Museum - The thread of remembrance

For the homeland

Remittances attested to those who stayed at home that work and health were not lacking and success was being achieved. Those hard-earned savings, which lifted the fortunes of so many families, were a mainstay of our country's industrial development. In the early twentieth century, the amount of remittances from abroad annually exceeded the revenue from direct taxes collected by the Italian state.

The relationship with Italy did not end in remittances to families. Even during natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods, communities abroad sent money back home. An equally generous response occurred during World War I and World War II when not only money arrived but also men to enlist.

Remittances from emigrants in 1903

The "Silver Bridge," organized by the Italians of the United States of America, involved sending postcards to Italy on which silver bars were pasted offered to the Fascist government to help establish a credit institution and to give subsidies to the families of ex-combatants who intended to go as settlers to Ethiopia

In 1936, and in the following years, to help alleviate the burden of sanctions imposed on Italy by the international community after the war with Ethiopia, copper postcards were being mailed from Italians in the United States, which were intended to alleviate, albeit in a small way, the shortage of raw materials

All my life

In the archives of emigrant families, both in Italy and in every country in the world, a preponderant part is reserved for photographs that recount the milestones of each life: birth, ceremonies, marriage and, to a lesser extent, death. Sometimes those who have left want to show those far away how great, and strong, the bond that unites them is, and they have their photo taken with a picture of their loved ones in their hands.

Joseph Piagentini is pictured with a photo of his distant girlfriend in his hands

USA, New York, 1945. Bridesmaids and knights

Brazil, São Paulo, Villa Caracol, 1907. Baptism of Luigi Puliti

Argentina, Buenos Aires. Spouses of the Piagentini Bechelli family.