Presented by genealogist Lynn Serafinn, FILO’ FRIDAY is a series of weekly video podcasts on the rich history, culture and genealogy of the people of Trentino in present-day northern Italy.
‘Filo’ is a traditional practice of storytelling in rural Trentino. It was done in the evenings, between dinner and bedtime. The storytellers were often the heads of the households. Its purpose was to bring families together, preserve oral family history, share local legends and fables, and provide entertainment. The word is derived from the verb for ‘spinning’ because this was traditionally the time when women would spin various yarns for cloth. But it also has a double meaning in that the storyteller was spinning a tale.
Catch up on the latest podcasts below. To participate in the discussion during the LIVE podcasts, come join us at https://facebook.com/groups/TrentinoGenealogy .
Filo’ Friday - Trentino Genealogy Podcast (7 Aug 2020). ‘Families Who Really Got Around!’
Many of our Trentino ancestors tended to stay in one place, sometimes for many centuries. But SOME Trentino families really 'got around'! Long before the age of mass immigration in the 19th century, certain families migrated to many different places within the province. In this podcast, we'll explore the migration of 4 Trentino families, who all have a connection with a village called Fiavé in Val Giudicarie. But the thing is...NONE of them were actually FROM Fiavé. Which families will I discuss? Well, you'll just have to tune in to find out.
Filo' Friday - Trentino Genealogy Podcast (26 June 2020). "You KNOW You’re Cousins IF…"
Is there a way to KNOW you are related to someone who has the same surname in their family tree, even if you have no documentation, or DNA tests don’t show a match? In some cases, YES! In this podcast, we’ll look at 6 Trentino surnames that are KNOWN to have come from a common ancestor who migrated into the province from someplace else. Tune in to find out what these surnames are, and whether you might already know some distant cousins.
Filo' Friday - Trentino Genealogy Podcast (5 June 2020) – Illegitimacy and Orphans
What do we know about illegitimacy in Trentino before the 20th century? How are illegitimate births recorded in parish records? Can an illegitimate child ever become 'legitimate'? How have patterns and attitudes about illegitimacy changed over the centuries? What was the role of the midwife, and how were midwives trained in Trentino? What was the ‘Istituto delle Laste' in Trento, and how can we find out about our ancestors who were born there? Tune in to find out the answers to these questions and how these issues affected our ancestors’ lives.
Filo' Friday - Trentino Genealogy Podcast (29 May 2020) – Plague Remedy and Ancestral Occupations
PART 1: What kind of medicine did people take to combat the plague in the 1500s? In this podcast, I share a list of most unusual ingredients for a plague remedy invented by botanist Pietro Andrea Mattioli, the personal medical doctor of cardinals, kings, and emperors.
PART 2: What can we learn by looking the TOP occupations in the province of Trento in the 1800s? What professions no longer exist?
Tune in to find out the answers to these questions and how these issues affected our ancestors’ lives.
Filo' Friday - Trentino Genealogy Podcast (15 May 2020) - Plague of 1630
RIDDLE 1: You may have heard about the Black Death in the 1300s. But what's the story of the plague that hit Trentino in 1630?
RIDDLE 2: What are some of the legends told about the plague of 1630?
Tune in to learn about the history of this devastating episode in the history of Trentino, Lombardia and Veneto, and to hear some of fascinating legends about life during the plague.
Filo' Friday - Trentino Genealogy Podcast (8 May 2020) - Miracle Cross of Santa Croce
RIDDLE: What centuries-old mystical legends are still told about the discovery of a 'miraculous cross' on top of a mountain?
Tune in to hear some fascinating, symbolic, and mysterious legends about the ‘shepherd’s cross’ from the early 1600s, which came to be known as ‘Santa Croce del Bleggio’.
Filo' Friday - Trentino Genealogy Podcast (1 May 2020) - Castel Restor
RIDDLE: What centuries-old dramatic legend is still told about the spooky medieval Castel Restor in Val Giudicarie?
Tune in to learn about the history of this ancient castle in the parish of Bleggio, and to hear the famous local legend of the 'villainous' Count D'Arco and the 'hero' named Painelli from the village of Duvredo. I'll also talk a bit about the history of the Painelli family.
Filo' Friday - Trentino Genealogy Podcast (24 April 2020) - Nobility and Noble Ancestors
RIDDLE 1: How did some people become 'nobility' in Trentino?
RIDDLE 2: What kinds of things can we discover about our noble ancestors?
Tune in to find out the answers to these riddles! In this podcast, we’ll explore the difference between 'IMPERIAL' and 'ECCLESIASTICAL' nobility, how we can tell if our ancestors were ennobled, how noble titles were passed down, how to find our ancestor's coat-of-arms, and much more.
Filo' Friday - Trentino Genealogy Podcast (17 April 2020) - Carta di Regola
RIDDLE 1: You may have heard of the 'Magna Carta' in England. But what OTHER kind of 'Carta' was crucial to Trentino life?
RIDDLE 2: What can this 'Carta' tell us about who our ancestors were and what was important to them?
Tune in to find out the answers to these riddles! In this podcast, I’ll explore the ‘Carta di Regola’ (charters of rules) of rural Trentino. What were they? What can they tell us about Trentino life over the centuries? How are they organised? How can they be of use to genealogists?
Filo' Friday - Trentino Genealogy Podcast (10 April 2020) - Feudalism and Tithing
RIDDLE 1: Aside from starting the Holy Roman Empire, what did the Emperor Charlemagne do that changed the way our Trentino ancestors lived for almost 1,000 years?
RIDDLE 2: What social custom, mentioned in a document from 1170, did our medieval Trentino ancestors adopt from the ancient Hebrews?
Tune in to learn about the foundations of feudalism in medieval Europe, and how the practice of tithing, called 'La Decima', was used in Trentino.
In the tradition of ‘Filo’, I will do my best to ‘spin’ a tale from these two riddles that will both entertain and share interesting facts about our ancestors and our ancestral homeland.