Story of the "Liscione" family

The story of my ancestors in Tavenna begin with the word "Liscione" that it is a nickname, not a last name, in the old days in Italy was used to give a nickname to somebody for some reason and then with that nickname this person's descendants were identified independently of their last names.

In this case: my great grandfather was Giovanni Gentile, a man with a very good economic situation, he was owner of one of the biggest and richest farms in Tavenna; he never worked in the field because he had the workers to do that, he was controlling everything.

He was always dressing with an impeccable suit and while he walked around the fields he was smoothing his hands on the lapel of his jacket (to smooth: lisciare in Italian) and that is the reason because people called him in dialect of Tavenna with the nickname "Giuvann Liscione" (John Smooth) from that time until now in Tavenna all the members of this family - even though they have different last names like: Gentile, Del Gesso, Cianfagna, Passarelli, Barone, Lucanera - are known as "di Liscione". (of Smooth).

"Giuvann Liscione" (Giovanni Gentile) married Rosalinda Iurescia and they had a son Nicola Gentile that married Angela Cianfagna and they had:

• Giovanni Antonio Gentile (1882–1943) my grandfather
• Maria Loretta Gentile (1883–1947)
• Teresa Gentile (1885 -1953)
• Giulia Gentile (1887–19__)
• Claudia Gentile (1890–19__)

My grandfather Giovanni Antonio Gentile ("Giuvann di Liscione") married in Tavenna Antonia Lamelza, daughter of Alessandro Lamelza and Maria Di Lena (also all of them from Tavenna) and they have 12 children:

• Alessandro
• Angela
• Nicola
• Emilio
• Guerino
• Maria
• Leontina
• Pietro
• Nicola
• Giovanni (my father)
• Erminio
• Ernesto

Maria Loretta Gentile ("Marì di Liscione") married Giorgio Del Gesso (also from Tavenna) and they had:

• Luigi (after Father Marcellino da Tavenna) who died in Vasto (CH) in a train accident in February 1943.
• Antonietta.

Teresa Gentile ("Teresina di Liscione") married Giovanni Passarelli (native of Campobasso).

Giulia ("Giulia di Liscione") married Giovanni Barone (native of Vasto).

Claudia ("Claudina di Liscione") married Mario Lucanera (native of Le Marche).

Who originated the "dynasty" Liscione ("Giuvann Liscione": Giovanni Gentile) after being widower he lived in the United States for some years and then he returned to Tavenna.

No matter what the last name is if somebody is known as "di Liscione" it means that this person descends from the same ancestor and therefor belongs to the same family.

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Some pictures of members of the "Liscione" family in the old days and in the present:

Maria, Emilio e Leontina Gentile con la loro madre Antonia Lamelza in Gentile. (anno 1937)

Emilio, Nicola e Pietro Gentile - Giovanni Antonio Gentile ("Giuvann di Liscione") -Leontina e Maria Gentile - Antonia Lamelza in Gentile, Adelma Insogna con un loro amico che suonava la chitarra. (anno 1937)

Maria e Giovanni Felice Gentile, Olga Doris ed Adelma Insogna, Filomena D'Avolio, Rodolfo Insogna e Giovanni, un loro amico di Sant' Elia a Pianisi (CB). (anno 1947)

Luigi ed Umberto Del Gesso, Rita Sanvitale (Anno

2006)

Luigi e Maria Del Gesso, Claudio ed Elisa Di Vito (Anno 2006)

Other photos of some members
of the "Liscione" family