Two local families have a connection to the Andrea Doria, an Italian ocean liner that brought immigrants to the United States.
George Pacifico, an Italian immigrant, made his voyage to Pennsylvania in 1953 on the ship.
“My father and I went to Naples and from Naples I took the beautiful boat, the Andrea Doria,” Pacifico said.
He docked at Ellis Island and met his family at the train station in Altoona shortly after.
in 1956 Florence Hample’s father was set to make the same journey, but he was told last minute he couldn’t board the ship.
Also an Italian immigrant, Hample said the reason for the cancellation is still unknown and her father was very upset.
Leaving her father behind, the Andrea Doria left for what would be its last expedition.
Along the coast of Massachusetts it collided with another ship and sunk to the ocean floor.
A relief for one family, heartbreak for another.
“I cried it was really, it was home away from home,” Pacifico said.
A few years later Hample and the rest of her family were able to come the the United States.
And Gina Tressler, Hample’s daughter, said the rest is history.
“My mom is an immigrant and she came to this country and if she wouldn’t have come over to this country she would’ve never met my dad,” Tressler said.
60 years later, lifeboat salvaged from the wreck remains in tact and on display in Altoona
If you’d like to see the life boat form the Andrea Doria, it’s at 303 Logan Boulevard.
It will be on display until Monday, October 17th.
