Venice, December 9-11, 2025
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice / University of Padua / University of Verona
In a historical moment marked by an increase in international migrations, which pose a significant political-economic and socio-cultural challenge, the experience of the diaspora in the South American area and the more recent phenomenon of Italo-Latin Americans in Italy can offer a significant contribution to contemporary discussion.
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the start of Italian immigration to Southern Brazil, this conference aims to re-examine this migratory phenomenon from a broader and comparative perspective, both in relation to the three main areas of immigration from the Italian peninsula to Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay), and with reference to other national contexts where it was also relevant, such as Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
The central objective is to reflect on the Italian presence in these territories, on the transformation of the environment through architecture, on agricultural traditions, social relations, language, religiosity, cooperativism, social and cultural movements, on the construction of “little Italies,” and the circulation of ideas and people. Furthermore, the congress will consider demographic and economic dynamics, narratives related to the phenomenon produced over time, and the specificities that, over 150 years, have led to the formation of an Italo-Latin American group, in its various national forms, but with experiences sometimes similar and sometimes different in the processes of integration into the host societies.
The congress is structured into five sessions that aim to address the proposed theme from different points of view:
- Italian emigration in Italian and Latin American historiography, from the 1970s to today
- Three centuries of departures and returns: demographic, economic, and social dynamics of migration between Italy and South America
- Migratory processes and subjects, borders, and identities in the histories of Italian migration in Latin America
- Forms of activism and political, social, and religious experimentation in migratory processes between Italy and Latin America
- Returnees, dual citizens, migrants, foreigners, or non-EU citizens. Who are Italo-descendants in Italy?
Important Dates
-Proposal submission deadline: 15/08/2025
-Acceptance notification: 01/09/2025
-Registration payment: 15/10/2025
-Conference: 09-11/12/2025
Scientific and Organizing Committee
Irene Barbiera, Luis Fernando Beneduzi, Alicia Bernasconi, Federica Bertagna, Alessandro Casellato, Maria Catarina Chitolina Zanini, Chiara Pagnotta, Andrea Zannini
Find out more at this link.