L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 4 a balance among themselves. If we really wanted to go as far back as possible in the history of any country, we would quite easily realize that each was ini- tially, at least in part, populated through migrations. Thousands of years before the rise to power of glorious Rome, Italy was a melt- ing pot of tribes and people of Indo-European origins who moved to the peninsula through various migration waves. Sometimes peacefully, sometimes with the displacement of local indigenous tribes, they settled on the peninsula and, throughout the decades, they themselves became – forgive the very much anachro- nistic use of the adjective - "Italian." Fast forward to the 8th century BC and the mysterious Etruscans became the most prominent peo- ple in the peninsula; truth is that they, too, were likely migrants, even though where exactly they hailed from remains a bit of a mystery still today. In the very same period, just a few miles south, the Greeks, fathers of our very own civiliza- tion and culture, set their foot on the fertile lands of Sicily, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata: Magna Graecia was born. To many of us, the coming of our Greek cousins to Italy's southern shores is the most notable ancient example of mass migration to the country. These were people who came for the wealth in nature and resources of the Italian peninsula, people who contributed greatly, throughout their permanence, to make of "Italy" the cultural and historical entity we all know and love today. In many a way, this early migratory fluxes were essential for the very formation of the identity of the earliest "Italians." However, to see something more similar to what we would consider a modern form of migra- tion, we should look no further than the glorious years of the Roman Empire. Encompassing dozens of cultures, languages and creeds, the Empire was a true and unique melting pot; the Romans had embraced a tolerant approach towards the varied and at time contrasting beliefs and customs of those living under their dominion. The ways of Rome were accepted without being brutally imposed; freedom of cult was normal even though all creeds had to be asso- ciated with the cult of the Emperor. Christians, for instance, were not persecuted because believers of a different spiritual entity, but because they openly denied the divine nature of the Emperor himself. Cultures of all types became part of the Empire and within a couple of generations Romanity was the heart and soul of all its inhabitants. In the western world, the Roman Empire - and by extension Italy, its neuralgic cen- ter - culturally unified Europe under the same flag, but most importantly, under the same set of moral and ethical values. Values which were Roman, but also in part inspired by centuries of inter cultural contacts and relations. Living within the Empire became a goal for many, attracted by the better opportunities grant- ed by its social, cultural and eco- nomic development: migrational movements from within and without Roman lands became natural consequence and result of its wealth and stability, much as it has been happening in the west- ern world in modern times. Rome had precise policies when it came to immigration: accepted were all the people the Empire needed as workforce, while everyone else was expelled or refused entry, often through less-than-humanely acceptable methods. Ultimately, the strength of the Roman Empire was, indeed, also the result of how well and thor- oughly all non-Romans had become Romans and how differ- ent cultures and heritages had found space under the protective wing of the culture and the insti- tutions of the Empire. Among all these migration movements, one certainly stood above all others, that of the so called "Barbarians:" often associ- ated strictly to the idea of violent, military oriented "invasions," in truth the coming of these people into the lands of Rome was often more pacific and low key than we may expect. In the Middle Ages, migration to Italy became less ethnically and more professionally oriented, with people moving from other parts of Europe, as well as from within Italy itself, to reach the country's own important cultural and economic centers. The more we move closer to contemporary times, the more the country became a place of emi- gration as much as of immigra- tion: from the shores of the Mediterranean to those of the Atlantic, Italy and its people had been welcomed as much as they had been welcoming, as the very Italian American community in the US is representation and sym- bol of. Throughout the centuries, as it is easy to imagine, immigration has been a huge resource to the country, even if sometimes it caused issues, rooted especially in the difficulties associated with integration and cultural differ- ences. Never as today, overcom- ing such difficulties appears hard- er for a country which is the sole welcoming hub in the Mediterranean for thousands of people fleeing war, hunger and death. The effort is real and has been putting the whole country, its institutions and citizens under strain. Its solution remains, at the very root of it, one and only: respect. Respect for the lives, rights and pain of those seeking refuge, but also respect for the people, ideals and culture of Italy, the cradle of our very own civi- lization. Thousands of Europeans, Asians, and Africans migrated—or were forced to migrate—to Rome. Cultures of all types became part of the Empire and within a couple of generations Romanity was the heart and soul of all its inhabitants. Map by National Geographic Italy: a history made of migration NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Continued from page 1

• Cover