Domenico G. Svizzero of Stoneham, who lived for years in Somerville and before that in Boston’s North End, died peacefully Saturday, November 7, 2026. He was 88.
He was born in Prezza, in the province of L’Aquila, Italy, the son of the late Giovanni and Maria (D’Eramo) Svizzero. In the 1950s he served in the 8th Alpini Regiment, the Italian Army’s mountain warfare corps, a service he spoke of with pride for the rest of his life. In 1961 he came to the United States as a tourist, not expecting the trip to change anything. In the North End he met Pasquarosa, known to everyone as Rosa, and the visit became a life. They stayed in Boston, married and started their family.
He worked in construction for close to 40 years, first as a laborer and later as a steward for Laborers Union Local 22, representing the men he had worked beside. He retired from the union at 62, young by the standards of the trade, and put the years that followed into his family, especially his grandchildren, and into a trip back to Italy every summer to see the relatives who had stayed.
He followed Boston’s teams all his life and was devoted to the game shows, watching The Price Is Right, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy as a matter of routine. His family says he treasured the simple things: wine, pasta and time with the people he loved.
He leaves his wife of 64 years, Pasquarosa “Rosa” (Sandonato) Svizzero; his children, John Svizzero, Lisa Guglietta and her husband Mark, and Karen Pacheco and her husband Larry; his grandchildren, Talia, Matthew, Mia, Mark Anthony, Derek, Sofia and Sabrina, to whom he was Papa; and his sister, Clorinda Scarsella of Canada, whose husband Achille died before him. He also leaves many relatives in the United States and in Italy.
Visiting hours are Sunday, November 15, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Dello Russo Funeral Home, 306 Main Street, Medford, and again Monday, November 16, at 8:30 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at St. Leonard Church, Hanover Street, Boston. Relatives and friends are invited. Entombment follows at Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett.
Compiled from information published by Dello Russo Funeral Home. Photograph courtesy of the family via Dello Russo Funeral Home. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
