Welcome to cofrancesco.net, a web site for and about Cofrancescos and their close relatives. Much of the material appears in both Italian and English. You can select either language by clicking on the flags that appear above. Additional material will be translated into both languages as time permits.
You can access the various parts of the site by using the three menus: the Top Menu above and the Main Menu and Keep in Touch Menu to the left. Site Contents in the Top Menu provides an overview of what is contained in the three menus. For direct access to material newly added to the site see the headings in the main body of this page.
This
is a brief account of the life of Pietro Cofrancesco who
immigrated at the age of 15 with little more than the clothes on his
back. He worked hard, married, and raised two children, both of who
went on to college and became successful in their chosen profession.
Somewhere ‘twixt Naples & Foggia, or should I say between the
rainbow’s end and beyond, lies the little village of Massa—or should I
say, Shangri-La.
This little village in Italy, not far from Benevento, is home to around
600 people; about 500 of them are Cofrancescos or related to them, my
mother’s family. Two of her Uncles, Biagio & Giuseppe remained in
Massa to head two prominent families living there today.
We
found the first Cofrancescos living in Massa in the Cadastre of 1754.
But when and why did they move there, giving rise to one of the two
main branches of the family? In this paper we answer this important
question for our family.
Translated into English with the help of John Cofrancesco
A song for Massa by Roberto Albanese with the words of his father "Ciccio" Albanese, who was born in Massa di Faicchio and spent there the last years of his life.
"Ciccio" Albanese
A Slideshow...
The Sagra of Massa 2010
Slideshow (hit P to start/pause)
Massa di Faicchio (BN, Italia) - Sagra 2010 - test
Meeting some Cofrancescos...
for the first time
Apr 11, 2010. Gioia Sannitica (Caserta, Italy)
Anna and I (Pacifico), we went to Gioia Sannitica (province of Caserta, Italy) because we knew that some Cofrancescos lived in this little town, not far from Massa di Faicchio, but till then we never could contact them.
Finally we succeeded and we met two Cofrancesco families,
whose ancestor, Giovanni Cofrancesco (I1379) came from Massa di Faicchio in the middle of 19th century!
By the way their ancestor is Pacifico's great-great-grandfather too!
In the photo, from left to right: Pacifico Cofrancesco, Carmine Cofrancesco, and Giovanni Cofrancesco.
Pacifico and Carmine share a great-great-grandfather, who is Giovanni's great-grandfather too.
We learned many information about their family
and soon their branch will be added to our family tree.
A VISIT TO THE HOMELAND
Arlene Cofrancesco Willis Our Trip to Massa to meet
my Family
"I had been anticipating meeting Pacifico and Anna for over a year. Pacifico and I started corresponding after he found my Grandfather’s name on Ancestry.com"
Arlene Willis
nee Cofrancesco
When Anna Di Leone was a young girl she used to listen to her paternal Grandmother, Anna Mazzarella, tell the story of "Zi' Clemente" (Uncle Clemente), who immigrated to the USA at the beginning of the last century. He returned to Massa in 1949, where he lived with the Di Leone family for about six years before dying there in 1957. Anna's Grandmother did not know much about Clemente's family in the USA.
Thanks to Arlene Cofrancesco Willis and Anna Di Leone an entirely new branch has been added to our Family Tree. It extends from Bartolomeo Cofrancesco (1855-1934) to Arlene's daughters. In particular, you will find the descendants of Clemente Cofrancesco, who was born in Massa di Faicchio, province of Benevento (Italy), in 1887 and immigrated to Paterson, NJ (USA) in 1909, where he got married and had many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren...
Login to have full access to the genealogical data.
History & storieS
Pacifico Cofrancesco The Origin of the Cofrancesco Family
On the basis of research carried out at parish archives in the Province of Benevento and the State Archives of Naples and Benevento, the genealogy of the Cofrancesco family can be traced from the the 16th to the 21st century. In particular, the common origin of all current Cofrancesco families around the world is highlighted.
In the Cofrancesco family, the name Umberto is quite common, particularly in the last generation. But the Umberto Cofrancesco – son of Lorenzo, captured at Bardia and prisoner of war in Australia as cited in a “Service and Casualty Form” that Ivan found - did not match any of the known Umberto Cofrancescos, living or dead. Our research did not provide any useful results. One day last June 2008, something “strange” happened.
Susan Cofrancesco Green Traveling to Italy...
meeting Cofrancescos
I had the opportunity to travel with my husband Michael on a business trip to Italy. For both of us this would be our first time traveling to Italy. We flew into Milan and spent most of the ten days staying in Chiavari so that we would be close to his work, which was the boat show in Genova.
Phyllis Masotta Cofrancesco Our Trip
to San Lorenzello
When I married my husband my name changed from Phyllis Masotta to Phyllis Cofrancesco. I have always loved my marriage name but thanks to John Cofrancesco, Ivan Cofrancesco and others, I knew a lot about the Cofrancesco ancestors and little about my Masotta ancestors.
John A. Cofrancesco A Visit to the Home of our Ancestors As the 19:50 Trenitalia from Naples approached our destination station of Telese-Cerreto my thoughts were of how it all began in 1994 with the purchase of a certificate providing a brief, and as I was to later learn, erroneous history of the Cofrancesco surname. This was the start of my efforts to learn more about my Italian ancestors.
John A. Cofrancesco A Travel Guide to visit the Home of our Ancestors
If you are an Italian American who has never been to Italy you are in for a treat. Many people consider Italy to be among the most beautiful and historically significant countries in the world. And even if you have been to Italy before, there is nothing like a return trip to visit the birthplace of the Cofrancescos, San Lorenzello, and the nearby towns in the Province of Benevento, particularly if you have been fortunate enough to have established contact with a relative in the area. Take a look at A visit to the Home of our Ancestors by John A. Cofrancesco, on this web site to get an idea of what a trip can be like. Then look for information on our web site about San Lorenzello and the nearby towns under Our Towns.
John A. Cofrancesco Wines of the Titerno River Valley
I can remember my father, a first generation Italian American growing up in Hamden, Connecticut, USA telling me about his childhood and how he remembered his father making wine. The children would help in the “stomping of the grapes” and drink wine with their meals starting at an early age.
Thanks to