Description:

This contribution includes a video provided by the “Pietro Conti” Regional Museum of Emigration, located in Gualdo Tadino—a region that, along with its surrounding areas, has historically been affected by emigration. The video offers a guided tour of the museum and traces the main stages of the Italian emigration experience from the late 19th century through the 20th century. Through documents, photographs, artifacts, and personal accounts, the video illustrates the reasons for departure, the difficult conditions of the journey, and work and life in the destination countries, with in-depth looks at work in the mines and female emigration. The final part of the video is dedicated to ““Italiani? Brutta gente. Come ci vedevano e come eravamo (Italians? Bad People. How They Saw Us and How We Were.)” the Museum’s most popular educational workshop, which, starting from the image of Italian emigrants abroad, addresses topics such as stereotypes, discrimination, xenophobia, and racism, linking the memory of emigration to issues that remain relevant today. 

This contribution highlights how emigration represents an important element of collective memory and cultural identity of the region and its local communities. It also demonstrates the significant educational and intergenerational role played by the Museum, which offers younger generations the opportunity to learn about the stories of emigration through documents, photographs, artifacts, and testimonies, fostering dialogue between the past and the present and the transmission of collective memory. At the same time, the Museum helps foster a deeper understanding of the region and its historical events, serving as a resource for forms of cultural and experiential tourism grounded in knowledge of the heritage, histories, and identity of local communities.