Alessandro Rizzo is one scordiense Doc which achieved a wonderful objective: to tell Scordia to those who, for various reasons, had to leave their homeland and emigrate elsewhere. And she did it by creating the Facebook page “Scordiensi in the world” which, to this day, counts the beauty of almost 67 thousand followers. Dizzying numbers these, for a dream that has become a strong and concrete reality that connects and unites all the Scordians who live in Scordia and scattered around the world!
How was “Scordiensi nel mondo” born?
“”Scordiensi nel mondo” was born from an illumination I had during the night. It was March 20, 2019. Having been an expat, even if only for 90 days in Brooklyn, I missed my Scordia. At night, as I looked out onto the balcony intent on smoking the last cigarette of the day, I thought about when I was away and how much I would have liked to take a stroll through the streets of Scordia".
"Here, this memory of Brooklyn from December 2017 on the night of March 20th in Scordia attacked me and I thought: 'Now I create a page where I show my country to emigrants, our traditions, memories of the past, recipes; in turn they tell us the story of emigration and interact from all over the world with photos and videos. And so it was, that night I contacted Alessio Rosa, Scordian in New York and companion on American adventures; I sent him a series of questions to answer related to his story and consequently he had to send me footage of his answers."
A smile at the service of the territory, the story of Sonia Nania – italiani.it
When did you publish your first video? And what did you post?
“It was March 21, 2019 and I published the first ever video which immediately had great success. During my days in Scordia I did live broadcasts while I was in the car, and they watched me from every part of the globe, increasing my Followers more and more. I posted photos of my typical breakfast "A Raviola 'cca Ricotta", the traditional pastry shop of the most historic bar in Scordia "Bar Milano Contarino", the homemade scacciate, teasing the palate of many but which sometimes made me tender because in some nations lacked the ingredients to be able to replicate them and therefore the poor things were left with the desire...
For the holidays, I opened the live broadcasts in such a way as to make those who unfortunately live far away feel close.
I continue to do all this without any personal purpose but only out of passion, the passion that I had towards emigrants as a child, Expats who managed to make their fortune elsewhere".
You yourself have lived the experience of an emigrant. What did you miss about your land?
“If I had to think about the thing I missed most when I was in America I would say family, cooking a little less because luckily I know how to cook and I always found the solution to feel at home.
When I wanted a diner, pastries, I went to “Villabate Alba” on 18th Avenue and found them in Sicily”.
What does it mean to you to show Scordia to those who aren't there?
“Showing Scordia to those who live far away makes me feel great, as if the camera on my smartphone was the eye of all Scordians who live far away. However, I must add that thousands of people follow us at Scordia, it is also useful for them to attend the Facebook live events; many call me, send me messages such as: 'Ale, are you broadcasting the Novenas live tonight?', 'Ale, are you showing the feast of St. Joseph this morning? Since I have to look after my father-in-law and I can't go out...'. Here, from here you understand that the page is very useful."
Over the years you have talked about the Scordians around the world: is there any story that has touched you closely?
“The most touching story of all was the first ever, thanks to the participation and contribution of many Scordians around the world, we gave a racing suit to a very young boy who lives in Crevalcore, unfortunately his father had a lot of expenses to face to maintain this passion he couldn't buy it from him and we took care of it and made Christian's dream continue."
“Then following there were the gatherings in Australia, thanks to the collaboration of Palmira Rigoli, Salvatore La Magna and Anthony Caruso we managed to bring the Scordians together in Melbourne in a restaurant, there were different generations, from little ones up to people of 90 years… exciting!".
“For the first time reunited thanks to our page and thanks to those who helped us from Australia. I could write a book of everything I have and we have done in these four almost 5 years together, I will never forget and I mean never the gathering I held in Brussels where I was also present, emotions that absolutely cannot be explained. they honored me a lot, they showed me around a lot, they invited me to eat in their homes. In this article I greet and thank the Scordians in Belgium with all my heart."
You are a sort of intermediary between your land and those who are not there, how do you experience this?
“I have now become a bridge that connects all emigrants, a point of reference for those who decide to leave and those who decide to return to the country. I'm connected to the whole world, many call me and say: 'hi Ale, are there Scordians in Canada?' And my affirmative answer immediately arrives! There is nothing more beautiful, believe me... I have never gained from all this, but I receive a lot of gratitude."
“This year, under the initiative of Salvatore La Magna (Scordiense in Melbourne), they wanted to give me a gift, they sent money from various cities, including Scordia, with the sum I decided to buy a top of the range smartphone which allows me to take high quality photos, videos and live broadcasts and an electronic stabilizer".
Do you have a dream to realize linked to Scordensi in the world?
“One of my dreams is to reach the Scordians in the land of Kangaroos, in Australia and have a beautiful gathering in my presence. The other is to reward all the Scordian excellences scattered around the world".
Finally Alessandro, is there anyone you want to thank?
“I particularly thank Dr. Salvatore Pernagallo (Scordiense in Granada), and Claudio Guastella (Scordiense in Porto Velho – Rondonia) for the moral and motivational support they have given me over this period of time. I thank our New York correspondent Sebastiano Berlich Jr., the Linguanti Family, the Contarino Family, Mrs. Greco, Francesca Scuderi Cahill, Giorgio Puccia, Carlo Barchitta and all those who helped me and respect me".
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