Italian Diaspora Explored Through Family History and Cultural Identity
In a personal essay featured in Aeon, the writer delves into his family's migration from Emilia-Romagna to London, sharing tales about his great-grandfather Marco, who once saved an eagle. He reminisces about his childhood trips to the Lina Stores deli in Soho, pasta traditions, and summers spent in Italy. A pivotal month in Florence during his teenage years made him feel like a fraud. At the Italian Hospital in Queen Square, he uncovers photographs of Marco and learns about his great-grandparents' residence on Highbury Fields. The piece also addresses the internment of Italians during WWII, including Marco's experience and the tragedy of the SS Arandora Star. Notably, it mentions that 29 million Italians emigrated from 1861 to 1985, with 270,000 departing between 2023 and 2024.
Key facts
- The author's great-grandfather Marco, from Emilia-Romagna, rescued an eagle fledgling as a child.
- Lina Stores deli in Soho, London, served as a meeting place for the author's family.
- Marco was interned as an 'enemy alien' on the Isle of Man during WWII.
- The SS Arandora Star was torpedoed in 1940, killing over 800 internees, including 442 Italians.
- Between 1861 and 1985, around 29 million Italians emigrated from Italy.
- Today, about 80 million people outside Italy claim full or partial Italian ancestry.
- Italy's ius sanguinis citizenship laws have been tightened, requiring a parent or grandparent with exclusive Italian nationality.
- Between 2023 and 2024, 270,000 Italians emigrated, and Italy is projected to lose 7 million working-age people by 2050.
Entities
Artists
- Marco
- Delfina
- Stanley Tucci
- Lady Gaga
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Al Pacino
- Robert De Niro
- Sylvester Stallone
- Italo Calvino
- Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
- Andrea Mantegna
- Alice Rohrwacher
- Giuseppe Mazzini
- Masaccio
- Verdi
- Puccini
- Brunelleschi
- Scarlatti
- Gio Ponti
- Antonioni
- Visconti
- Boccaccio
- Dante
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Pirandello
- Winston Churchill
- Mussolini
- Rachel Pistol
Institutions
- Lina Stores
- Italian Hospital
- King's College
- Great Ormond Street
- Art UK
- National Gallery
- St Peter's Church
- Ku Klux Klan
- Blue Star Line
- Daily Telegraph
- Alamy
Locations
- Emilia-Romagna
- Italy
- Soho
- London
- England
- France
- Florence
- Arno
- Ponte Vecchio
- Queen Square
- Bloomsbury
- Hyde Park
- Serpentine
- Highbury Fields
- Isle of Man
- Canada
- Ireland
- New York
- Manhattan
- La Boca
- Buenos Aires
- Clerkenwell
- São Paulo
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Toronto
- Australia
- America
- New Orleans
- Aigues-Mortes
- Kalgoorlie
- Laystall Street
- Puglia
- Tuscany
- Padua
- Uruguay
- United Kingdom
- United States