Santina Soldiviero

She was born in Venosa, Italy on May 15, 1932 to the late Pasquale & Lucia (Mazzarisi) Mazzucca.

When her father passed at a young age, Santina's uncle, Biaggio, a priest, invited Ms. Lucia and her seven children to live with him next door to the church. They grew up poor, but full of faith. Santina credits many of life's miracles to St. Anthony.

She married a wonderful man, Francesco, who had eyes for America. They sailed to New York on the ship, Christopher Columbus, and Santina thrived as a talented seamstress, working for the Evan Picone men's fashion line. Everywhere she moved after that, her neighbors would discover her talents, and a side business for Ms. Santina would emerge.

Always an old-fashioned Italian girl at heart, everyone who walked through the door to visit her would be fed, and fed well! Everybody who met Santina loved her, with many new friends eventually calling her "Mom". And, America won her over too with the festive parades and fireworks shows in New York City, and later at Disney World. She and her daughter made it a point to fly down to visit Mickey Mouse every year, until they finally moved to Florida and just had to drive across town. Santina lived the longest of all of her siblings, and with all of the trials she triumphed over, her own children took to calling her their "miracle child".

Santina will be loved & cherished always...especially by her grandchildren who feel she’s the best Nonna they could have asked for!

She was preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, Francesco.

Santina is survived by her daughter, Raffaella Pena; sons, Carmine (with his wife, Mindy) and Luciano (with his wife, Susan); grandchildren, Matthew (with his wife, Amanda), Nicole with her husband, Harry), Aidan, Ryan, and Julia, all of whom she taught to play her favorite Italian card game! She is also survived by her great-granddaughter, Gianna; and many nieces and nephews with their children in Italy.

Join us for Visitation on Friday, April 25, 2025 from 6-8pm at Sylvan Abbey Funeral Home, in Clearwater Florida. A Funeral Mass will be held the following day at 1:00pm on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at St. Luke's Catholic Church, 2757 Alderman Rd, Palm Harbor, FL 34684. She will be interred immediately afterward at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens, 1750 Curlew Rd, Palm Harbor, FL 34683.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Santina's memory may be made to the Suncoast Hospice Foundation, 5771 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33760; or, to St. Anthony Charities — Anthonian Association of the Friends of St. Anthony of Padua, 6107 N. Kenmore Avenue, Suite 5, Chicago, IL 60660 USA. If you prefer to donate online, you may scroll down for a direct link.

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