💚🤍❤️ Honouring the Roots of Pope Francis: a journey to Portacomaro.
💚🤍❤️ Cari lettori, buongiorno!
Portacomaro is located in the province of Asti in Piemonte, at a one-and-a-half-hour drive inland from Genova in Liguria. On their community website, the Portacomaresi, as the inhabitants of Portacomaro are called in Italian, describe their village as: a piccolo Eden, a little Eden, and: il posto dove ci si sente a casa, a place to feel at home. To underline this statement, they have included some unique photos. (You can view those via the link provided at the end of this newsletter.)
We like to take you to Portacomaro today because the Bergoglio family's roots are found here, the family name of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the recently deceased Pope Francis (1936-2025). As in the papal tradition, we wait for the white smoke to emerge from a chimney above the Sistine Chapel, in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City, announcing the election of a new pope, we would like to commemorate this exceptional pope and his special bond with Liguria in our newsletter today.
Did you know that the nonni, the grandparents, of the Argentine-born, Papa Francesco, were originally from North-West Italy? His grandfather, Giovanni Bergoglio, came from Portacomaro, while his grandmother, Rosa (Margherita Rosa Vassallo), was born in Piana Crixia, in the province of Savona.
In search of a better life, they emigrated with their son Mario from Italy to Argentina, like many other Italians during 1870-1930. Here in Buenos Aires, on December 17, 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the future Pope Francis, was born, the first child of five to Mario Jose Bergoglio and Regina Maria Sivori.
The MEI, the National Museum of Italian Emigration of the Commenda di San Giovanni di Prè in Genova, tells the history of Italian emigration. Documents about the Bergoglios' emigration to Argentina would also be kept here, showing details of Mario, the father of Pope Francis, and his paternal grandparents, Giovanni and Rosa, who disembarked the transatlantic liner Giulio Cesare in Buenos Aires on February 5, 1929.
Portacomero is located in an area known for its wine culture. In the middle of the vigne, the vineyards, you will find Poggio Le Coste (see link at the bottom of this newsletter), where DOC wines such as the Grignolo d'Asti are produced according to traditions passed down through generations.
In 2022, Portacomero was a hive of activity. There was an excited rejoicing in the air. Why? On that date, the beloved Papa Francesco paid a private family visit to his cousin Carla Rabezzana.
The Sentiero di Papa Francesco is a walking trail of about 6 miles, on partly unpaved paths, that takes you through rolling hills and lush green valleys that you can follow in the footsteps of the grandparents of Papa Francesco Bergoglio.
The tomb of Pope Francis in the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore in Roma is located near the Altar of St Francis, in the niche of the side nave between the Pauline Chapel (Salus Populi Romani Chapel) and the Sforza Chapel. The tombstone is made of slate from Liguria, showing the Ligurian roots of his family. In an interview with Italian television, Pope Francis had expressed his desire for it to be conducted in: pietra ligure, che è la terra dei suoi nonni, stone of Liguria, the land of his grandparents.
Papa Francesco lived modestly, which is reflected in the mention of only his name in Latin Franciscus to decorate his tombstone, and a copy of his pectoral cross on the wall above it.
💚🤍❤️ Have a great weekend and alla prossima!
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lovely way to remember Papa Francesco and his Ligurian roots. His family left Europe for the New World the same year (1929) as my Irish nonni left their farm for USA..with 5 children- not good timing and they died very young from the hard lifestyle of the New England factories.