Some years ago my grandfather did some research about our family's history. My family had come from Italy in the late 1800s to the US and settled in NJ. We believe they were from Gallo Matese. There was a documentary that one of my uncles got a hold of about Gallo Matese that showed a baptismal registry, and our family name was shown. The documentary spoke about the area originally being populated by Bulgarians who had been exiled. I've never seen the documentary, and I honestly don't know who has the copy of it (it was on VHS, this was some 12 years ago it was being discussed).
So my question: was there some sort of group of people who were exiled from Bulgaria that may have settled in areas around Gallo Matese in Italy? Why would they have been exiled? I have no sense of when this could have happened other than well before my ancestors came to the United States in around the 1890s, I believe.
Many thanks. I know it's sort of a trivial question but I think we all have a desire to understand our roots. Any information -- even just a link to some journal article would be nice. I have access to academic databases, I just don't know where to start looking.
EDIT: Typos and added second question.
Hey! So, this area is not my real speciality as I work on Bulgaria in the 20th century, but I think what the documentary might be referencing is the Bulgarian settlements in South Italy in the 7th Century, under Khan Alcek.
Basically, Old Great Bulgaria was the first European kingdom of the Bulgars, founded in 632 AD in what is today Ukraine. At the death of the Great Khan Kubrat around 662, his sons, under pressure from Khazar attacks on the kingdom, set out to settle different lands. Some ended up founding Volga Bulgaria in today's Russia, others - Danube Bulgaria (today's Bulgaria). Alcek's Bulgars sought refuge with the Lombards, which Grimoald I granted. They were granted lands north-east of Naples, in the region of Molise. As late as the 780s in the Historia Langobardorum there is mention of the Bulgars who have preserved their cultural heritage in the area.
Theophanes the Confessor also talks of Alcek's Bulgars settling in the area, with the regions of Gallo Matese, Isernia and Seppino being most likely as the predominant ones. An alternative theory is that Alcek was a vassal of the Avar Khaganate, who vied for the throne of the Avars in the 630s-640s. He was defeated and sought refuge in Bavaria, where Dagobert I allowed them to settle but secretly ordered for them to be killed. Many were, but the survivors fought their way out and fled to Italy where Grimouald made Alcek a "gastald" (someone in charge of a part of the royal demesne). It seems these two Alceks are probably the same one.
Sources:
Vincenzo D'Amico I BULGARI STANZIATI NELLE TERRE ITALIA NELL'ALTO MEDIO EVO (http://ziezi.tripod.com/amico/italiano.htm), Rome 1942
Miltenova, N. (1993). I Bulgari di Gallo Matese. Rome: Passaporto Editore
Dillon, John B. "Bulgars".Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia, ed. Christopher Kleinhenz. London: Routledge, 2004.
http://archive.org/stream/cu31924027767593#page/n167/mode/2up for History of the Langobards online (in translation): various mentions of the Bulgars such as on pages 27, 80 etc