The Migration Flows from the Italian Peninsula to Crimea (end of XVIII – beginning of XX centuries).

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the history of the Italians of Crimea. The history of the group is still little studied and rich in myths and legends. Our complex historical-anthropological and genetic study of the community allowed us to dispel some myths, which are widespread among the members of the community and far beyond it, and to recreate the history, geography and causes of migrations that took place in the XIX century. The historical part of the research was mainly based on sources and documents found in the Russian and Italian archives. We used documents from the State Archive of the Saratov Region, the State Archive of the Republic of Crimea, the Russian State Military Archive of Moscow, the state archives of Genova, Napoli, Bari, Turin, and the Vatican Secret Archive. Extensive and equally useful information was found in newspapers and other periodicals of the XIX–XX centuries from Russian and Italian library collections. Family archives of descendants of Italian migrants also provided valuable information. The article presents some of the materials found in the course of the study. The article also deals with the problem of the size of the community, which is difficult to define both today and in the past.