The Surname
BERTOLIN is easily found in many countries like Italy, Spain, U.S.,
Canada, Argentina, Russia, Netherlands, Germany, Paraguay, Brazil and
many others. However, it is in the northern region of Italy that most
of the families carrying the name BERTOLIN currently live. In the
Veneto region, there are records of Bertolins since the XVII century.
By the end of the
XIX century, especially since 1870, there was a great migration
movement from Italy. During over 30 years, millions of Italians left
the country, aiming to find better economic possibilities to build
their lives. More than 10 million Italians came to the American
continent and over 5 million Italians came to Brazil since 1875. Many
members of the Bertolin family were part of this immigration wave.
Later, during the XX century, the two great wars influenced the
migration of many Europeans, including Italians. There are reports of
Italian soldiers of the Bertolin family fighting in Russia during
first world war where they later established their lives. Also in
this period from 1930 there are reports of Italians migrating to
Brazil and Argentina.
Marostica
City, Vicenza – Italy
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| Lower Castle. Central square of Marostica, Vicenza, Italy. Place of traditional game of chess. |
After the fall of
the Roman empire, Veneto suffered with many invasions from northern
armies, like the one by the Hungarians around 900 ad. The Marostica
village was established exactly on their way from the north to
Vicenza. For this reason, around 1300 ad, after Vicenza declared
independency, both the Lower and Upper Castles were built. In 1372
the construction of the City Wall located beside the two castles
started. In this way, a fortress to protect Vicenza was built.
The name Bertolin
has been part of Marostica’s history at least in the past 400
years. More recent records can be found at Santa Maria Assunta Church
archives where, for example, is the marriage certificate of LORENZO
BERTOLIN and MARIA MAGDALENA MORESCO. Lorenzo was the patriarch of my
family, which came to Brazil in 1878. The baptism certificate of
their children MARIA, STELA, ORÁZIO GUISEPPE, LUIGIA and VICTORIA,
are also in the church files.
In the end of the
XIX century, Italy suffered a severe economic crisis. On the other
side of the Atlantic, countries like U.S., Canada, Argentina and
Brazil had a lot better situation with their economies in full
development. In Brazil, slavery abolishment was being discussed and
consequently, the required work force substitution. In this scenario,
the Brazilian Imperial Government agreed with Italy to receive a
great flux of Italian immigrants. Among the Italians that came to
Brazil, there were many Bertolin's.
Bertolin's in
Brazil
It has already
been 140 years since the first Bertolins arrived in Brazil. The
patriarch LORENZO BERTOLIN was born on May 18th of 1834 in
Pianezze, Italy. He married Maria Magdalena Moresco in February 23rd
of 1854, according to the record found at Santa Maria Assunta church
in Marostica, VI – Italy. Therefore, our family is originally from
the Veneto region.
In December 31st
of 1877, the family left Italy departing from Genova’s harbor
having Brazil as their destination. It was a long trip, with poor
hygiene and accommodations conditions aboard of Isabela ship. The
ship arrived only in January 26th 1878 in Rio de Janeiro
with 842 Italian immigrants aboard, including Lorenzo Bertolin and
his family. Besides his wife Maria Magdalena Moresco, Lorenzo had his
6 children with him:
Maria Bertolin
was the oldest daughter and arrived in Brazil when she was 18 years
old. She got married in the city of Bento Gonçalves, RS - Brazil
with Francesco Ponticelli in November 15th 1879;
Stella Bertolin
was 16 years old. Years later, in November 10th 1883, she
married Irineo Bertani also in Bento Gonçalves;
Orazio Giuseppe
Bertolin, my great-great-grandfather, was 14 years old in 1878 when
he arrived in Brazil. Later, he married the Brazilian Sebastiana
Alves Monteiro da Silva;
Luigia Bertolin
was 12 years old. She married Victorio Toaldo in Bento Gonçalves, RS
in November 16th 1889;
Her sister
Victoria Bertolin was 09 years old. She married Pedro Toaldo,
Victorio Toaldo’s brother, in 6th of July of 1891;
Alexandre
Bertolin, the youngest child, was 07 years old when the family
established itself in the colony of Dona Isabel known as Bento
Gonçalves-RS today. He married Rosa Zanella.
As it was usual
at the time, the immigrants were submitted to a quarantine period
once they arrived in Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro, the quarantine center
was in Flores Island. There, the families would establish themselves
as they could and would receive their Brazilian documents. After the
quarantine period, they were allowed to proceed to their final
destination, which in the case of Lorenzo Bertolin was the colony of
Dona Isabel.
An Epopee.
The trip from Rio
de Janeiro to Porto Alegre was made with ships. There, the immigrants
would switch to smaller boats and proceed to Sao Joao de Montenegro
through the Jacui river. From Sao Joao de Montenegro they continued
the last 78 kilometers (125 miles) by foot with the help of mules.
This was definitely the most challenging part of the trip. There were
no roads connecting Montenegro to the colony of Dona Isabel.
Therefore, adults and kids had to follow small trails through the
woods to make it to their new land. Only years later a road was
built, which allowed the usage of carts.
In 1877, there
were already 1929 settlers in Dona Isabel’s settlement. Out of
total number of sttlers, 1302 were Italians, 505 from Tirol, 12 were
French and other 10 were Brazilians. (Source: "As
Colonias Italianas Dona isabel e Conde D'Eu" - Editora EST -
Page 15.)
The first few
days at the settlement were in complete precariousness. Families
would take shelter under tends made with bed sheets. For this reason,
the camp was known at the time as the white city. While they waited
for the definition of which lot they would receive, each family had
to find their way to survive through those days without any
infrastructure. After that, besides the land each family also
received a few tools for deforestation and homes construction.
Immigrants
paid for their land
Lorenzo Bertolin
received the lot #54, located at Estrada Geral da Colonia Dona
Isabel. There, in the middle of the woods, his family built their
first house. The definite title of the land, Lorenzo only received in
1894, 16 years after buying it, when he paid his last installment. It
was under these conditions that many Italian immigrants began their
trajectory in the South of Brazil.
Besides the
challenges, a history of prosperity.
In the South of Brazil, the Bertolin family started its activities in
agriculture. At the time, the soil was fertile and there was no need
for fertilizers. They produced a variety of products such as wheat,
corn, beans, rye and coffee. The biggest challenge at the time was to
distribute their production due to the lack of roads and
infrastructure. Years later, roads were built, and a commerce
corridor was established with the German immigrants that were living
in Vale dos Sinos (Bells Valley).
In these 140
years, Lorenzo’s family grew, throve and spread around the
Brazilian territory.
In April 2018,
the first gathering of the Bertolin family was held in Bento
Gonçalves, RS. The event had 102 participants and most of them had
never met before. It was a great opportunity to get to know each
other better and to celebrate the family’s history as well as to
share stories, emotions and joy.
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| First Meeting of the Bertolin and Bertolini Family in Brazil. April 2018 in Bento Gonçalves-RS. |
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| First Meeting of the Bertolin and Bertolini Family in Brazil. April 2018 in Bento Gonçalves-RS. |
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| First Meeting of the Bertolin and Bertolini Family in Brazil. April 2018 in Bento Gonçalves-RS. |
An extra `I`
The origin of the
“extra `I` ” is not known, but both in Brazil as well as in Italy
the Bertolin and the Bertolini families exist. However, here in
Brazil there is a special case in which a member of the Bertolin
family added an ‘I’ to the family name becoming Bertolini. The
first one to have the ‘I’ added to his name was REDOVINO
BERTOLINI, the youngest child of my great-great-grandfather ORAZIO
GIUSEPPE BERTOLIN and his wife SEBASTIANA ALVES MONTEIRO DA SILVA. In
this way, all the descendants of REDOVINO are named BERTOLINI.
However, there is no known connection between REDOVINO’s family and
the previously mentioned Bertolini family, which is also present in
Brazil. Besides the different spelling of their last last name, today
we know that we share the same blood.
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| Descendants of Redovino Bertolini together with the team organizing the event. |
Are you also a
Bertolin and does not live in Brazil?
Share your story with us so we
can integrate even more the great Bertolin family, which is spread
all around the world.
Arrivederci!
