A Padre Kino Pilgrimage
This past November I had the opportunity to visit Segno, Italy, the birthplace of Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino. Kino was a Jesuit missionary who imparted a significant impact on the cultural landscape of the region where we live, the Arizona-Sonora borderlands, known to him as the Pimeria Alta.
He was born in 1645 in the gorgeous Val de Non of northern Italy, near the modern border with Austria. The valley is enveloped by the Dolomite Mountains and blessed with fertility, resulting in some of the best-grown apples anywhere. The land is dominated by groves of apple trees as well as vineyards, their leaves transforming into beautiful shades of red and yellow, heralding the arrival of colder temperatures.
Despite the chill in the air, we were warmed by the hospitality of Alberto Chini and his wife Hilda who welcomed us into their home and treated us to a delicious Sunday meal. Alberto is a descendant of the Chini family, the original Italian surname of the family before it was Hispanicized to Kino with his arrival in Mexico in the 1680s.
After picking us up at the Trent train station, Alberto drove us to Segno, where he lives, via a long tunnel through an impressive mountain separating the valley of Trent from the Val di Non. Later, we ascended Via Sonora to reach Segno perched above to arrive at the plaza, just adjacent to the familiar-sounding, Via Arizona. We were greeted by the sound of bells echoing across the valley, arriving exactly at midday. This sound emanated from the same church Padre Kino would have attended mass in as a youth.
The fresh mountain air was marvelous and a beautiful light illuminated the mural of the Museo Padre Francesco Eusebio Chini and the statue in front of it, which I recognized from both Magdalena de Kino and Tucson. It is the third replica equestrian statue of Kino which was commissioned in the 1980s to honor the arrival of Kino into the Pimeria Alta, today’s Arizona-Sonora borderlands. Three statues were conceived to celebrate the three centuries since Eusebio Francisco Kino in three places important to his story and impact on the world.
Alberto ushered us into his home facing the museum on the plaza where we were welcomed by the aroma of a delicious meal being prepared and Hilda, Alberto’s wife. Seated at the table we caught a glimpse of one of the best views of the plaza, framing the statue and museum I just described. We were delighted when Alberto broke out not only the Kino Vero wine produced from a mixture of three local red grapes but also a sparkling wine from the Trent region.
The meal was fantastic, aperitivos, a pasta made with mushrooms that Hilda and Alberto had foraged themselves from just up the mountain, carne salada roast beef with homegrown potatoes and sage, and capped off with an apple cake made with acorns. To digest was grappa, Val di Non’s equivelant of Sonora’s spirit, bacanora.
Soon arrived Daniela, Alberto’s sister along with her husband Silvano who joined us for a post-lunch promenade just up to the next small commune, Torre where Kino had been baptized. It was along this pleasant walk we could take in the beauty of where the missionary had grown up and sighted the area he tilled as a youthful farmer. Just below this temple was the graveyard where the Chini name was displayed on various tombs and also ran into a charming mountain dog who seemed to be taking in the same view we were.
A visit to the Melinda apple factory at the base of Segno which processes and ships apples across Europe was not possible due to a recent change to winter hours, but all the more reason to return. Our final stop was the museum where we were impressed as Alberto kept on opening doors to a new exhibit around every turn. Especially poignant was the art of Nereo de la Pena and others including Eva Laura Moraga and Margarita Celaya, all from Sonora. Quite surprising were the well-made recreations of the cabin on the ship replete with flickering light and sound effects creaking the ship and crashing of the waves. The visit ended in the Kino library where Alberto generously presented me with multiple DVDs and books on our mutual historical hero.
Driving back to Trent from Segno, my thoughts wandered to the hope that Alberto and his family would visit us in Arizona and Sonora again where we could return the hospitality he so graciously shared with us. Hasta pronto amici!
Want to make your own pilgrimage to Padre Kino’s birthplace in the Dolomites? You’ll want to add your name and contact information to our Padre Kino Pilgrimage Trip to Northern Italy slated for 2025. Click here.