The good Cornellians can do: John Pierre Campitelli ’86
John Pierre Campitelli '86 was born in Italy in 1963. A few days after John’s birth, his mother gave him up for adoption. He remained at the Provincial Institute for Childhood in Turin until April 1965, when he emigrated to the U.S. to be adopted by Italian American parents. John was among some 3,700 Italian children who were adopted by the American Catholic community between 1950 to 1970.
Curious about his origins, John continued his search for his roots during his time at Cornell. There, he had campus access to new research tools, like ARPAnet, the precursor of the modern internet.
“Cornell allowed me to leverage the budding ARPAnet network to learn new skills and make valuable connections,” John says. “At Cornell, I found the tools, mentors, and emerging technologies that would shape my life’s work.”
A few years after graduating, John founded ITALIADOPTION, a free, volunteer driven service to help other adult adoptees navigate the complex research necessary to locate and reconnect with their Italian families. The service also assisted those who wanted to, to reclaim their Italian citizenship.
In 1991, John was finally able to locate and reunite with his Italian birth parents and ten siblings. Over the past 35 years, he has helped thousands of other adoptees around the world to reclaim their identities.
In 2024, CBS’s 60 Minutes aired a feature about John’s work, “The Vatican’s Orphans.” The segment brought global attention and, he says, sparked an outpouring of inquiries from other adoptees.
“That moment confirmed how essential this work is,” he says. “It showed how many lives are still shaped by hidden histories.”
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