Why 1898? The Story Behind Radici

Some ideas begin with a business plan. Radici 1898 began with a name, a place, and a question: where did we come from?

My family's roots lead back to San Fele, a small hill town in Basilicata in Southern Italy. For generations, those roots were something we carried with us through names, stories, traditions and fragments of family history. But, eventually, knowing that we came from somewhere wasn't enough for me. I wanted to find it.

The search became much bigger than genealogy.

It became Radici 1898.

Why 1898

1898 represents the point where the story of my family in San Fele begins to cross into the story that eventually became my life in America.

My great-grandfather, Pietro Tauriello, was born in San Fele in 1873. Like so many people from Southern Italy during that generation, he eventually left the place he knew and made the journey to America. He carried his name, his traditions and his roots with him.

More than a century later, I found myself tracing that journey in reverse.

I began searching records, names, and addresses. What started as an attempt to understand my own family became a much deeper connection to San Fele and Basilicata and to the realization that countless families have a story much like mine.

The buildings are still there. The family names are still there. The craftsmanship, food, land and traditions are still there.

But pieces of that history disappear with every generation.

Radici 1898 is my attempt to preserve some of it.

Carrying It Forward

Radici means "roots" but this isn't about living in the past.

It's about taking what is worth preserving and giving it a future.

Radici 1898 was created to restore historic homes and spaces with respect for their original character, celebrate the artisans and traditions that have shaped Basilicata for generations, and eventually bring carefully selected products from the region to people who value where things come from and the stories behind them.

The goal is not to recreate Italy that no longer exists. It is to help preserve the Italy that still does.

For me, that begins in San Fele.

But the idea is bigger than one town or one family. There are millions of people whose families left places like this generations ago. Some know exactly where their roots began. Others have only a surname, an old photograph, or a story passed down through their family.

Radici 1898 is for anyone who believes those connections are worth keeping.

We cant preserve everything. But we can preserve what matters.

Rooted in Basilicata. Preserving what matters.