L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018 L'Italo-Americano I t is a special year for L'Italo A mericano, w hich cele- brates its 110th anniversary. One hundred and ten years dedicated to keeping the Italian American community on the West Coast united, to inform people about its achievements and its history and, to maintain alive the Italian heritage of thou- sands of families, throughout many a generation. Indeed, pub- lications like ours, along with the many cultural realities in the US devoted to support the Italian American community's growth and cohesion, are at the heart of a proces s w hich is not only important, but also necessary to make sure the cultural and emo- tional wealth of the Italian Amer- ican community thrives and con- tinues to flourish. Of course, this work is com- plementary to that, much more significant on a personal and emotive level, carried out by families themselves who, with pride and strength, keep within their hearts memories as precious as gold, passed on from a genera- tion to another as the mos t important of heirlooms. These memories, root and core of each Italian American family and, therefore, of the Italian American community at large, are what make so many long for knowing more about their forefathers' homeland, a place so incredibly familiar and so foreign at once, a place that defines identities often without being directly "experi- enced." And when fate brings one to s et foot on that land, memories become shapes, scents and truly our own. Indeed, com- ing to Italy is for many the turn- ing point of their existence: not for their careers, maybe, nor for their social status, but certainly for their personal growth. A trip to the land of the ancestors is also a trip into one's very own soul and an ideal rendez-vous with grandfathers and grand- mothers who may no longer be around physically, but return, young, strong and beautiful, to chaperon their loved ones around the corners and paths of their "life before America." It is in this context that La Farnesina presented, on the 29th of May, its new initiative to pro- mote the turismo di ritorno, "coming back tourism," also know as turismo delle origini. Through it, La F arnes ina explains, Italian-descendants liv- ing abroad travel to Italy to dis- cover their roots and their family history, along with the cultural heritage of the area where their relatives hailed from. The idea is to support the turismo delle orig- ini as a way to strengthen peo- ple's relationship with Italy, as well as to contribute to the sus- tainable growth of many areas of the Bel Paese in need of redis- covery: it is common knowledge that many Italian migrants of yore had left small, but still live- ly communities which, however, have been experiencing severe demographic issues, tied to high levels of depopulation. From this point of view, La Farnesina thinks, Italian-descendants could come to the rescue, should they decide to return living in Italy or - more likely - to make of their ancestral home town a place for regular holidays. Indeed, some Italian regions have been offi- cially working to facilitate Ital- ian-descendants willing to invest in local property, as explained by Giovanni Lolli, vice-presi- dent of the Abruzzo region and tourism coordinator for the Con- ferenza delle Regioni: "In Abruzzo, we've been developing a project to renovate and bring back to life the historical centers FRANCESCA BEZZONE Bringing you back to your roots: la Farnesina promotes Italy's "turismo delle radici" of small villages at risk of aban- donment, specifically facilitating Italian-descendants willing to invest in it." La Farnesina calls this return to the origins, this longing - pre- sent also among Italians of Italy - for a more wholesome and somehow simpler way of living, vivere all'Italiana, a lifestyle made of small pleasures, sim- plicity, family and strong values. In the case of Italian-descen- dants, of course, it's also a mat- ter of history and meeting their roots. Vincenzo De Luca, the Director General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation adds to the concept when stating that " 'The Italian Way of Life' (…) pools together all the qualities expressed by the cultural, economic, and social fabric of our regions and is underpinned by the core action performed by the overseas diplo- matic and consular network and Italian Cultural Institutes to pro- mote the image and the points of excellence of Italy abroad."   Certainly, the turismo delle origini finds its roots into a world made of emotions, intima- cy and personal heritage, but we shouldn't neglect its numbers, neither: this is a form of tourism which could involve between 60 and 80 million people all over the world, potentially wishing to reconnect with the land of their ancestors. The Director General for Italians Abroad and Migra- tional Policies, Luigi Maria Vig- nali, said that "Roots tourism repres ents an extraordinary opportunity to open Italy to new flows of visitors and to promote Italian sites and hamlets not yet touched by mass tourism." He also added that "Italian citizens and people of Italian descent are the top consumers of local arti- sanal products, the proceeds of which are entirely reabsorbed into the local economic develop- ment," thus underlining the important economic return Italy could have thanks to the devel- opment of this form of tourism. But La Farnesina's initiative is based on an idea that isn't new. The Venetian university of Ca' Foscari had already pub- lished a study on the topic three years ago, when its Centro Studi sul Turismo (Ciset) underlined the ever growing importance of turismo delle origini worldwide, with countries such as Ireland and Scotland leading the way since the 1970s. Both are not only known for the presence of several tourist operators special- ized in organizing trips "home" for descendants, often including genealogical research sessions in the price, but also for having official national bodies dedicat- ed to the phenomenon, Failte Ireland and V is it S cotland. Nothing of this sort, the Ca' Foscari study continues, exists for Italy, but many among those 80 million Italian-descendants scattered around the world have already spontaneously begun to come back seeking their roots and, why not, hoping to meet family. Developing further and more organically the turismo delle origini could be an incredibly beautiful opportunity for Italian Americans, for Italians and for Italy: the first could be support- ed in their endeavor to learn more about their roots and their identity; the s econd could embrace a community which means so much to their country, but which remains somehow lit- tle known. And Italy could see some of its most characteristic corners return to their former selves, their alleys colorful, filled with people and with voic- es that are, at once, those of new acquaintances and old friends. Very old friends indeed. Bringing Italian descendants back home, to reconnect with their history and past: this is the aim of the "turismo delle radici" project LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Developing further and more organically the "turismo delle origins" could be an incredibly beautiful opportunity for Ita- lian Americans, for Italians and for Italy

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