I am a designer based in Seattle working on a signage program for a bocce ball court at public park here in Seattle. Part of this project involves a bit of background and history of the game, particularly here in the US. I found your image, "bocce game". With your permission, we would love to use it as part of the interpretive panel. Of course, credit would be given as well. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you! The court and the tavern outside which it was located are long gone as well as all the players, but we Colaianni cousins have fond memories playing the game ourselves at family picnics on the 4th of July.
Rayna Valentine. From Rayna Colaianni Valentine: "Thanks for the info regarding birth dates. I think I may have misunderstood Ornella, between her accent, and my cell phone or the info her mother gave her about her grandmother was just plain wrong.
I'll adjust my notes. I wonder if the Emiddio she was talking about was Emiddio Colaianni--my great-grandfather?? Now that I think about the birth and death dates, it makes sense. Great-grandpa Emidio died shortly after I was born, and since I was born in May of , that also makes sense. Here's a picture of Emiddio taken ca. Emiddio Colaianni had a daughter, Concetta, who married Oreste Cinea. They moved to Denver and lived the rest of their lives there.
Their daughter, Italia, was born in Italy and this is her picture--it's another of Vincenzo Gentile's with his studio stamp on the back. Oreste and Zia C had another daughter, Viola, and a son, Anthony. Only Italia married and she had no children.
They operated a small grocery store out of a couple of rooms in their house in Denver for years. They also made great ricotta ravioli, which I ate with gusto when I visited them while at school in Boulder! The inscription on the back is nearly illegible because it's written with black ink on dark gray cardboard and the ink is fading, but is says "Per Il Sigr.
