Relatives come from far and wide to celebrate remarkable Baldi family

More than 100 relatives and descendants of Vito Baldi and Rosa Galzerano, who were born in Campania in the 1800s, gathered at family events in June in Malvern and South Philadelphia.

From left: Victor Baldi, David Costabile and Chuck Douglas share a laugh and a photo.

Cousins flew in from Alaska, California, Mexico City and Italy to attend a reception and dinner in Malvern hosted by Patty Baldi Holloway and her husband Gary.

A bus took about 50 of the group on a tour of Baldi-related sites from Roxborough to South Philadelphia. The tour ended at Ristorante Aroma on Third Street with a four-course meal and remarks by the President of Sons of Italy, Chapter 2787, Victor Baldi III of South Philadelphia. He is the fourth generation to run the Baldi Funeral Home on South Broad Street.

Also making remarks was C.C.A. Baldi’s grandson, Judge Robert Baldi of the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. His son-in-law, David Costabile of Brooklyn, N,Y., was gracious in posing for pictures. As an actor, he has appeared in “Breaking Bad,” “Suits” and “Billions,” among his many roles.

Baldi extended family members gather on the porch of 319 Green Lane in Roxborough, Pa., home of C.C.A. Baldi.

A cake was decorated with the picture of Charles Carmen Antonio Baldi, known as C.C.A., from the cover a book about him and his brothers published by History Press in 2022 titled “Philadelphia’s King of Little Italy,” written by his great-grandson, Charles G. Douglas of Philadelphia.

C.A.A. just 14 when he left the Southern Italian town of Castelnuovo Cilento and arrived in Philadelphia in 1876. He had only 40 cents to his name, and made a living selling lemons off a pushcart in downtown Philadelphia. One day he bought every lemon in the city at a rate of $1.26 a box. Two or three days later the fruit soared in value and the youthful lemon merchant sold the lemons at a rate of $7 and $8 a box. He then became committed to growing a business empire.

Cake features the cover of a book written about the Baldi brothers by Charles C. Douglas.

To better blend into his totally new environment, he worked on his English and added Charles to his name thus becoming known as C.C.A. Baldi.

In 1883, a contractor laying track for the Schuylkill Valley Railroad asked C.C.A. to come up to Pottsville as an interpreter to reason with the Italian laborers or tracca ganga because of a strike. Applying a deft touch, Baldi resolved the dispute.

C.C.A. then found a gravel bank in the area and contracted with the railroad to substitute the gravel for the anthracite coal they had been using as fill or ballast under the rails. He shipped the coal back to Philadelphia to a coal yard he bought at 12th Street and Washington Avenue.

Charles Carmen Antonio Baldi, known as C.C.A., was  just 14 when he left the Southern Italian town of Castelnuovo Cilento and arrived in Philadelphia in 1876. He had only 40 cents to his name, and made a living selling lemons off a pushcart in downtown Philadelphia.

By the time of his passing C.C.A. Baldi had become one of the most well-known and successful Italian Americans in Philadelphia history. Along with his brothers, Joseph, Alfonso and Virgilio, they established a bank, funeral home, and the largest Italian-language newspaper in America, L’Opinione.

Both C.C.A. and Joseph were knighted by King Victor Emmanuel, III in 1907 and 1911 respectively.

Making the reunion a true family affair, four Galzeranos descended from Rosa, the Baldi brother’s mother, flew in from Italy. Marina Galzerano came from Mexico City and served as the translator for Giuseppe Galzerano, who still lives in Castelnuovo Cilento.

Giuseppe announced that a street in the town was being dedicated to C.C.A. Baldi by a vote of the town government there. The Baldi family home at 31 Via Roma in Castelnuovo is still standing.

Patty Baldi Holloway coined a slogan for the gathering: “We are who we are because they were who they were.” Plans are in the works for another reunion in the future.