Petina is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is the ancestral home of the Luisi family. Giuseppe Luisi, his wife, Maria Filomena Zito, and their daughter, Rosina, immigrated to the United States between the years of 1877 and 1881.
Petina is a isolated village on top of a plateau, which extends in a 13.51 mil radius. The present mayor is Giovanni Zito. Patina is 177 mils South0Est of Rome. Naples is 62 miles away and is the closest major city. The nearby villages are Caggiano (6 miles), Auletta (4 Miles) and Salvitelle (6 Miles).
When Leonard, Bill, James, and Bill’s son, Bill, went to Petina in 1984, civil and church record were easily accessible. They were able to locate numerous family birth records. Marriage records were also easy to locate because it appears that many, in this small isolated village, married their neighbor.
Internet information about this small town is limited. We do know that Petina was established in the year 1000 a.d. At one time there was a university located there. The Church of St. Nicola is located in Petina, where there is a valuable pulpit carved in a walnut tree and is decorated in gold.
There is a famous “Restorant Hotel” in Patina which is well known for it’s excellent cuisine.
The Monastery of St. Onofrio in Patina holds an old cistern and fountain in the center. Since the year 2000, Petina is the home of an observatory, which is apparently very important to Italy.
The present population is 1,225 inhabitants.