From Sty to Sanctuary: Pettoranello Volunteers Receive Accolades

Matthew Hersh

Members of the Princeton Pettoranello Foundation were honored Sunday for their efforts on behalf of Pettoranello Gardens in Community Park North.

Once a park badly in need of a haircut, the 14-acre site now celebrates the relationship between Princeton and its sister city of Pettoranello, Italy, according to former Foundation President Nick Carnevale.

In spring 1991, Princeton Township established a relationship with the village in central Italy commemorating Princeton's ties to its residents whose heritage has roots in that region.

Early settlers started arriving in the Princeton area in the early 1860s. Many immigrants came in response to demands by owners of major estates throughout the region for architects, landscape designers, and statuary stone artists to design homes.

Additionally, stone masons and cutters were enlisted by Princeton University to build many of the neo-Gothic buildings that still stand on campus.

Today, approximately 10 percent of the greater-Princeton population has roots in the Pettoranello region, according to Mr. Carnevale.

To create a symbol of the Princeton-Pettoranello relationship, descendants of Italian settlers petitioned the Princeton Recreation Board to allow them to renovate a section of an existing park near Mountain Avenue.

After foundation members committed over 11,000 volunteer man hours, the park, which is used for passive recreation, is now known for its landcaping aesthetic. It is most recently the site of a Shakespeare festival that takes place annually in the Pettoranello Gardens Amphitheater.

Township Mayor Phyllis Marchand said the garden established by the Pettoranello Foundation is a testament to positive community output.

"It has been a joy for the residents to have members of our community donate their talents," she said. "The product [of their efforts] is a tremendous asset for everyone here and those who visit the gardens."

Jack Roberts, executive director of the Princeton Recreation Department, said that not only has the Princeton/Pettoranello Foundation done a service to the Princeton community, but it has also turned a park largely disregarded by residents into a landscape that is one of the "best manicured properties in this town."

While the Recreation Department supplies the volunteers with extra manpower and equipment, Mr. Roberts attributes the lion's share of credit to the foundation and its members.

Princeton Township acquired the land across Route 206 from the Community Park South playing fields in the mid 1960s. In the 1970s, a portion of a stream that had once flowed through the area was dredged to form a pond with an island. A berm was created and planted with pine trees to shield the park from noise pollution caused by traffic along the highway, and a wooden amphitheater was built for outdoor summer concerts.

However, throughout the 1980s, allocated funding from municipal budgets diminished, and the park suffered from relative neglect. In 1992, the Princeton/Pettoranello Sister City Committee (later a not-for-profit foundation) decided to take the reigns of the refurbishment project of the park. Dead trees and branches were removed, and a new landscape was built.

The Princeton/Pettoranello Foundation also supports the independent Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra and has taken it on two performing tours of Italy. The Foundation actually recruited the current conductor, Fernando Raucci, while in Pettoranello.

The Foundation also provides four post-baccalaureate grants for studies in Italy in a number of disciplines. Two grant-recipients recently returned from studying the works of Michelangelo. In addition, the Foundation has contributed money to the new Princeton Public Library for rooms focusing on foreign-language studies.

Along with Mr. Carnevale, those honored in the Township ceremony were: Luigi Carnevale; Marjorie Carnevale; Nicola Ciccone; Vincenzo Ciccone; Tullio DeVincenzi; Eric Greenfeldt; former Township Mayor Cate Litvack; Marilyn Lynch; Rita Novitt; Barbara Parmet; Joe Perna; Michael Perna; Umbaerto Perna; Mario Petrecca; Anna Pinelli; Eleanor Pinelli; Domenico Pirone; Frank Pirone; Phil Porado; Antonio Procaccini; Frank Procaccini; Gino Rossi; Ugo Rossi; Nino Santoro; Adele Tamasi; Antonio Tamasi; Dominick Tamasi; Sebastiano Tamasi; Teodoro Tamasi; and Robert Wells.