Then and Now The emigration of Italians to

Then and Now

The emigration of Italians to the United States of America began some years after the Italian Unification.

Many Italians hoped to earn enough money to return home and buy lands, but only about one third of them came back a few years later.

The main reasons for Italian emigration were the poor economic opportunities in Italy. For lots of Italians, America was “the land of dreams”. But some of them were disappointed when they arrived in America.

Many famous American people have Italian origins. Some of them are the actor Robert de Niro, the film director Francis Ford Coppola and the singers Madonna and Lady Gaga.

In 1905 an Italian American fraternal organization called “Order Sons of Italy in America” was founded. The migration of Italians to America was called the Italian diaspora because it reached 3. 2 million of people.

Some of the best known Italian movies about this period are “A Girl in Australia” and “An American in Rome”, both having as protagonist the Italian actor Alberto Sordi.

A Girl in Australia It is a 1971 comedy film directed by Luigi Zampa and starring Alberto Sordi and Claudia Cardinale as leading actors.

Amedeo, a poor Italian immigrant in Australia tries to marry an Italian wife. He corresponds with Carmela, a prostitute looking for an opportunity to change her life style. They do not reveal their true identities in their letters. But what will happen when they meet? Will they have the courage to tell each other the truth or not?

This comedy is a touching picture of Italian emigrant life style in Australia. It shows their epic efforts to cope with a new environment, often hostile and merciless, trying to defend their italianity and their community.

An American in Rome It is a 1954 comedy film directed by Stefano Vanzina and starring Alberto Sordi as leading actor

It’s the story of Ferdinando Mericoni, called Nando, a young man whose dream is to live in America. As he can’t go to America, he tries to bring America to Rome. He lives every moment of his life as a scene of an American movie. For example, he climbs the Colosseum saying that he will jump if he doesn’t go to America. Will he reach his dream or not?

The movie shows how the “americanisation” has come to Italy and how young Italians were enchanted by this new world. However, one thing that survives is the love for spaghetti (“maccaroni” in the movie), as we can see in the best known scene when Nando decides to have spaghetti instead of eating bread and milk like American people do.

The phenomen of the Italian emigration to America stopped at the end of the 20 th century. But, in the last 20 years, Italy has become a country of immigration with almost 7. 5% of the population made of immigrants.

There are many immigrants who live legally in Italy, but even more are those who work illegally as day laborers, especially in southern Italy. Most of them come from Africa and Eastern Europe.

Distribution of immigrants by ethnicity (2008) Romanians Moroccans Albanians Ukrainians 15. 1 % 10. 5 % 10. 3 % 5. 3 % Source: Corriere della Sera, http: //www. corriere. it/english/articoli/2007/10_Ottobre/30/migrants. shtml

The change of the type of migrations, may mean that Italy, during the last twenty years, reinforced its economy, but we still find problems with the job opportunities for young people.

The End Thanks for your attention! Made by Andrea and Anamaria – “E. Boggio Lera” High School – Catania, Italy