Genealogical research · updated 12 November 2026

The roots of Gaetano Dario Verghi

Four Sicilian family lines, across Palermo, Lercara Friddi, Chiusa Sclafani and Bagheria: two foundlings, two cousins who married each other, and five generations rebuilt from civil registration records.

Where the research starts

The starting point is Gaetano Dario Verghi (* Palermo, 4 July 1979), son of Antonino Verghi (* 1948) and Giuseppa Miosi (* 1956). His four grandparents are Gaetano Verghi (1927–1999) and Francesca Paola Reale (1927–2024) on the father's side, and Filippo Miosi (1923–2000) and Maria Antonia Terracchio (1928–2023) on the mother's side. The research began as an attempt to find out who great-grandfather Antonio Verghe, a foundling from Chiusa Sclafani, really was, and then grew to cover every line.

In progressVerghi: Antonio Verghe (1898–1941)

Paternal great-grandfather. Found in the foundling wheel of Chiusa Sclafani on 7 January 1898, he married Marianna Bongiovanni in Lercara Friddi in 1921. His biological parents are unknown: DNA points to the Caravella and Gendusa families of Chiusa. The full dossier →

ReconstructedReale (Palermo) and Bongiovanni (Lercara)

Family of grandmother Francesca Paola Reale. Her parents, Nicolò and Rosalia Reale (both born 1897), were first cousins; the line goes back to Vincenzo Reale and Provvidenza Graziano, parents of 3×-great-grandfather Nicolò (born around 1830). Plus the Bongiovanni, Marianna's family. Go to this line →

Partly reconstructedMiosi, Cassiere, Di Piazza (Bagheria)

Family of grandfather Filippo Miosi. There is a foundling here too: Alfonso Cassiere, abandoned in Palermo around 1869. Go to this line →

To be completedTerracchio and Fisicaro (Palermo)

Family of grandmother Maria Antonia Terracchio, from Brancaccio. The father of Pietro Terracchio is still a hypothesis. Go to this line →

Latest findings

Reale family: the great-grandparents are Nicolò Reale (* 22 Jun 1897, son of Pietro and Teresa Pirrone) and Rosalia Reale (* 3 Aug 1897, daughter of Vincenzo and Nicolina Licciardi). Their shared grandparents are Nicolò Reale and Francesca Paola Marino, married in Palermo in 1855; Nicolò's parents were Vincenzo Reale and Provvidenza Graziano. Details

Family faces

Photographs from the Verghi family tree on MyHeritage.

Antonio Verghe (Verghi)1898 – 1941
Marianna Bongiovanni1901 – 1987
Gaetano Verghi1927 – 1999
Francesca Paola Reale1927 – 2024

Dario's family tree (current state of the research)

Gaetano Dario Verghi (* Palermo, 4 July 1979) is the son of Antonino Verghi (* 1948) and Giuseppa Miosi (* 1956). Below are both lines back to the earliest ancestors identified, with dates and places wherever the records give them. Details about living people are kept to a minimum.

starting personfoundlinghypothesis to verifynot identified

Paternal line (Verghi, Bongiovanni, Reale)

Antonino Verghi * 1948 Dario's father Gaetano Verghi 1927 – 1999 Francesca Paola Reale * Palermo 1927 – † 2024 Antonio Verghe (Verghi) foundling, Chiusa Sclafani 7 Jan 1898 † Palermo 25 Sep 1941 Marianna Bongiovanni * Lercara Friddi 2 Feb 1901 † Palermo 7 Aug 1987 Nicolò Reale * Palermo 22 Jun 1897 («Francesco» in the family) · later Genoa Rosalia Reale * Palermo 3 Aug 1897 her husband's first cousin Unknown biological father hypothesis: Caravella family of Chiusa Sclafani Unknown biological mother hypothesis: Gennusa / Blanda / Tortomasi, Chiusa Sclafani Calogero Bongiovanni Lercara Friddi Maria Franzino Lercara Friddi Pietro Reale * Palermo 31 Jan 1867 marble worker · m. Dec 1890 Teresa Pirrone * Palermo c. 1873 Vincenzo Reale * Palermo 19 May c. 1860 carpenter · banns 1888 Nicolina Licciardi * Palermo Oct 1865 Nicolò Reale cabinetmaker, * c. 1829–31 m. Palermo 22 Oct 1855 Francesca Paola Marino * c. 1831–37 Bernardo Pirrone carpenter, Palermo Giacoma Rizzo † before 1890 Nicolò Reale same person as no. 24 cabinetmaker, * c. 1829–31 Francesca Paola Marino same person as no. 25 Orazio Licciardi † before 1888 Provvidenza Genna Palermo

Maternal line (Miosi, Cassiere, Di Piazza, Terracchio)

Giuseppa Miosi * 22 Jul 1956 Dario's mother Filippo Miosi 1923 – 2000 Maria Antonia Terracchio * Palermo 1928 – † 2023 Antonio Miosi * Bagheria 24 Dec 1894 m. Bagheria 15 Jul 1917 Giuseppa Cassiere * Bagheria 1898 Pietro Terracchio Palermo alive in 1944 Girolama Fisicaro Palermo Filippo Miosi * Bagheria c. 1862–64, farm worker/baker m. 11 May 1895 · widower 1901 Maria Di Bernardo * Bagheria c. 1872 † Bagheria between 1895 and 1901 Alfonso Cassiere foundling, * Palermo c. 1869 shoemaker · † before 1945 Antonina Di Piazza * Bagheria c. Jul 1872 † Bagheria 18 Mar 1945 Pietro Terracchio (1866)? * Brancaccio 2 Jan 1866 · labourer hypothesis Isabella Tumminello? * c. 1860 hypothesis ? not yet identified ? not yet identified Antonino Miosi * c. 1825, farm worker alive in Bagheria in 1901 Elisabetta Scirè * c. 1836 alive in Bagheria in 1901 ? parents: 1895 marriage record ? parents: 1895 marriage record Unknown parents Foundling Institute of Palermo Unknown parents (foundling) Giacomo Di Piazza * Bagheria 25 Dec 1845 (probable) son of Pietro and Antonina Anello Lucia Scimeca * Bagheria c. 1852 † Bagheria 24 Jan 1932 Giuseppe Terracchio labourer, Brancaccio · * c. 1821–27 father of Pietro 1866 (1866 record) Grazia Di Noto * c. 1824 mother of Pietro 1866 (1866 record)

Abbreviations: * born · † died · m. married · c. circa (age taken from the records). «c.» marks a year calculated from a stated age, which can be off by 1–2 years.

For the siblings and descendants of each couple, see the pages for each line: Verghi, Reale, Miosi and Di Piazza.

Next steps, line by line

Contact

Do you have stories, photographs or documents about the Verghi, Reale, Bongiovanni, Miosi, Cassiere, Di Piazza or Terracchio families, or about the Caravella, Gendusa, Tortomasi and Blanda families of Chiusa Sclafani? Do you think you might be a relative, perhaps because you appear among the DNA matches? Please write to me: every piece of information can help the research.

Write to Dario: dario.verghi@gmail.com