It’s Italian National Heritage Month: Check Out This Surprising List of 13 Celebrities with Abruzzo Roots

6. More famous Chieti offspring: World heavyweight boxing champ Rocky Marciano.

Chieti, the capital where lies Abruzzo’s Costa dei Trabocchi, has more than its share of famous descendants. World heavyweight boxing champ Rocky Marciano’s family also hails from this gorgeous coastal region. Originally born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, he became Rocky Marciano after a ring announcer in Rhode Island couldn’t pronounce his last name; Marciano seemed to roll off the tongue a bit more easily for the American announcers. Marciano actually got his start playing baseball, but he was cut from the team for joining a church group. His first boxing match was in July 1948, and he was crowned World Heavyweight Champion in 1952. He won an unrivaled 49 straight fights.

7.Care for a little music? There’s Pierino Ronald Como (aka Perry), Abruzzo’s famous seventh son of a seventh son.

Perry Como’s family hails from Palena, at the far end of the Maiella, where the famous De Cecco and Delverde pastas are made. Pierino was the seventh of 13 children born to Pietro Como and Lucai Travaglini—and the first to be born in America. His first big hit, Til the End of Time, was the biggest hit of the year in 1945. He would go on to be a legendary Vegas performer, winning numerous Emmy awards for his ballads.

8. You might think Michael Bublé is French, but he’s also got Italian citizenship.

French Canadian singer-songwriter Michael Bublé has been an Italian citizen since birth under jure sanguinis, an Italian rule that grants Italian citizenship if your ancestors at birth were Italian citizens. Bublé’s grandparents hailed from Abruzzo and in fact, his Italian grandfather was responsible for his very first singing engagements—Demetrio Santaga would swap his professional plumbing services to businesses in exchange for stage time for his grandson Michael. Today Michael Bublé has an international audience and has won many coveted Grammy, American Music, BRIT, and Juno awards. After a pause in his career when his son was fighting cancer, Bublé made an emotional return to the stage to accept the Canadian National Arts Centre award.

9. Even award-winning actor and heartthrob Bradley Cooper has Abruzzo roots.

It’s probably no surprise that someone with Bradley Cooper’s good looks has an Italian ancestor to thank for it somewhere down the line. In Cooper’s case, his mother Gloria Campano Cooper’s family hails from Abruzzo. Perhaps it’s part of the reason Bradley was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2011, the only man of Italian heritage to have won this honor. Cooper’s maternal grandmother, Assunta de Francesca, was from Ripa Teatina in Abruzzo and Cooper credits her with his passion for cooking.

10. Formula One Champion Juan Manuel Fangio aka ‘El Maestro’ had ancestry in Abruzzo.

This racing driver has been crowned as one of the greatest of all time, having won the World Driver’s Championships five times. This is a record that stood for 47 years until he was beaten by Michael Schumacher. Fangio dominated the first decade of Formula One racing, so it’s no wonder he features the Formula One hall of fame. Fangio’s father emigrated to Argentina from Chieti, where he worked in the building trade.

11. Want to hear a little more music? How about Enrico Nicola (aka Henry) Mancini’s Hollywood tunes?

Listened to the songs of The Pink Panther Show or Breakfast at Tiffany’s? Mancini wrote both these famous scores. He went on to become ‘house arranger’ for Hollywood studios and worked on more than 100 films over the course of his career. Mancini’s parents both immigrated from Abruzzo to Little Italy in Cleveland where Mancini was born in 1924.

12. If Alfredo Cocozza doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps you’ve listened to Mario Lanza in his epic, “The Great Caruso.”

An American tenor, actor and Hollywood film star of Abruzzi ancestry, Mario Lanza’s voice was crowned as ‘the voice of the century’. He had admirers worldwide, including the likes of Frank Sinatra. His Italian parents were of Abruzzese-Molisan descent, his mother from Pescara and his father from Filignano.

13. John Fante American novelist leads us on a road to Abruzzo.

Writer of the American classic ‘Ask the Dust’, a semi-autobiographical novel that features his alter-ego Arturo Bandini. Fante’s gritty writing style influenced the likes of Charles Bukowski. Fante was born in Colorado in 1909 to his father Nicola Fante from Torricella Peligna in Abruzzo, and his mother who was of Lucanian descent.

Ready to Find Roots of your Own?

Do you claim Italian heritage to the Abruzzo region of Italy? Why not take an Ancestry Tour to reconnect with your Abruzzese roots? Get in touch today and find out how simple it is to trace your family history in Abruzzo—and if you’re not ready to chat with us right now, sign up for our free email course to learn everything you need to know to plan your tour of Abruzzo today.