La famiglia Imperiale and descendants - Banu Demiralp

I am the great-granddaughter of Antonio Imperiale, son of Blasi Imperiale. Antonio Imperiale was born in San Demetrio ne’ Vestini, L’aquila, Abruzzo in Italy in the mid 1800’s. The Imperiale family, immigrated to Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire in the mid 19th century.

Antonio Imperiale married a young Polish lady, Maria Wolcek, daughter of Matthaei, from Krakow, Poland. Antonio and Maria were musicians in a travelling orchestra. They travelled and performed all over Europe. We don’t know why, but they decided to stay in Istanbul. They lived in a flat in Beyoğlu (Pera). They had four children: Olga, Mafalda (both born Salonica), Carolina and Raimondo (born Izmir). Carolina, my grandmother, was born in Istanbul. Olga had a daughter, Yolanda, however Olga divorced when Yolanda was a baby & consequently she never knew him. Yolanda died 2012.

Maria died in Istanbul in 1930s and is buried in Adampol-Polonezköy Cemetery and I have no real information or documents concerning the Wolcek family. After his wife’s death, Antonio moved to Ankara to live with his younger daughter, Carolina, her Turkish husband and their children. He died in 1947 and is buried in Cebeci Cemetery, Ankara. He also died before my mother was born.

As far as I know, the surviving members of the family are their four grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. I know that their son Raimondo immigrated to Greece and married a Greek lady named Maria. He died in the 1980s. We don’t know but we suspect he had children.

This is all I know about the family. Since my grandmother died when my mother was a child, my mother knows very little about her family. All we have is my grandmother’s birth certificate, citizenship records and a few photos.

I’d like to share my photos (more added in February 2014, found in the house of one of aunts) with you hoping that somenone knows something of the family. Also, I’d like to honour their memory. I know that they were proud of Italy and of being Italian.

The Imperiale family registration in 1913 at the Italian Consulate in Istanbul, which confirms what you already know: that Antonio Imperiale was born in San Demetrio ne Vestini (L’Aquila)- Abruzzes, son of Basilio and the late Nicolina. His wife, Maria nata Woleck was born in 1874 in Cracovia (Poland). Their eldest daughters: Olga & Mafalda were born in Salonica in 1903 & 1906, whereas their son Raimondo was born in Izmir in 1908.

The baptism registration of Raimondo, on November 15th 1908 at Notre Dame du Rosaire in Izmir. In the margin is the indication of his marriage to Fotini Nicolaides (or Nicolaidou) on Sept 11th 1938 in Istanbul (Sainte Marie Draperis).

The baptism registration of Carolina, on June 5th 1911 in Istanbul (Sainte Marie Drapéris).

The death registration of Marianne Wolek on January 28th 1943 in Istanbul (Sainte Marie Drapéris), where the name of her parents is indicated: she is the daughter of Mathheus Wolek and Appolonia (Paulina) Bartosik.

submission date 2011