Sometimes in life we are called to make choices. And those decisions of whether to turn left or right can lead to an entirely new life on a distant shore.
So it was with Virgilio Andrea Fontanesi, who was born in a small village in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy called Castelnovo di Sotto. He married a hometown girl, Clotilde, in 1891, and they soon found their way to America.
Though Virgilio and his family were farmers, they settled in Duquesne near the steel mills. The career change must have been monumental— shifting from working outside in sunny Italy to the dark, hot smelting furnaces surrounded by soot.
Eventually Virgilio may have found some respite from this environment when his son Angelo opened a grocery store on Center Street in Duquesne, one of the steepest streets in Pittsburgh.
The building where the store was once located is still there, and the streets are still the old brick surface. If you’ ve seen the 1993 Bruce Willis film“ Striking Distance,” then you have seen Center Street, since
part of the movie was filmed there.
Other family members found work in various careers, including Virgilio’ s daughters, Helen and Rose, who worked as nurses at McKeesport Hospital in the late 1800s. His son Domenic opened a car dealership, Duquesne Motor Service.
Somewhere along the line, members of the Fontanesi family changed the spelling of the name to Fontanese to distinguish themselves from the other branch of relatives.
In 1980, the Fontanesi clan started holding reunions, with some family members traveling from places as far away
as San Diego and New Hampshire. They will hold their 30th family reunion this year. About 75-80 descendants attend the event, which includes games for kids, lively conversation, a Zoom call to Italy, and of course, great food!
Carol Fontanese-Deffner says that they tried to find their family members in Italy for years.“ We knew the town they came from, but we were never able to locate them.”
Finally in 2016, fate lent a hand when Carol and other family members traveled to Castelnovo di Sotto. They were driving down the street and spotted a couple of pedestrians, and decided to randomly ask them if they knew of the Fontanesi family.“ We are Fontanesi!” was the surprising reply.
They were invited into their relatives’ home and welcomed with open arms and lots of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Lambrusco— two items the region is famous for producing. At the annual carnival parade, the family was invited onstage where they were introduced and the local newspaper even mentioned them!
Family members Donato, Attillia, Maurizio and Mila have been instrumental in providing background research on the family and even prepared a PowerPoint presentation explaining the different branches— with town officials in attendance!
Some members of the Fontanesi family in Castelnovo di Sotto recognized the name of Duquesne as being a familiar one on care packages they received from America during World War II. They pronounced it“ Du-kwes-ne.”
The Fontanese Family
The American Fontanesi clan had sent children’ s clothing and blankets to their relatives during that lean time in Italy, and their kindness was remembered.
The work continues in trying to preserve the history of the family.
They are currently working on a website where all the photos will be preserved, and a Facebook page has been created that helps get the word out regarding upcoming family reunions.
Many people in Pittsburgh have a similar story of family members who came here hoping to make their fortune. Although many did not find their pot of gold, they have perhaps found something even more valuable— family ties that stretch beyond time and distance with the reassurance of knowing from where we came. n
The Pittsburgh Fontanesi family gave Duquesne T-shirts to their Italian relatives.
WEST MIFFLIN ❘ FALL 2025 11