Last Updated December 15,, 2023
Pro Loco Michele Caputo
Moschiano (Av)
Non-political, non-profit cultural and social association
On this page we propose, in no particular order, the life stories of Moschianesi who lived in a relatively recent time who, with their dedication and social, artistic, cultural commitment, but not only, can be held up as an example, especially to the new generations.
This is not intended to be an exhaustive list and we will gladly add other suggested names.
Click on a name for biographical details and a brief description of life and works
Avv. Michele Caputo
Magistrate
Born in Moschiano on 2 December 1909.
Son of the lawyer Gaetano Caputo, magistrate and Donna Olimpia Aschettino
Also a man of law and jurist, he was a person of sound convictions and of enormous faith and great culture.
A person of very good and helpful character, he did not barricade himself behind his social status but rather always sought relationships with the most humble people.
His evenings spent at the café outside his house with his fellow villagers were famous and sought after, amidst cheerful discussions, cultural initiatives and social works.
Lover of poetry and art, he often organized cultural events, aware that culture was fundamental to the progress of Moschiano and the world.
His ideas and beliefs often went against the grain and did not align with the trend of the time in which he lived to the point of attracting the ire of his family members and in particular of his uncle, mayor of the town.
His life was an example of wisdom, courage, honesty and dedication.
He died ​ on August 23, 1944
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Prof Carmine Pacia
Decorated at the VM, Literate and writer
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Born in Moschiano on 3 May 1892 from Gaetano Pacia and Carmela Dalia
Died in Como on
Called to serve his country during the First World War, at the beginning of 1916 he was a secondary lieutenant.of the 53rd Infantry Regiment Umbria Brigade.
With his Brigade he took part in war actions in the Dolomites in 1915. At the end of 1915 and beginning of 1916 the brigade operates in the sectors of the Ansiei, Padola and Visdende valleys.
It is precisely in these circumstances that the Lt. Pacia on 21 January 1916 volunteered for an action to "disturb" the enemy forces and perhaps preventatively which first earned him a solemn commendation on 15 October 1916 which was then changed to a Bronze medal for the VM.
On May 2, 1916 he was promoted to Tenent with effective date June 8, 1916. and in 1937 he was promoted to "First Captain".
We find him again in 1940 as director of the professional training school and Professor of Italian, History and Geography in Rovigo and then in Como.
He wrote some literary essays as well as the author of the text of the statue to the fallen of Moschiano in the First World War.
The Municipality of Moschiano dedicated a road to him in 1979.
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Prof Pasquale Moschiano
Literate and writer
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Born in Moschiano on 26 March 1926
Died in Lauro on 2 May 2018
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Son of Sabato and Evelina Moschiano and younger brother of Domenico (who would be the future Mayor of Moschiano and one of the main supporters of the Pro Loco Michele Caputo), Giuseppe, as well as brother of Savino and Giuseppina.
He was the nephew of Pasquale Moschiano, a professor and very cultured man (among other things, he spoke Polish, played the violin and knew Hebrew) as well as Father Giuseppe Moschiano, who we will talk about later.
These two uncles of his had a tremendous influence on his life and were the inspirers of his fascination with history, culture and knowledge.
He grew up in Moschiano until the age of 13 where he first attended primary school and then the first years of "gymnasium" at the school of Abbot Romano Borrasi in Taurano (see Abate portrait below). At thirteen he left Moschiano for the college of Roccapriore, of the Pallottine Fathers and then continued his studies in Rome. During the years of the Nazi occupation of Rome he did his utmost to help the Italian partisans and soldiers fleeing from the Nazi-fascist reprisals.
He will then undertake the master's course and he won the competition in 1951 which allowed him to teach first in popular schools and then to be appointed to a permanent position.
In 1960 he married Maria Ferraro with whom he had 3 children Sabatino, Silvia and Evelina.
A very good friend of Ottavio Colucci, mayor of Lauro for 3 terms, with him he will be the creator of countless initiatives, especially of a cultural nature, of which we remember the foundation and management of the periodical "L'ora del vallo" in the 60s and 70s. Again with Ottavio he will dedicate himself to the search for ancient testimonies on the hills surrounding the wall. In fact, they were responsible for the discovery of the ruins of the ancient Roman villa in Taurano.
He was the author of multiple books and essays among which we remember in particular.
An episode of brigandage in Moschiano
The Sanctuary of the Madanno della Carita'
The Sacred mountains of Vallo di Lauro
For a complete memory of Prof. Pasquale Moschiano, please refer to Prof. Severino Santorelli's manuscript which we publish alongside.
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Prof. Anna Laura Palumbieri
Literate and writer
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Born Moschiano on 7 March 1927
Died in Moschiano on
She wrote short stories, poems and comedies of which she was also the director. She created, with other friends, the Compagnia Filodrammatica Caritas
Among his works we remember:
Daughter would marry
Pulcinella engaged against her will
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Domenico and Alberigo Dalia
Craftsmen
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Alberigo son of Domenico Born in Moschiano in 1883
Died in the USA
He emigrated to the United States in 1912 at the age of 29. He arrived in New York from Naples on the ship Moltke on August 12, 1912 and then continued towards the city of Poughkeepsie as a guest of his cousin Antonio (From the archives of Ellis Island Passenger ID 103550160025). He left his wife Assunta (Borrasi) and his 3-year-old son Domenico in Italy as well as his other two younger children Armando and Francesca.
Armando also emigrated to America in 1929 Ellis Island Passenger Archive # 901189224653), while his wife Assunta and daughter Francesca joined him in 1929 (Ellis Island archive pass ID 901759347749). The son Domenico in turn left Italy in January 1932 at the age of 22 years and a few months with the ship Conte Grande and joined his father in Poughkeepsie (From the Ellis Island archives - Passenger ID 9011982390265).
Click here to see how Alberigo's family was reported in the 1940 census.
Before emigrating to America Alberigo sculpted the door of the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Carita' with his father Domenico (1909). Their names can still be seen engraved on wooden relics that once formed the back of the right wing of the door and preserved in the Pilgrims' Hall at the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Carita'.
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Gaspare Dalia
Artisan
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Born in Moschiano 08/11/1909, died in Naples on 22/03/1992
A wood craftsman he had undoubted artistic qualities. He proved this when at just 20 years old he created a wooden pulpit for the church of the Incoronata in Moschiano which can still be admired today. He emigrated to Venezuela in 1952, leaving his wife Consiglia and his children, Pupetta, Giacomo, Titina and Carmelina, in Moschiano, rarely returning to Moschiano. In Venezuela he set up an artisan workshop where he also built small carving masterpieces that his fellow villagers in particular commissioned from him and were amazed by the surprising results. He always maintained close ties with his family, regretting that he never reached him in Venezuela. This did not happen for various reasons, not least because his children obtained a qualification in Italy (which was perfectly successful) and always in the hope that he would return.
He returned to Moschiano in 1978, since then partially filling an existential void created in the family with his absence due to the absence of his father.
However, the years spent starting from '78 together with the family were lived with emotional intensity and were the happiest ever.
In 1989 with Gaetano Russo, another Moschiano who emigrated to Venezuela and returned to Moschiano, he sculpted the wooden statue of the Madonna della Carita' which is located in the Church of the Body of Christ in Moschiano.
Click here for more details on the Statue
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Sister Angel of Peace
Religious - Servant of God
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Here we partially summarize what was written by the prof. P. Moschiano in his "The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Carita'" to which we refer for more complete information. Prof Moschiano recounts the facts based on what Remondini wrote in his “Della nolana ecclesia storia” 1757 – Stamperia Simoniana – Naples in which he dedicates 26 pages to Sister Angiola.
“Born in Moschiano on 25 December 1610 to Alfonso Pacia (or Della Pace) and Indorata Mazzocca, honest common people, hardworking, rather modest…. From a young age she showed a lot of charity towards the poorest to whom she gave what she could. She was very devout and pious, she observed fasting, performed penance, wore a sackcloth, owned a figurine of the Child before whom she prayed... (As a child) she went to a forest not far from the town where there was a cave (San Mischele? ed.) in which she retired to lead a penitent life, ... but following the advice of an old hermit she returned home.
At the age of 13, in 1623, she entered the Benedictine monastery of Lauro but decided to leave it and return to Moschiano to her life of penance and charity towards others and the abandoned sick when she learned that for the carnival the nuns wanted to disguise themselves.
Certainly in 1631 she was in Naples among the Dominican tertiaries and for five years she lived in a small house behind the church of the P.P. Dominicans at Sanita' borough and when following her fame she was invited by several families to live with them he did not hesitate to accept the hospitality offered by Antonio Tango's wife. She was also a courageous woman and enterprising enough to dare to approach various ministers and the Viceroy in order to help her brother who risked capital punishment. She spent the last years of her life in a small house near the church of Santa Teresa dei P.P. Carmelites where she died at the age of 52 on 21 October 1662.
The P.P. Carmelites had her body transported to their church and buried her in the chapel of the Crucifix.
Unfortunately, today there is no trace of Sister Angiola's tomb in this church. But as mentioned years ago by the Prior of the adjoining convent to Prof Moschiano himself, following an earthquake in 1688, the church suffered considerable damage and was partly modified compared to the original structure. It is therefore probable that Sister Angiola's tomb was removed during the reconstruction. Moschiano dedicated a street to her where it is presumed she was born. The dear and late Don Salvatore Feola a few years ago edited a study on Remondini's work on Sister Angiola and published a pamphlet while Doctor Andrea Santaniello of Quindici wrote a biography.
The quote from Sister Angiola della Pace in Remondini's work can be consulted here (Della Nolana Ecclesiastica Storia Vol 3)
Father Giuseppe Moschiano
Priest and benefactor
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Born in Moschiano on 23 September 1878
Died in Bologna on 16 March 1958
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Son of Domenico and Consilia Somma. Having lived between two centuries in a historical period that saw enormous changes both in the history of Italy and of our country, he was a great teacher and benefactor. legendary is his dedication to the weakest and in particular to the deaf and dumb, thus putting into practice what he preached. He founded and directed several schools throughout Italy (Rome, Florence, Bari, Bologna), always faithful to the teachings of his Teacher Jesus and confident in Blessed Providence.
He particularly loved Moschiano and in particular the Sanctuary of Charity to which he returned annually. Poor in spirit and in fact he had an immense treasure in his heart. in 1990 the Avellino education board decreed that the Moschiano nursery school should bear his name.
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For further information, see a summary published by the Moschiano Primary School or his profile described on website History of the Deaf
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Abbot Romano Borrasi
Priest
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Born in Moschiano on 29 December 1875
Died in Naples 1 December 1969
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First of six children of Gaetano Borrasi and Rubbina Fiore.
After a childhood spent in Moschiano, on 12 December 1890 he left for Rome to do his postulancy in the Congregation of the Resurrection and was a student in the Pontifical Roman Seminary until 1893, receiving countless certificates.
In 1894 at the age of 19 he entered the Pontifical Gregorian University and was a classmate of Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII. On November 29, 1895 he received his bachelor's degree in philosophy. on November 26, 1896 the "philosophical license". On 10 July 1898 he obtained his bachelor's degree in theology and his license on 18 July 1899. Meanwhile, on 14 August 1898, the anniversary of his father's death, he was ordained a priest in the Lateran Basilica. On 11 July 1900, after the final exam, he received the title of Doctor and Master in Theology.
At the beginning of 1901 he returned to Moschiano, preaching in the churches of the town and the valley and became educator of the Lancellotti princes in Lauro.
In 1907 the Bishop of Nola Renzullo entrusted him with the task of teaching in the Seminary of Nola, a position he held until 1918. There he taught Dogmatics, Church History and Scholastic Philosophy. During these years he held other positions in the diocese such as "book censor", "examiner in competitions for parish priests, confessors and preachers", and "ecclesiastical judge".
On 21 May 1914 he will be appointed parish administrator of Taurano and will effectively become "the Abbot" of Taurano, a title with which he will always be recognized and remembered.
On 24 October 1914 he was appointed "Treasurer of Lauro" and would govern the parish until 31 January 1918. An upright man and priest of high culture and irrefutable human and spiritual qualities, he was a beacon of hope for all the people of the Vallo di Lauro who he always admired him. During the years of the Second World War he opened the doors of the Abbey to make up for the lack of schools for many young people from Vallo who owed their education and qualifications to him. He resigned as Abbot on 31 May 1964 and retired first to the Episcopal Seminary of Nola and then to the home of his niece Elisabetta in Naples from where he returned to the Father's home on 1 December 1969.
We offer alongside a commemoration of the Abbot made by Prof Severino Santorelli
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Prof Antonio Pacia
University Professor - Orientalist
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Born in Moschiano in 1852
Died in
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Born in Moschiano in 1852, he was professor of Oriental Studies and Chinese Language at the University of Naples. He was the author of many essays and speeches. In 1876 he published “Italy, alternating phases of its greatness and decadence and its mission in the political order of Europe. Historical introduction to the geography course".
The following year, 1877, "Confucius, his life, his doctrine and its influence on China and Asia" was published.
Dating back to 1879 is the "Asiatic College of Naples: its rise, its progression, its decline, its future".
Unfortunately in 1892 he ended up entangled in a bad story of aggravated fraud and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. This contributed significantly to his figure being highly diminished and his memory weakened. Nonetheless, his literary merits remain.
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Lawyer Domenico Dalia
Jurist - Counselor of the Court of Cassation
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Born in Moschiano in 1794
Died in Naples
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Son of Michele Dalia, he was a distinguished magistrate and jurist in the last years of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the first years of the Kingdom of Italy.
He was never married and even though he lived most of his life in Naples (in the last years of his life he lived in Via Costantinopoli, 23) he always had his hometown in his heart. In Moschiano there are at least two plaques that commemorate his works as a benefactor: one in the square that recalls how in 1866 he had the so-called "Acquapiccola" aqueduct built at his expense which brought water from the localities "Pezze" and "Cerreto". to the Charity hill and to Moschiano and how in 1872 he had the ancient fountains and wash house from the 1600s restored and the other to the Charity where you can still enjoy the fountain that he had built on the road in front of the Sanctuary.
He was the protagonist of some salient events in the history of Italy. The first dates back to 1844 when, as prosecutor of King Ferdinand II, he supported the public prosecution in the trial against the Bandiera brothers and their associates in Cosenza and was instrumental in their conviction to the capital punishment carried out on 24 July 1844.
In 1857 he was president of the Court in the trial of the survivors of Carlo Pisacane's expedition to Sapri (we remember the famous poem by Luigi Mercantini "The Gleaner of Sapri"). Seven defendants at trial were sentenced to capital punishment, a sentence which was later commuted to life imprisonment to be served in Favignana. One of the accused was Giovanni Nicotera who later became Minister of the Interior of the Kingdom of Italy.
In 1876, at the age of 82 and now a retired councilor of the Court of Cassation, he was called as a witness on behalf of Giovanni Nicotera in a defamation trial that he had brought against Sebastiano Visconti, journalist of the Gazzetta D'Italia due to a article he published in Florence entitled "The Hero of Sapri.". Nicotera felt slandered in the article and at the trial Domenico Dalia with great loyalty and honesty testified in favor of the minister and how during and after the Sapri events he had always remained faithful to the ideals of a free and united Italy and how at the trial in which Domenico was President of the Court, Nicotera, after his sentence had been commuted, refused, at his request, to proclaim "Long live the King" (Ferdinand II)" instead saying "Long live the Italy".
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