SCIARAPPAFAMILY.COM
Linguistically, Sciarappa means “potent wine” in Aramaic. This phrase probably refers to a second fermentation pressing of the vegetative residues of fine wines. This term may have evolved into “ grappa” – the white lightening moonshine of Italian alcohol products.
(See this Grappa bottle made in Pescara - the spur of the "Italian Boot" in the Abruzizi / Apulia of Grandpa Fidel Sciarappa.)
Consumption of such products, the connotation of the word Sciarappa in Italian became more of a reference to a drunkard – someone who partied too hard with this ancient high alcohol wine product. Some wine books refer to a very potent wine of the Abruzizi / Apulia region known as Sciarappadiavelalo. See Michael Louis Sciarappa's wine label to the right
An interesting note is that the specific fungus gnats seen around these wine production facilities are named in the family SCIAIARE – the wine fungus flies. These insects enjoy the fungal fermentation process as well and shows the language evolution from Aramaic to Latin.
There was a lot of uncertainty and confusion about the specific places in southern Italy where the Sciarappa Family first arrived sometime between 1000 and 1500 A.D. Grandpa Fred Sciarappa always stated that he was Abruzese in heritage while many of his children thought they were Napolitan or Puglinese. This is because of changing geographical lines drawn from different wars and changing territories during the occupations that the political governors redrew. The closest big town was Foggia in Puglia - so just like if you are from Jersey, you might say you are from New York. For instance, Naples is on the west coast but with its' well equipped army and economic power, it conquered all the way over to the east coast town of Pescara in the province of Abruzzo. Native Abruzese lived either at the beach and fished like in Belmar, NJ...or lived a bit inland up in the forest where they hunted and herded farm animals as well as cultivated food crops and grapes. The nomadic herdsmen moved south in the winter and north in the summer over hundreds of miles without regard for municipal boundaries. This led to another 'mini-war' between Abruzzo and Puglia after which the new province of Molise was created as a "no-fight" zone. Thus, over hundreds of years one could of originated from one of any three of these mini-nations, but Grandpop always said he was Abruzese.
Then there is Mike Sciarappa's branch from Avellino and Villanova in the Campania area. More questions about our relationships.
Click to Read
Two Books on Orsara di Puglia
Ancient History of the Sciarappa Journey
The Sciarappa Name and Ancient Travel
The name Sciarappa comes from the ancient Aramaic language – the traditional language of the Mediterranean region that Jesus spoke. Aramaic words later evolved into three major written languages – Latin, Hebrew, and Arabic. All three ethnic groups were much closer than they are today, as they all formed with the radical idea in mind of one God. This separation increased with migration due to the Egyptian slavery trade, attacks from other groups and climactic problems. Generally, the Hebrews headed north, away from Jerusalem to the Russian region. Arab people headed southeast to inhabit today’s current Middle East regions. The early Latin tribes headed west along the southern Mediterranean/north African rim to Tunisia, where they were then attacked by early Moor tribes. Thus, these early Italian predecessors fled over to Sicily and were again attacked by the Moors headed over to colonize the eastern Adriatic portion of Italia – the Puglia and Abruzzi provinces.
