IRON MOUNTAIN — If your last name is Cavalieri, Romagnoli, Santi, Andrieni or Constantini, you might be a descendent of Sassoferrato, Italy.

In fact, many local residents have relatives in Iron Mountain’s sister city and a number have spent some time in that part of Italy.

Al Santoni has visited his second and third cousins in Sassoferrato eight times and plans to make another trip this fall. Along with his wife and regular travel partner, Paula, Santoni also has taken his two sons and their wives to the old country on separate occasions.

The two cities have many similarities, Santoni said. “The people in Sassoferrato are a lot like the people in Iron Mountain. They are hard-working, good people, honest people, and families are very important in Italy,” he said.

Dan and Kelly Bianco of Iron Mountain walk through the streets of Sassoferrato during their family vacation in 2017.

Sassoferrato itself is very picturesque and makes for a nice place to stay while visiting Italy. “Everything is reasonably priced in Sassoferrato. Staying in Rome, you pay $300 to $400 a night, but in Sassoferrato it is $70 a night for a very nice room,” he said.

What Sassoferrato lacks is an airport, so visitors should plan to fly into a nearby city and take a train or drive to the centrally located Sassoferrato.

Lisa Carubini of Iron Mountain also can trace her family back to the Sassoferrato area. Her grandparents, Antonio and Elisa Carubini, came from the village of Monterosso, which belongs to the municipality of Sassoferrato.

Her parents, Mario and Delfina Carubini, were married in Monterosso on Sept. 22, 1957.

She said she stays in Sassoferrato when visiting Italy because Monterosso is much smaller, “like comparing Iron Mountain and Felch.”

Sassoferrato has more to offer tourists, including having the closest bank.

Carubini visits her cousins, aunts and uncles in Italy regularly. She was just 7 years old the first time she went to the country with her parents and her brother, Alessandro “Sandro,” in the 1970s. “It’s small and quaint,” Carubini said. “I love the people; they are friendly, outgoing.”

After making her 10th trip last year, Carubini said she has seen the country grow over the years. “The first time I was there, I rode an ox. Now they have Amazon.com,” she said.

But she has mixed feelings about the changes in the country. “I want them to have a better life,” she said, “but I don’t want them to lose their culture.”

That atmosphere includes children running through the streets, parents and grandparents sitting outside playing cards, drinking coffee and socializing, 3 1/2-hour dinners and a glass of Verdicchio.

From left, Vanessa Liscomb, Alfio Cini and Kelly (Cini) Bianco pose for a photo in Sigillo, where the Cini family originated.

A daytime tour of the town generally starts with a biscuit and coffee for breakfast, then visiting castles and old churches, hiking into the mountains, seeing the ice caves or going to the beach. “And they are known for their festivals,” Carubini said.

Kelly Cini Bianco whose grandparents — or “nonnies” — Louis “Luigi” and Doris Carollo Cini came from a city close to Sassoferrato called Sigillo, said she also stays in Sassoferrato when she visits Italy.

“My nonno came here when he was 14. He was a shoemaker. And my nonna came when she was a baby; she was a cook,” Bianco said.

Her parents and grandparents have since died and no Cinis remain living in Sigillio.

But Bianco said Sassoferrato feels like home. The first time she visited the city, she thought, “I want to live here,” she said.

She’s now working to make that possible. The Bianco family — including husband, Dan, and children Santina, Geno and Mariana — are in the process of filing for dual citizenship. They had their papers signed when last in Italy and now they just need to travel to Lansing to file the paperwork in the United States.

“We fell in love with Sassoferrato,” Bianco said.

Especially with what she sees as a simpler life there.

“It’s not ritzy. Everyone is practical and down-to-earth. They have little cars and bikes and gardens. They enjoy living off the land and they take care of their families. There are no homeless people. ‘Nonnies’ are still living with their kids,” Bianco said, adding, “they always compliment you and they always have food.”

And that food earns the coveted endorsement of being “just like my nonna’s,” Bianco said.

“The food is so good and so real. Their seafood is so good and so fresh. I loved the lobster, clams, wild boar, gnocchi and rabbit. It’s salads and pasta, fish and pizza and the people are very fit. It’s amazing how much you eat and how much you lose weight,” she said.

As afternoons can be very hot in Sassoferrato, shops and other businesses often will close from 1 to 5 p.m. “and they relax,” Bianco said. Most people stay in and nap, but Bianco said her children played soccer and used the wifi.

During the cooler nighttime hours, however, everywhere has a festival. On one visit, Bianco had the opportunity to see The “Happy Days” Festival.

“People were in the streets dressed as Fonzie,” she laughed. “People stay out late, dinner starts at 8 p.m. and goes until 11 p.m. … They stay out until 2 or 3 in the morning — but that’s why you nap,” she said.

Bianco considers the town very inviting. “The architecture is beautiful and there are so many neat things to do.”

The weather in the Italian “Iron Mountain” generally is warmer than its sister city in Michigan, not surprisingly. But Bianco said it’s the warmth of the family-oriented, historically Christian people that keeps them coming back.

“They are loving, they are kind, generous — once they know you and know who you are, they take you in … I stay with ‘family’ now, because the friends I met feel like family,” she said.

Theresa Proudfit can be reached at 906-774-2272, ext. 45, or tproudfit@ironmountaindailynews.com.