Hello!

Before being able to communicate you the complete and definitive program of the week-end in Procida and Ischia next September, here are some useful information for our General Meeting and the latest news of our Association.

The preparation of our General Meeting

First of all, you’ll find attached the official convocation to the General Meeting, along with the proxy form for those who are not able to attend and wish to give power to another member.

The convocation mentions the precise agenda as well as the modalities for attending and voting. I thank you for taking the time to read it. If you have not yet confirmed your participation, I would be grateful if you could do so as soon as possible, in order to know the exact number of attendees.   If you do not plan to attend this General Meeting, but wish to be represented, you must print, fill in and sign the proxy form, send it to your delegate who will sign it too and transmit it to the Management Council at the latest on the day of the General Meeting.

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Regarding point n°6 on the agenda, there are a number of projects that will be presented to the attendees in order to be discussed and voted if required. You too may propose ideas and projects. I invite you to send me as soon as possible a document describing your project, its objectives, its usefulness for the Association and its members, the means that are required to realize it, and the associated costs.

To this day, the following projects have been identified:

• Opening a permanence for the Association in Alfortville, allowing members to carry out their research themselves consulting the integrality of the registers;

• Organizing the digitalization work for the parish of Casamicciola d’Ischia;

• Organizing the digitalization work for the parish of Monte di Procida;

• Writing a proposal to the Mayor of Procida for the digitalization of the town;

• Writing a proposal to the Mayor of Barano d’Ischia for the digitalization of the town;

• Creating an advanced search engine for our Web site replacing the existing indexes with a database;

• Republishing the book “Mers-el-Kébir - le Grand Port” (Robert Tinthoin);

• Republishing the book “Les Procidiens d’Oran” (Jean-Pierre Badia).

The General Meeting will allow defining the objectives of the Association for the next couple of years, setting priorities, approving or rejecting projects.

Regarding point n°8 on the agenda, The General Meeting will allow to refresh our statutes. The current ones have served the Association since its foundation in 2003, without knowing that it would become such a success. Today the proposed changes include some minor changes (like spelling mistakes and rephrasing) and more important changes such as:

• Making official the name of the Association that became in 2004 “La Grande Famille de Procida & Ischia” (adding Ischia);

• Extending the scope of our activities to other towns and islands of the Gulf of Naples, allowing us if necessary to include for instance Monte di Procida;

• Defining the operation of the Management Council and the modalities of the renewal of its members.

The new statutes can be consulted from our Web site or at the headquarters of the Association.

Regarding the program of the week-end of the General Meeting from 10 to 12 September 2005, trips and visits have been organized for Ischia Ponte and Pompeii. We are still awaiting the final proposition.

For Sunday 11 September, we will go from Procida directly to Ischia Ponte in a private boat, next visit the Aragon Castle, have lunch at the Castle, and on the return journey go around the island of Procida.

For Monday 12 September, an organized trip to Pompeii is planned. It will cost all inclusive an exceptional price of 62 Euros per person, including autobus hiring, the crossing to Naples, the visit with a guide in French and lunch at Pompeii. This is feasible if we can find 20 people in order to fill up the autobus. If you wish to participate, do not hesitate to let us know.

My next trip to Procida and Ischia in July should allow me to finalize the event…

The first forum of the Italian associations

On 21st May 2005, was held Place d’Italie in Paris the first forum of the Italian associations. This day of exchange and encounters sponsorized by the Mayor of the 13th arrondissement and organized by the magazine FOCUS was a real and brilliant success for all. More than 20 cultural and regional associations were present and the visitors have been so many to come and discover Italy.

I wish to thank those of you that came on that day and spent some time with us. What a pleasure to have been able to meet you there in this small corner of Italy in Paris, talk with you about our common project, our stories and research… For some it was also the opportunity to finally put a face on a name and for others to celebrate with some limoncello from Procida and Neapolitan babas! I also thank the magazine FOCUS for having invited us to this first event of a new kind in Paris, which will probably happen again next year, under the encouragements of the Consuls of Italy and San Marino, and with the sponsorship of the Mayor of the 13th arrondissement.

What’s new on the Web Site?

Thanks to the hard work of our volunteers, new indexes have been computerized and are now available on the Web site. In particular, the first two and oldest registers of marriages of Procida (1567 to 1582) can be downloaded. This might be an opportunity for you to go back one more generation in your family tree?

You will easily find these new indexes marked with the keyword “New!” and I advise you to download them all and get rid of the previous versions of the files.

To help you understand your certificates, you will find in the section “Instructions” alongside the translation templates posted last month:

• A vocabulary if the Italian and Latin formulas often used in the certificates of Procida, and collected along the last couple of years.

• Links to some useful and serious Web sites: the Italian etymology and a glossary of Christian terms.

How to obtain a copy of the certificates of the Annunziata

A few months ago you discovered on the Web site the story of the Annunziata of Naples associated with your ancestors Esposito, Projetto and others, all abandoned children who contributed then to the story and development of Procida and Ischia.

The certificates of these children left with the Annunziata exist but are difficult to access, because they must be ordered in advance and consulted within a timeframe at the archives of Naples.

Today, the process for obtaining these certificates is finally ready. The verbal agreement with the Archives of Naples ought to permit me to digitalize for you these certificates. To accomplish this, I have designed a form for requesting certificates and authorizing me to consult them for you. You will find this form on the Web site at the section “Histoire & Généalogie – Italie”.

The first requests will allow me to test this process, because to this day I have not had yet the opportunity to approach these registers. You must fill in and sign this form, and send it me with a photocopy of your ID card. I will then transfer these documents to Naples, hoping to digitalize the certificates in September…

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In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact me if you have suggestions or questions.

I wish you happy summer holidays!

Pascal SCOTTO DI VETTIMO
President of the Association