On June 2, 2025, at the Las Tronas Hotel in Alghero, the first contact took place with Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Joe Lascola and spouse Frances Elizabeth Lascola, who had come from San Francisco, California, to rediscover their family roots.

Welcoming them were Italea Sardegna genealogist Raffaele Cau and guide and interpreter Simona Berretti, whose contribution proved invaluable since the Lascola couple neither speak nor understand Italian.

Shortly afterwards, at 3 p.m., the delegation moved to the mayor’s offices in Porta a Terra, where the mayor and some members of the city council awaited the visitors. Here one of the most touching moments of the day took place: the first, symbolic embrace between the city and one of its distant sons.

With great warmth, the mayor welcomed Joe and Frances Lascola, bringing greetings from the townspeople and recognizing the profound value of this return to their origins. To seal the meeting, two highly symbolic gifts were presented to Joe: the Catalan flag of the city of Alghero and a fine photographic volume on Sardinia.

During the ceremony, the genealogical research conducted by Italea Sardegna through the careful work of genealogist Raffaele Cau was officially handed over.

An extraordinary historical record traced Joe Lascola’s family history back to the first half of the 18th century. Joe’s grandfather, Agostino Bonasorte, was born in Alghero in 1881 and emigrated to the United States in 1907, where he built a new life. Research has reconstructed the family tree for as many as seven generations, up to the progenitor Pietro Murgia, originally from Villanova Monteleone, who was united in marriage in Alghero with Maria Speranza Ledda in 1740.

The study conducted at the Diocesan Archives of Alghero and the State Archives of Sassari revealed interesting curiosities: most of Joe’s ancestors were sailors and fishermen, testifying to a strong connection with the sea. In addition, the exact location of the birth house of his grandfather Agostino Bonasorte and great-grandmother Giovanna Murgia could be pinpointed: via Gioberti, between house numbers 14 and 15.

The research was enriched by copying the baptism and marriage records of the ancestors, dated between 1740 and 1881, and translated and illustrated thanks to the careful interpreting work of Simona Berretti, who facilitated the dialogue between institutions, researchers and the Lascola couple.

At 4 p.m., after greeting the mayor and receiving the family history file, Joe and Frances Lascola went to Gioberti Street, where the excitement was palpable-Joe stood before the street where his grandfather was born, a moment of deep personal significance.

From there, a guided tour through the heart of Alghero’s historic center began, led by Simona Berretti, which enabled the couple to discover some of the city’s most representative sites: the church of San Francesco, the Cathedral, glimpses of the ancient streets and the striking bastions. The tour ended at 6:30 pm at Hotel Las Tronas, where the Lascola couple stayed for three days before returning to America.

The experience in Alghero represents not only a journey into family memory, but also a living testimony to the strength of the bond between people and their roots. Thanks to the Italea Sardegna project, this day will remain an indelible example of how the past can illuminate the present and generate authentic emotions, capable of crossing oceans and generations.