Researching Sicily — “The Lady of the Wheel”

In this episode I talk to Angelo Coniglio about his family research and his book “The Lady of the Wheel”. Angelo explains naming conventions of the abandoned children and how poorly they were treated. This is a story set in Racalmuto, Sicily in the late nineteenth century. As historical fiction, it deals with a heartbreaking aspect of parenting: the practice of of leaving unwanted children in a revolving door or wheel (ruota) of a church, hospital or foundling home, so that the children would be cared for or placed for adoption. In some towns, the receiver of foundlings was called ‘la ruotara’ or ‘la ruotaia’ (the lady of the wheel).

Coniglio Family Website

The Lady of the Wheel