Ulderigo Viviani, was the oldest of the three Viviani Brothers.  Ulderigo, was the first Viviani to migrate from their home town of Stazzema, Lucca in Italy's Tuscany region to connect with his Uncle Cosimo Giovannini in Merced, California in 1904.  He was living in San Francisco at the time of the 1906 Earthquake, then relocated to Sonoma for work in the local quarries to mine the cobblestones needed to rebuild the City.  He facilitated his brother Celso’s immigration in 1910 to Sonoma.  They both assisted their brother Silvio's immigration in 1914.  The Sonoma Historic Plaza’s Toscano Hotel was their first landing place in Sonoma.  Besides working in the quarry, the three Viviani brothers also worked for Samuele Sebastiani at his winery.

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Upon Prohibition in 1919, they worked for Joe Vella and learned to make cheese at his Sonoma Mission Creamery on First Street East.  Soon the creamery’s second location was built where La Casa Restaurant is today.  On November 16, 1931, now partners, Celso Viviani and Tom Vella, Joe’s younger brother who immigrated in 1924, founded the Sonoma Valley Cheese Factory on Second Street East, where the Vella Cheese Company remains today.  In 1945, they built the Sonoma Cheese Factory on Sonoma’s Plaza while owning a cheese plant in Marin County and two more plants in Oregon.

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Celso and Maria Viviani had six children, Dino, Clamera (born in Italy), Anita, Lillian, Pete and Marie.   Pete was Student Body President at Sonoma High when he met incoming Freshman, Jacqueline Ward.  After high school, Pete joined the Army as a Medic and served in the South Pacfic during World War ll.  Before he shipped out, he and Jacqueline eloped to Reno on May 25th 1944.  He shipped out of Fort Mason in San Francisco in June 1944, with tours at Nouvelle Caledonia, New Guinea and the Philippines, Leyte and Solomon Islands. While stationed at Okinawa, the plutonium bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. He was repositioned to Inchon, Soul Korea, then shipped to Seattle, Washington in February 1946.

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After leaving the military, he became business partners with Celso at the Sonoma Cheese Factory on the Plaza.  Pete and Jackie started their family in 1947 and had four children. I, Celso David, was the first born, followed by Donna, Nina and Maria. In 1953, he bought out his father Celso, who passed in 1955.

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By 1969, I had completed my United States Air Force service and Pete and I and son-in-law Fred Harland, formed a three-way partnership to run the family business.  The Sonoma Valley was becoming a popular visitor destination which helped grow the company's cheese production, retail deli operation and the brand "Sonoma Jack”.

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In 1981, we celebrated the Sonoma Cheese Factory “Home of Sonoma" 50th anniversary. In that same year we became the first company to make pepper jack cheese, “Sonoma Hot Pepper Jack” was born.  Many other cheese flavors followed with national retail distribution. Many awards followed, including the first cheese, west of the Mississippi, to win a Gold metal in a Wisconsin national cheese contest. We developed events and programs including  “Hit the Road Jack”, a 10 K run, the Sonoma Jack Golf Open, the first Sonoma County wine tasting bar, an outside BBQ, and a mail order business. We became part of the birth of California's “Wine & Cheese Country".

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We had a great run and good time.  In 2019, my daughter, Chelsea, her two children, Madison & Sophia and myself, received our Italian citizenships.  We are very proud of both our Italian and our Amercian heritage. Presently, my company, Viviani Marketing (www.vivianimarketing.com), promotes fine food and wine, continuing the family tradition.

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Ciao,  Celso David Viviani