Daphne’s City Council voted unanimously last week to rename a road in a newly developed subdivision in honor of one of the city’s historic Italian families.
The council approved the change of name from Casper Drive to Predazzer Lane, in honor of Giovanni Battista Predazzer. Predazzer immigrated to the area in 1898 and was one of the founding fathers of Daphne’s Italian Colony, located near current-day County Road 64 and AL-181.
The Predazzer family name was lost in Baldwin County in 1912 when descendent Ralph Predazzer died, but there are currently at least 100 descendants of the family who live throughout Daphne and Baldwin County.
Several of those descendants were on hand for the Aug. 6 city council meeting when the city formally dedicated the renaming of Predazzer Lane.
“We like to celebrate our history in the City of Daphne, so to be able to work with the developer on this to honor our past is certainly something we’re proud of,” Daphne Mayor Dane Haygood said.
One of the Predazzer descendants on hand to celebrate the event was Baldwin County Probate Judge Tim Russell.
“Baldwin County is a wonderfully diverse place, and we’re glad that this part of our unique heritage is being honored with this,” Russell said. “Even though the Predazzer name has been gone from Baldwin County since 1912, Predazzer Lane will be here for many years to come and will help remember someone who was a big part of our county’s past.”
