The intellectuals of Gessopalena

A folklorist, two poets, a composer, a hygienist: a village of a few thousand souls that in the 19th century sent its sons to Naples.

The story

Gennaro Finamore, folklorist

Gennaro Finamore was born at Gessopalena on 11 August 1836. He did his first studies at Lanciano and took his degree in medicine at the University of Naples. He practised in his home village, where he threw himself into the study of tradition, belief and popular folklore. His works are many; among the most consulted are “Tradizioni popolari abruzzesi” (Popular Traditions of Abruzzo) and “Vocabolario dell'uso abruzzese” (Dictionary of Abruzzo Usage).

On the publication of the Dictionary, the Ministry of Education appointed him honorary professor of letters in secondary schools: this allowed him to teach at the Ginnasio of Lanciano and later to become its headmaster. He was a member of many academies and a deputy of the Abruzzo Deputation for National History. He died at Lanciano on 9 July 1923. The middle school of Gessopalena is named after him.

Marino Turchi, hygienist

He was born at Gessopalena on 31 May 1808. He studied at Chieti and then took his degree in medicine at Naples in 1832. He taught medical technique and devoted steady study to questions of hygiene. On 18 April 1848 he was elected liberal deputy for Abruzzo Citra in the parliament of the Neapolitan provinces and was among the signatories of the protest against Ferdinand II who, having granted a constitution, had ordered the suspension of the newly elected parliament. For his political ideas he was persecuted by the Bourbon government.

In 1860, when Garibaldi reached Naples, he became one of the thirty decurions of the city, and Garibaldi himself appointed him professor of hygiene at the university. From 1861 he sat on the Naples municipal hygiene commission and championed many humanitarian measures to improve the living conditions of the city's poor. He laid the ground for an institute of hygiene and for the chair of anthropology with its museum. He was dean of the faculty of medicine and surgery and rector of the University of Naples from 1879 to 1888. He died in Naples on 3 March 1890.

Gianvincenzo Pellicciotti, poet and patriot

He was born at Gessopalena on 20 March 1820. He did his first studies at Lanciano and became a doctor of medicine at Naples. He is held to be the leading figure of Chieti patriotism during the Risorgimento. Having settled in Chieti, he founded two newspapers, “La Majella” and “Monte Amaro”. In 1849 he was arrested for his liberal ideas and spent four years in the prison of San Francesco, from which he was released through the generous intercession of General Pianelli. Through his writings he campaigned for the unification of Italy. He died at Gessopalena on 27 September 1863.

Giuseppe Persiani, composer

He was born at Gessopalena in 1827. He studied first at Chieti and then at Naples under the celebrated opera composer Mario Aspa. He wrote many works, among the best known “Malek-Adhel”, “Manfredi di Svevia” and “Il prigioniero di Palermo” (The Prisoner of Palermo), dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi and staged at the Teatro Marrucino in Chieti in 1861 to great acclaim from audience and critics alike, thanks to its patriotic content. He died at Chieti in 1899.

Francesco Saverio Tozzi, poet

He was born at Gessopalena in 1863 and died very young, at the height of his activity as a poet and man of letters. He wrote many sonnets inspired above all by Abruzzo and the Maiella; among the best known are “Notturno”, “Momenti” and “In Memoriam”.