Each year, between August and September, the San Gennaro Festival in Danbury, organized by the Galante family, brings the community together to celebrate Italian heritage with food, music, and tradition. The festival features a colorful procession from Main Street to the Danbury Green and is filled with street vendors offering Italian specialties. This year marked the fourth festival, held August 20–24, continuing a growing tradition of honoring ancestry and community. Within this celebration, the life of Antonina (Tonina) Mammoliti Chieffalo stands as a powerful example of resilience, service, and devotion to family.

Born in 1937 in Decollatura, Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy, to Michele and Maria Mammoliti, Tonina’s childhood was marked by both hardship and perseverance. During World War II, her father was called to serve, and after his return, the family endured the devastating loss of her brother Domenico to measles in 1946. Seeking stability, they relocated to Valle d’Aosta, where Tonina gained a strong education and learned French, a skill that proved invaluable when she immigrated to Montreal, Canada, in 1955.

There, among a close-knit community of Italian immigrants, she met her future husband, Salvatore Chieffalo of Norwalk, CT. They married in 1958, settled in Danbury, and raised three children—Francine, Domenico, and Salvatore Jr.—later welcoming grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Tonina and Salvatore shared 58 years of marriage until his passing in 2018.

In the mid-1960s, Tonina began a 30-year career at Davis and Geck, rising from piece worker to night-shift supervisor—an achievement uncommon for women at the time. Her sacrifices provided her family with greater opportunities, and after retiring, she dedicated herself to community service.

For more than six decades, Tonina has been an active member of the Amerigo Vespucci Lodge. She was instrumental in uniting the men’s and women’s lodges, led the popular “pizza fritta” stand at festivals, and held leadership roles, including vice president, treasurer, and secretary. Her devotion to food, culture, and heritage at local celebrations like San Gennaro mirrors her lifelong commitment to preserving Italian traditions in Danbury.

Now 87 years old, Tonina continues to value travel, good food, language, community, and, above all, her family—living proof of the heritage celebrated each year at the San Gennaro Festival.