2014 Tour – Main Page

Day 1

Day 3

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Grateful For the Dead Tour – 2014

Day 2 – Friday, September 5, 2014

San Secondo di Pinerolo

Following breakfast at the Foresteria, we loaded up the vans and 10:00 AM found us in the community of San Secondo di Pinerolo. We visited the Waldnesian church (temple) pictured below.

This Waldensian temple was built upon property once owned by Philippe-Francois Cardon who was one of the first pastors in Pinerolo (1868 – 1883). His daughters Maria, Medina, and Elsabetta donated the property to the Waldensians. This was one of the first ever temples that had a cross on the outside of it.

After the Edict of Emancipation in 1848, the Waldensians were allowed to move down into the valleys. Philippe and Marthe Cardon purchased a farm in the San Secondo area. He was an accomplished stone mason and while in this locale, he was able to hire a crew and was busy in the construction industry. Their first home burned but they rebuilt a larger nicer one. It was from this farm that Philippe left to go find the Mormon Elders. It is also where Madeline’s dream was partially fulfilled when he returned with the missionaries in tow. Following their conversion to Mormonism, the family immigrated to America. Philippe gave Anne, his oldest daughter, a portion of the farm. The rest of his land holdings he sold, using the proceeds to go to Utah.

Hike to the Borgata Cardoni

Leaving San Secondo, we made our way to the Trattoria Piani in Prarostino. This location is at the crossroads where the hike to the Cardon village begins. A small car can drive the road, but it is not always passable especially in inclement weather. It is a short 20-to-30-minute walk from the trattoria to Cardoni. We had great weather, so most of us walked. The older members of our group rode in small cars. The GPS coordinates for the trattoria in decimal is: 44.8548313, 7.2518744. Click on the coordinates to see the map/satellite view of the location.

The full address is Trattoria Piani, Via Piani 20, 10060 Prarostino TO, Italy. The food is good at this restaurant, so we scheduled to eat there after our hike.

There is not a parking lot, however there is a grassy area where cars can park. This parking area is between the restaurant and the road leading to Cardoni.

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Road To Cardoni Gallery

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Cardon Borgata

Local tradition says that the building behind the sign was owned by the Cardon family that immigrated to America. This particular building is an out building, used for storage. Moving up the road there is a set of abandoned dwellings on the right. Passing between them and this out building brings you to the front of what locals considered the Cardon family dwellings. They are typical Waldensian with rooms on the ground floor and rooms on a second story above. At the end of the complex there is the outdoor oven. There are two address numbers on these dwellings, 28 and 29.

Family tradition is that the buildings with the address numbers 32 and 33 are the ancestral dwellings. They are located up the road in the complex on the left.

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Cardon Borgata Gallery

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Keep in mind, the Cardons did not immigrate from Cardoni. Following the 1848 Edict of Emancipation, Philippe purchased a farm in San Secondo di Pinerolo. The partial fulfillment of Madeline’s dream and her defense of the Elders occurred from the San Secondo farm, not the Borgata. To locate the farm, it would warrant a little more research in the notary records between 1848 and 1854. Please see appendix 5 of Marriner Cardon’s “Search for Jean” for additional information.

Some observations for 2014 – The property above the Borgata is now fenced in and posted no trespassing. In 2010 we were able to walk freely on this land. It is inside this fenced in area that we found the name Filip etched in stone. It was attached to the remains of an abandoned, mostly falling down dwelling. Note that this is property above the Borgata, as per Marriner’s work this is part of the Goudin holdings. A little further up on the road at another property on the left we found evidence of occupancy. On one of the dwellings, we found Waldo, etched in stone.

We concluded our visit to the Borgata and returned to the Trattoria Piani to eat a late lunch/early supper. It was about 3 in the afternoon by this time.

After our meal we went back out and posed for pictures by the sign post showing the way to Cardoni.

Roccapiatta Temple

Our next adventure for this 2nd day was to go to the Roccapiatta Temple. This was a special treat in that we had stopped in Prarostino, before proceeding up the hill to the Trattoria, and picked up the caretaker for the Temple. He went with us to the Borgata and explained the local tradition of the ancestral home. He directed us via roads back to Roccapiatta. Most of the group went by car, some hiked back over via the dirt roads and trails. We all arrived at about the same time.

The graveyard next to the temple has grave markers with familiar surnames.

Thanks to the graciousness of our host, we had the unique opportunity to enter into this Valdese church edifice.

After returning to the Foresteria Valdese in Torre Pellice, we concluded the evening with a discussion lead by Brother Giovanni Cena about Waldensian history and the work that he is doing in the Notary Records on behalf of the Piedmont Family Organization and the Cardons.