Tracing Family History: Eugenio Menegon in Druento (Piedmont, Italy)
As part of his research on the Europeans in Beijing in the 18th century, Professor Eugenio Menegon visited this summer the municipality of Druento, near Turin (part of the Dukedom of Savoy in the 18th century). This was the native town of the Meinardi (or Meynardi) family. The Discalced Augustinian Sigismondo Meinardi da San Nicola (1713-1767) spent almost 30 years at the Qing imperial court in Beijing as a clock and automaton maker, and wrote many letters to his brother Francesco, a lawyer and priest living in Druento with their mother. Menegon has traced so far 270 letters by Sigismondo in several archives in Italy, the Vatican and Sweden, and other documents about him in Paris and Beijing.
During the visit on June 23, the Mayor of Druento, Dr. Sergio Bussone, and the official in charge of cultural activities, Dr. Fabrizio Gadoni (see group picture), welcomed Menegon (BU) and fellow travelers Professors Benedict Cruz (Harvard) and Sergio Parussa (Wellesley), and led them in a brief tour of the local churches, the parish archives, the library and town archives. The visit was crowned by tasty Piedmontese fare at a local restaurant. The town hopes to sponsor the publication of Sigismondo’s letters to his family in the future, with Menegon’s assistance.
