Ron Manzo, who retired as a coal miner from Consol Energy Bailey Mine, and wife Janice are touring Italy.

In Duronia, where Ron’s grandparents once lived 135 miles east of Rome, they came upon a memorial to Monongah miners who died in the terrible 1907 twin explosions of #6 and #8 mine that killed 362, including many from Italy.

Duronia also is where Claude Domico, who had the hill where cows and pigs roamed in Monongah, was born, according to Phil Colanero.

Duronia is in the province of Campobassa.

Italians killed in the December 6, 1907 Monongah mines explosions included Mike Meffe, John Olivaria, Tony Olivette, John Matakonis, Mike Matakonis and Thomas Matakonis. The spelling of the family names changed for later generations.

So Ron, who lives in Morgantown, came full circle 110 years later. No one can appreciate the 1907 tragedy more than another coal miner, like Ron, who has earned his view from a Rome penthouse of The Holy City during his travels around Italy.

San Giovanni in Fiore, which had some of its former residents killed in the 1907 explosions, erected a memorial in 2003.

In 2007, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the explosions, the Italian region of Molise presented a bell to the town of Monongah,  which sits in the Monongah town square.

In 2009, the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, conferred the honor of "Stella al Merito del Lavoro" (Star of Reward of Work) upon the victims of the disaster.

Monongah will have its memorial services for the 1907 tragedy on Wednesday, December 6. It will begin with an 8:30 a.m. Mass at the Holy Spirit Church followed by ceremonies in the Monongah Town Hall.

In 1910 after nearly 4,000 miners were killed in America in 1907 alone, including the Monongah victims, Congress created the United States Bureau of Mines to set safety standards.


Memorial to 1907 Monongah tragedy victims that Ron and Nancy Manzo visited is more than 100 years old