andme? We could compare out results to see if we’re related!!
my grandmother, Claudine Demma, was born in Tunisia to two immigrants from Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily. They were Catholic.
I have sadly no other information, I would like it very much to be informed on the matter as to if the Demma family also had a Catholic branch.
Best Regards,
L.T. Alemdar
I’m a LaScola!