Italian Immigrants Research Articles

Catholics and Communists in Twentieth-Century Italy: Between Conflict and Dialogue

Catholics and Communists in Twentieth-Century Italy: Between Conflict and Dialogue

Bens culturais, mercado e italianidade: memórias da imigração no Rio Grande do Sul

A imigração italiana constituiu um fenômeno importante na história do Rio Grande do Sul, seja do ponto de vista étnico-cultural, seja político, econômico ou social. A mão-de-obra dos imigrantes contribuiu para a diversificação da economia gaúcha já nas primeiras décadas do século XX. Por outro lado, esse desenvolvimento econômico colaborou para o nascimento de uma elite étnica local que, na década de 1920, tomou para si o direito/dever de produzir a memória de uma imigração vitoriosa. Portanto, já nas décadas de 1920-1930, memória, narrativas sobre a imigração italiana e italianidade se entrecruzavam com a economia e a política, indicando uma etnia que contribuiu para o progresso econômico e social do estado. No tempo, os momentos de crescimento do brand “Itália” nos mercados interno e exterior se sobrepuseram a uma ênfase na positividade étnica italiana. O objetivo do presente artigo é buscar compreender quanto dos códigos de italianidade contemporâneos remontam àquele momento primordial da década de 1920 e como o mercado foi moldando este novo produto de consumo, os bens imateriais associados aos ítalo-gaúchos.

Cuba, La Isla del rayo verde en la dinámica de las relaciones exteriores de Italia. De la marcha sobre Rome a la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

El artículo tiene como objetivo principal reconstruir y analizar, a través de fuentes documentales y periodísticas, los rasgos distintivos que adquirieron las relaciones económicas y políticas desarrolladas entre Italia y Cuba entre 1922 y 1941. Además de exponer los cambios y continuidades que se dieron durante el período, se intenta demostrar la importancia que tuvo Cuba para la agenda exterior italiana, además de que aporta conocimiento a la producción historiográfica acerca de las relaciones diplomáticas cubanas durante la época republicana. Asimismo, se presenta la importancia de la exigua comunidad de inmigrantes italianos en el desarrollo y consolidación de las relaciones entre ambos países, y el desempeño que tuvo la legación italiana en la implementación de un programa cultural que descansó en la exaltación de la latinidad como lazo cultural en la promoción del fascismo como corriente ideológica. The main objective of the article is to reconstruct and analyze, through documentary and journalistic sources, the distinctive features that acquired the economic and political relations developed between Italy and Cuba between 1922 and 1941. In addition to exposing the changes and continuities that occurred during this period, it is tried to demonstrate the importance that Cuba had for the Italian foreign agenda, in addition to providing knowledge to the historiographical production about cuban diplomatic relations during the republican era. Likewise, the importance of the small community of italian immigrants in the development and consolidation of relations between the two countries is presented, and the performance of the italian legation in the implementation of a cultural program that rested on the exaltation of latinity as a link cultural in the promotion of Fascism as an ideological current.

Reflexiones en torno a las fuentes orales. Historia y memoria en los relatos sobre migración italiana en Ecuador (XIX-XX).

Desde hace algunos años, en la comunidad académica, se afirmó la idea de que las fuentes orales ofrecen una interesante clave de lectura acerca de las interpretaciones, los sentidos y la relectura de los acontecimientos vividos por parte de sus protagonistas. Al mismo tiempo, se postuló que las fuentes orales están sujetas a una cierta forma de subjetividad y (auto) censura determinada por un control individual, colectivo o social sobre la fuente misma. En la parte inicial del texto, me propongo detallar las particularidades de las fuentes orales, en cuanto fuentes producidas a partir del encuentro entre investigador y testimonio del evento. En la segunda parte, pretendo ofrecer una reflexión acerca de la relación entre la historia y la trasmisión de la memoria, a partir de los relatos de los descendientes de los italianos que emigraron a Ecuador en el siglo XIX y finalmente me centraré en mostrar cómo algunos acontecimientos históricos son reelaborados, reinterpretados e inclusive olvidados por los protagonistas de la migración través del filtro de la memoria que cambia con el tiempo. Una fuente importante para este trabajo son los relatos de los inmigrantes italianos y sus descendientes recopilados en Ecuador entre 2010 y 2015. It is some years, inside the academic community, that it is emerged the idea that oral sources offer an interesting key about the interpretations, the feelings and the reworking of the lived events by their own protagonists. At the same time, it has been postulated that oral sources are subject to a certain form of subjectivity and (self) censorship, determined by individual, collective or social control over the source itself. In the initial part of the text, I propose to detail the particularities of oral sources, as the product of the encounter between the researcher and the witness of the event. In the second part, I intend to offer a reflection on the relationship between history and the transmission of memory, based on the stories of the Italians' descendants who emigrated to Ecuador in the 19th century. Finally, I will focus on showing how the filter of memory, that changes over time, re-elaborates, reinterprets and even forgot some historical events. An important source for this work are the stories of Italian immigrants and their descendants collected in Ecuador between 2010 and 2015.

Italian Immigration Guides During Mass Migration to Argentina. Linguistic Aspects

While letters and popular narratives written by Italian immigrants have been analyzed with historical and sociolinguistic perspectives, only scant attention has been paid to texts written for potential emigrants. Based on a comparative study of selected guides produced for Italians emigrating to the Americas during mass migration between the 1880s and the 1920s, this paper evaluates some linguistic aspects of texts for Italians emigrating to Argentina. The numerous guides compiled by Giuliano Corniani, Arnaldo Tortesi, Bernardino Frescura, Arrigo De Zettiry, and the Commissariato dell’emigrazione provide detailed information on the transatlantic journey from Genoa to the Río de la Plata, on Argentina's history, geography, climate, government, immigration laws, and job opportunities for laborers and colonialists. They use a colloquial written variety of Standard Italian, rich in dialogues and devoid of technical terminology to accommodate dialect-speaking migrants with varying levels of Italian proficiency, while promoting at the same time the diffusion of the Standard language among them. A few of the texts by Frescura and De Zettiry evoke the plurilingual reality on board the ships and provide short linguistic guides to Spanish, thus fostering the migrants’ future bi- and plurilingualism at a time of increasing literacy levels and decreasing mass dialectophony.

Introduction (Part 2: Politics and Culture)

The second part of this double special issue, ‘Spanish Exile and Italian Immigration in Argentina (1930–1976)’, focuses on politics and culture in an Argentinian context where Italian and Spanish m...

“Não tinha medo dos gringos”: violência e crime nas regiões de colonização italiana do Sul do Brasil

O presente artigo analisa um crime ocorrido numa das principais regiões de colonização italiana do Rio Grande do Sul, no início do século XX: Caxias do Sul. Parte-se do episódio que ocasionou a morte de um indivíduo negro por um grupo de imigrantes italianos, numa das zonas rurais do município. Através do processo-crime, no qual são réus alguns “operários italianos”, busca-se analisar as disputas nos espaços de trabalho, as estratégias de controle social e reforço das diferenças e hierarquias. Mais do que isso, problematizou-se o uso da violência e da justiça oficial do Estado, enquanto modos autônomos de controlar e forçar o encaminhamento de resoluções para os impasses locais.

Ecuador, los inmigrantes y la propaganda fascista (1922-1938)

En este texto se analiza el tema de la propaganda fascista en Ecuador, dirigida por un lado a la opinión pública y al gobierno ecuatoriano y por otro al grupo italiano que vivía en Ecuador en el periodo que va, desde la toma del poder en Italia por parte de Mussolini (1922), hasta la víspera de la segunda guerra mundial (1938). El objetivo de este artículo es analizar cuestiones relativas a la inmigración proveniente de un país totalitario, tratando de abordar dos nudos: en primer lugar, el de la relación entre el fascismo y la sociedad ecuatoriana, y en segundo lugar el de los mecanismos de consenso que se impulsan a través de la propaganda, su actividad y sus logros o fracasos entre los inmigrantes italianos, y entre la élite y la sociedad ecuatoriana de la época. El estudio se apoyará en la documentación proveniente, en su mayoría, del Archivio Storico Diplomatico de Roma y del Archivo Histórico Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Quito.

THE ORDEAL OF THE IMMIGRANT: LABOR, CORRECTION, AND ASSIMILATION IN THE LITERARY WORKS OF IRISH AND ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The racial hierarchy of the nineteenth century United States evaluated the immigrant according to certain cultural and racial traits and in doing so created a heavily Protestant, white nativist space that subjugated many immigrants of other beliefs and races. The Irish and Italian immigrants were white and yet the dominant Catholic population of the two, as well as the high population of unskilled laborers among them, put them into a very questionable place. The correction and the conversion of the immigrant became such an essential part of these two immigrant groups that both fictional and autobiographical literatures of the two featured these subjects. In order to understand the similarities and differences in the immigration experience and its reflection in the immigrant literature, this study analyzes two narratives each from Italian and Irish immigrant literatures. Father Hugh Quigley’s The Cross and the Shamrock and Father John Roddan’s John O’Brien, Or, The Orphan of Boston, A Tale of Real Life are examples of mid-nineteenth century Irish immigrant literature with their didactic scope, and Pascal D’Angelo’s The Son of Italy and Constantine M. Panunzio’s The Soul of an Immigrant demonstrate early-twentieth century reception of the Italian immigrant as successors of the Irish. An analysis of these four texts will indicate how the authors of these texts represented the status of the immigrants in their respective times in terms of labor, in addition to their ideas on the subjects of conversion and correction of the immigrant.

Health literacy among first-generation Italian immigrants in Norway

Abstract Background People with an immigration background often have poorer health than the general population. Italians in Norway have tripled throughout the past 15-years, but little is known about their health. Health literacy (HL) has been emerging as a fundamental construct in enabling citizens to play an active role in improving their own and theirs community's health. The objective of our study was i) to describe HL among first-generation Italian immigrants in Norway, ii) examine the association between HL and health-related empowerment, and iii) compare HL in Italian immigrants with the general Norwegian population's. Methods The data was retrieved from a cross-sectional survey (n = 321) conducted within the study Mens Sana in Corpore Sano (inclusion criteria: age ≥18 years, living in Norway permanently, having lived in Italy at least until age 16). HL was measured using the short form of the European Health literacy survey questionnaire (HLS-Q12; α = 0.83). Empowerment was assessed using a 4-items scale (α = 0.73), developed on basis the World Health Organization's definition of individual empowerment and aspects of patient empowerment. Additionally, information about gender, age, educational level, and self-rated health was collected. Results Preliminary results indicated that 8% had inadequate HL, whereas about 40% had marginal HL. No significant differences in HL were observed in relation to gender, age, education level or general health. A medium correlation was found between HL and empowerment (r = 0.42, p < 0.001). The Italian's HL was significantly lower than the general Norwegian population's (M±SD = 32.46±4.79 and 33.11 ± 4.12, respectively; p = 0.028). Conclusions This is the first study investigating HL and its associations with the health-related empowerment of first-generation Italian immigrants in Norway. More research is needed in order to better understand this phenomenon as well as the effectiveness of HL-enhancing initiatives. Key messages We investigated the levels of health literacy and health-related empowerment among first-generation Italian immigrants in Norway. The Italians’ heath literacy, which correlated with empowerment, was lower than the general Norwegian population’s. There were no differences across gender, age, education level or general health.

Whom We Shall Welcome: Italian Americans and Immigration Reform, 1945–1965

Whom We Shall Welcome: Italian Americans and Immigration Reform, 1945–1965

Whom We Shall Welcome: Italian Americans and Immigration Reform, 1945–1965

Whom We Shall Welcome: Italian Americans and Immigration Reform, 1945–1965

Agroturismo como perspectiva ao pós-produtivismo agrário: uma análise a partir de um estudo de caso no oeste Catarinense

No município de Concórdia-SC, na última década, foi estruturada uma iniciativa de agroturismo, em paralelo às tradicionais formas de produção agropecuária em escala, fundamentado na perspectiva da agricultura multifuncional e da pluriatividade. O projeto de agroturismo Caminho da Roça, da Comunidade rural de Lajeado dos Pintos resgata a cultura dos descendentes de imigrantes italianos e é potencializada em várias atividades produtivas, culturais e sociais. O artigo teve como objetivo refletir teórica e praticamente sobre tal atividade turística. A análise da experiência permite constatar sua importância como nova fonte de geração de renda e oportunidade de coesão social no meio rural, se apresentando como contributo ao desenvolvimento territorial, no âmbito da agricultura familiar.

The Italian “Fifth Column” in Australia: Fascist Propaganda, Italian‐Australians and Internment

This article argues that the widespread internment of Italian‐Australian civilians during the Second World War was the product of two overlapping discourses. One was the policy of the Italian Fascist government to consider the Italian diaspora as an extension of Italy. It established an articulated and wide‐ranging network that sustained migrant loyalty through cultural and welfare activities as well as by surveillance and threats of retaliation. The other discourse was the widespread belief, reflected in the Commonwealth's security policy, that all Italian‐Australians were potential adherents to an enemy “Fifth Column”. Whilst there is substantial evidence that Italian migrants sought to resist both discourses, in particular by naturalizing, the overlap between them facilitated the Commonwealth's decision to intern almost one third of male Italian‐Australian civilians. Ultimately, internment caused much suffering: the vast majority of Italian‐Australians, to the extent that they believed in Fascist propaganda, did so mainly out of patriotic pride in Italy and not ideological conviction. At the end of the war, Australian authorities found that no Italian‐Australian had engaged in espionage or in any serious act of sabotage.

Constructing a Community: The Italian Press in São Paulo from 1880 to 1920

Abstract The present article focuses on the Italian-language press in São Paulo in the early twentieth century. I establish that the press served as a tool that unified Italian immigrants through the development of a collective identity that transcended regional differences: that of social class. In addition to functioning as a binding factor among the Italians residing in the rapidly evolving urban and ethnic landscape of São Paulo of the era, the newspapers incentivized Italians to invest in their communities through education, thereby enforcing a shared goal of collaboration and community empowerment. Ultimately, this literary genre played a role in the unification of São Paulo's Italian residents and, subsequently, in their upward social mobility.

The Making of the Italian American Colonizer

This essay investigates how the Fascist war in Ethiopia influenced the racial representation and self-perception of Italian immigrants living in the United States. In particular, it analyzes how the regime exported new narratives depicting the migrant as a colonizer and how these stories informed the way in which Italian Americans perceived their ethnic and racial identity. Because the regime identified Italian emigrants as members of a superior race, news about the Italo-Ethiopian war had a strong impact on their relationship with African Americans, who conceived of Ethiopia as a symbol of Pan-African independence and thus regarded the conflict as a race war. By showing how colonialism and its propaganda may influence not only colonized peoples but also subaltern groups and communities living in geographically distant areas, the present essay hopes to contribute to the postcolonial discourse with an innovative perspective.

Políticas Linguísticas do Estado Novo e Biopoder: a Questão das Línguas de Imigrantes Italianos em Santa Catarina

Este artigo apresenta uma leitura das políticas linguísticas do Estado Novo, e seus mecanismos de controle, especialmente no que tange as línguas italianas faladas por imigrantes italianos e seus descendentes em Santa Catarina, a partir do conceito de biopolítica (FOUCAULT, 2005). Dentro do projeto de nacionalização promovido pelo Estado Novo, criou-se a imagem de um inimigo comum, o estrangeiro, e uma das políticas postas em ação era a interdição das línguas estrangeiras. O que este trabalho discute é como se dá a interferência do Estado não apenas por meio das leis, mas a partir de mecanismos de controle e vigilância que se espraiam por entre os indivíduos, seguindo a lógica do panóptico (FOUCAULT, 1987), a partir da qual o poder incide diretamente sobre os corpos produzindo corpos dóceis. No caso dos imigrantes italianos em Santa Catarina, essas políticas resultaram no apagamento de várias línguas italianas trazidas pelos imigrantes, além do desenvolvimento de uma conotação negativa para o termo “colono”, que perdura até os dias atuais e contribuiu para a construção de uma imagem negativa sobre os descendentes de imigrantes italianos.

Paola Breda and Marino Toppan. Land of Triumph and Tragedy: Voices of the Italian Fallen Workers: A Century of Italian Immigration to Canada: Immigrants Who Made it and Those Who Perished Trying

Paola Breda and Marino Toppan. Land of Triumph and Tragedy: Voices of the Italian Fallen Workers: A Century of Italian Immigration to Canada: Immigrants Who Made it and Those Who Perished Trying

Race, technological modernity, and the Italo-Australian condition: Francesco De Pinedo's 1925 flight from Europe to Australia

Writing about fascism and aviation has stressed the role technology played in Mussolini's ambitions to cultivate fascist ideals in Italy and amongst the Italian diaspora. In this article we examine Francesco De Pinedo's account of the Australian section of his record-breaking 1925 flight from Rome to Tokyo. Our analysis of De Pinedo's reception as a modern Italian in a British Australia, and his response to that reception, suggests that this Italian aviator was relatively unconcerned with promoting Fascist greatness in Australia. De Pinedo was interested in Australian claims to the forms of modernity he had witnessed in the United States and which the Fascists were attempting to incorporate into a new vision of Italian destiny. Flight provided him with a geographical imagination which understood modernity as an international exchange of progressive peoples. His Australian reception revealed a nation anxious about preserving its British identity in a globalising world conducive to a more cosmopolitan model of modernity.

Tracing back hepatitis B virus genotype D introduction and dissemination in South Brazil

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is widespread and it is considered a major health problem in the world. HBV is classified into genotypes and subgenotypes. HBV genotype D (HBV-D) has been detected worldwide with high prevalence in some specific regions from Europe and South America. In Brazil, this genotype is very frequent in the South region and its introduction and dissemination have been associated with European immigration (mainly Italian). The present study aimed to trace back the introduction and dissemination of HBV-D in South Brazil. Fifty-two chronic hepatitis B patients from two cities with an early history of Italian immigration in South Brazil were selected for the present study. HBV-DNA was detected, quantified and a partial genomic region (S/P overlapped genes) was amplified by PCR and sequenced for the determination of HBV genotypes/subgenotypes. HBV complete genome sequences of some selected samples were further obtained. Bayesian coalescent analyses were performed to estimate the HBV-D evolutionary dynamics. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the occurrence of three genotypes according the tree topology: HBV-D (n = 49; 94.2%), HBV-A (n = 2; 3.9%) and HBV-G (n = 1; 1.9%). In addition, HBV-D presented three subgenotypes: HBV-D3 (n = 39; 79.6%), HBV-D2 (n = 8; 16.3%), and HBV-D1 (n = 2; 4.1%). The Bayesian coalescent analysis demonstrated that the HBV-D was introduced in the 20th century. HBV-D3 was the first to be introduced in South Brazil, probably between 1904 and 1942. HBV-D2 and HBV-D1 were introduced later; HBV-D2 between 1946 and 1953 and HBV-D1 between 1954 and 1969. HBV-D3 spread at a high rate from the 1920s to the 1980s, while HBV-D2 showed a slower growth from the 1960s to the 1990s and HBV-D1 infections demonstrated low and constant population size across time. After the 2000s, a stationary growth was detected for all these three-D subgenotypes. HBV-D showed a high prevalence in South Brazil and this is possibly associated with the first introduction and dissemination of HBV-D3 at the beginning of the 20th century.