ARPINO Angelina Quilietti 1894-1959

This oil painting of Angelina Quilietti Arpino encapulates her in later life. Photo sponsored by Mario Arpino 2020

**Francesca Juliette Arpino** married **Augusto Quilietti** in Edinburgh in the year 1893. They married at the Church of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Lauriston, Edinburgh. Francesca was the daughter of Benedetto Arpino and Benedetta Francato Cascarino.

Angelina Quilietti was the daughter of Augusto Quilietti and Francesca Arpino. She was born in the Grassmarket in Edinburgh in an area known as little Italy at that time. Her birth address was 85 Grassmarket, Edinburgh, which still stands today and which address in infamous amongst the Italian community as so man immigrants ended up here. I assume the building was rented out as a whole by someone perhaps like a padrone.
By 1898 the Quilietti family had moved from The Grassmarket further up the hill to
1 Ramsay’s Close in the Canongate where her sister Ermennia was born in 1898. Ermennia died when she was only 1 years old..
When Angelina was born her father’s occupation was one of Confectioner, which would have been the maker and seller of ice cream and other sweet delights as well as the Fish and Chips which had just started to take off in Edinburgh around that time. Previously he had worked as a Master of Stucco with his uncle Pietro Donati in Chambers Street in Edinburgh.

85 Grassmarket. It was run by a Padrone who houses new Italian immigrants coming into the City of Edinburgh. There are just too many of the immigrants from the Cassino and surrounding area who have been found at this address for it to be otherwise.

Angelina Quilietti lost her father Augusto in 1904 when she was only 10 years old. This photograph was taken when Giuseppe Quilietti, Augusto’s brother, was visiting Scotland before moving on to Rhode Island with the remaining members of the family.
After Augusto’s death in 1904 it is documented that Francesca carried on the businesses in the Royal Mile. Some years later Francesca and Angelina moved to Paris to work with her Arpino cousins there.

Photograph sponsored by cousin JJ Reid who has enhanced the original. He says
Gt-gt-gran Francesca Juliette’s Parisian cousins. Marriage of Luigi Arpino to Angela Angelosanto 1927 Paris. One of the family restaurants was Bar de l’Escalier owned by Luigi’s brother Alphonse (talk about falling into stereotypes) in Amiens. Still operating so many years later, though I’m not sure who owns it now.
Next to the groom are his parents, Giuseppe Domenico Arpino and Carmina d’Agostino. By the bride, her parents, Giacomo d’Agostino and Francesca Rufo. Behind the groom is his brother Antonio with arm around wife Antonietta Zoccola. Other than the small children at the front, everyone else, to my knowledge, is originally from Sant’Elia.

Angelina married another Arpino by the name of Giovanni Battista Arpino, whose family were also from the same region in Italy, Sant Elia Fiumerapido, Frosinone, an area near Rome and Cassino in central Italy. He was born on 29th September 1897. His parents were Gaetano Arpino and Lugia Combillo. The area is scattered with villages and at this time in history many Italians had moved to Scotland from this area after the Unification of Italy. This is an old photograph of their wedding day

Wedding in the Church of the Sacred Heart, just located off the Grassmarket in Edinburgh. 6th April 1911. Her uncle Nicolo’ Arpino, who was Francesca’s brother was witness

Giovanni or John Arpino had worked in America for some years before coming to Scotland. He first arrived in New York upon the Steamship Germania on 24th November 1903. He found work with the Ford Motor Company whose new vehicles were just taking off at the time. He loved this work and always had a great passion for motorbikes and engines. John Arpino had worked for a while in America where he became a master mechanic and worked with the Ford Motor company over there. On his arrival in Scotland he worked for a while in the Restaurant and Fish and chip trade as did his father in law Augusto before his early demise. After their marriage they moved for a while to Rosyth in Fife, then back over the water trying out several towns including Linlithgow before settling in the Patthead area of Midlothian. This was their anchor and from here their family grew. John always loved the mechanics and the motorbikes. He was one of the first in the UK to own this Harley Davidson and we believe that this is documented in the archives of the company.

Taken in Dumbryden Street in Edinburgh where they lived for a while.

Three Generations, Francesca Arpino with her daughter Angelina Quilietti and her daughter Mary Arpino. Â Such a beautiful portrait which captured the feel of the time.
Mary was born in 1912 in Linlithgow
Charles Gaetano came along Â in 1913 and he was born in Patthead.
Then they moved along to Dumbryden Street for a couple of years we believe. Â
Emilia was born in 1916 and they were back in Linlithgow again.
Nicolo in 1917, back in Patthead,
Angelina in 1921 – with Augusto also in 1921, both in Patthead,

Mary Arpino recalled many years later how the family moved around from small town to small town and were in Rosyth as well for a while

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The valuation rolls are interesting as you can see how John moved from Lasswade in 1901. Linlithgow in 1917. Crichton in 1925 – that’s the shop in Patthead.

They then moved to Patthead where the family settled for the rest of their lives really. It was here that the family eventually owned their confectionery shop in the High Street.

The shop in Patthead — The shop is Roslin was run by Nicol and Joe Arpino

Amgelina Quilietti Arpino — Angelina Quilietti Arpino in later life

Her family grew up mainly in the Patthead region, and the connected families names now are Wahlberg, Hunter, Reid, Debono, Aitken, Fairgrieve, Mackay, Dickson, Chiesa, Blakey, Crawford, Graham, Sim, Gillespie, Slater, Green, Tiffney, McCormack and Accolla. And there will be of course more – apologies for any I have left out

Angelina with her grandaughter — With her grandaughter Pricilla.

Angelina Quilietti died on 10th December 1959 in the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. Her husband John died two years later in the Ford Cafe’ in Ford, Pathhead, Midlothian.