Why CISEI is in Genoa
A great part of the migratory flux in the 1800s went through the port of Genoa. The city was profoundly marked by this fact. Between 1833 and 1852 embarkations to the Americas, at the time around 10% of local embarkations, amounted to tens of thousands. Apart from craftsmen and small traders, the flux was also encouraged by adventurers, persecuted politicians (we are in the period which saw the rise of national Risorgimento), sailors who wanted to disembark (or, as was said at the time, to “desert” enlistment) to try out their fortune in the new world: among which the most famous was Giuseppe Garibaldi, whose name appears in the embarkation lists of the 1930s on route for Argentina, where he was to regain his fame as a leader. Transit became more intense during the second half of the century, when emigrant transportation became a lucrative commercial activity for navigation companies. From 1861 to 1874 emigration which was officially transiting through Genoa nearly reached the amount of 200.000 units. Between 1881-1885 the annual average of emigrant embarkations in Genoa amounted to 45.000, in the following five-year period it rose to circa 100.000, to settle around this amount until the end of the century. Emigrants who departed from Genoa from 1876 to 1901 were circa two million in total (61% of national expatriates), from 1902 to 1925 more than 1,7 million (34% of the national total), from 1926 to 1939 just above 400.000. At the beginning of the 1900s Genoa started to gradually share departure primacy with Naples, and to a lesser extent Palermo, as in those years migratory flux mainly originated from the South of Italy.
Well-established foreign passenger lines, such as the Cunard Line, the White Star Line, the Hamburg America Line operated from the port of Genoa. These lines carried a relevant quota of the flux, even after the birth of the only great national company, Navigazione Generale Italiana, set up in 1881 after the merger between the Florio and Rubattino ship-owner groups.
The city of Genoa is therefore, with its port, the perfect candidate to host CISEI – Centro Internazionale di Studi sull’Emigrazione Italiana – whose activity is dedicated to emigration. The Centre’s formal constitution was preceded by three years of activity carried out by the Comitato Promotore (Promoting Committee), set up in preparation for the Genoa 2004 – European Capital of Culture programme.
Promoting Committee activity
Emigration was the common thread that filled the calendar of events (more than twenty throughout the year) organised by the CISEI Promoting Committee, at that time not yet formally set up, for the cultural programme of the year 2004, when Genoa was chosen as European Capital of Culture. The programme of cultural events organised for Genoa-2004 included the history, literature, theatre, music, cinema, photography and customs which compose – and recompose – the image of the epic of our emigration. These are some of the major events:
Opening show and concert, TRAVERSATA (The Crossing)
Exhibition and presentation of the comic strip ONE WAY
Inauguration of CONSOLLE INFORMATICA (Computer Console)
Conference, LE ROTTE DIFFICILI (Difficult Routes)
Cinema, L’AVVENTURA NECESSARIA (The Needed Adventure)
Musical Comedy, CON LE SPALLE AL MARE (With your shoulders towards the sea)
Theatre, PARTENZE (Departures)
Theatre, LETTERE DA LONTANO (Letters from far away)
Concert I MUSICISTI SULL’OCEANO (Musicians on the ocean)
Concert CORO MONTE CAURIOL based on emigration songs (Monte Cauriol Choir)
Exhibition, FRATELLI ALINARI (Alinari Brothers)
BIENNALE EUROPEA DELLE RIVISTE CULTURALI (European Biennial of Cultural Magazines)
Historical Conference, ITALIANI NEL MONDO (Italians in the world)
Theatrical shows, EDEN – TEATRO DI FABIO
Exhibition, IL VIAGGIO DELLE PAROLE (The journey of words)
Exhibition, FROM ITALY TO CALIFORNIA
A summary of these events can be found in the book edited by the Port Authority of Genoa in 2005 entitled “Emigrazione, speranza di andate e ritorni” (Emigration, the hopes of who departed and returned) by S.Martini and F.Cecchet.
2005 sees the publication of the collection Dal Porto al Mondo and the edition of two volumes: La Babele nella “Pampa” by Vanni Blengino and Sull’Oceano by Edmondo De Amicis. The collection, promoted by the Promoting Committee of CISEI, aims to increase the value of the role of Genoa as a departure port for migrants and a crossroads between Italy and the rest of the world. The collection includes tales of journeys, autobiographical texts and correspondence by emigrants. The last book of the collection is being put together by Alessandra Vannucci based on the Diario di Giuseppe Banfi e del suo viaggio in Brasile, (Giuseppe Banfi’s Diary and his voyage to Brazil) with an introduction by Fabio Capocaccia and Emilio Franzina. The book will be available shortly.
CISEI
The International Centre of Italian Emigration Studies was formally set up in June 2006, and has its head Office in Genoa, within the San Giovanni di Pré complex, known as “la Commenda dei Cavalieri di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme” (Commendam of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem). It starter being built in 1180 by the will of Frate Guglielmo, who belonged to the Order of the Knights of Jerusalem, which then gave rise to the Order of the Knights of Malta, which still have a stronghold at the Commenda. It consists of two superimposed churches built in Romanesque style, which make up about half of the architectural body of the complex together with an adjacent building with three floors, the Commendam, or convent and hospital. Together they had the double function of maritime station on the route to the Holy Land (in those years the third crusade led by the King of France sailed from Genoa) and hospital (hospice) for pilgrims. The complex is preserved in its Romanesque splendour, with the severity of its black walls made of Promontory stone, the warmth of the bricks, the elegance of the columns in marble and ceilings made of wood painted with geometrical and floral motifs, together with important fragments of the original fresco paintings. The first restructure work was carried out on the convent in 1508 and the second restructure work, in 1731, was carried out on the upper church when the sense of the church was inverted. It was completely restored in 1992 – to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America – and is currently being used for exhibitions of a historical nature. To sum up, this building has for over 800 years been a host to people who prepared a long journey, and today hosts the research Centre dedicated to emigration.
CISEI’s assembly is made up by the State Archive, the Port Authority of Genoa, the Chamber of Commerce, the Harbour Master’s Office, the City Council of Genoa, Bishop’s See of Chiavari, Archbishop’s See of Genoa, the Museo del Mare e della Navigazione Institution, the Province of Genoa, the Region of Liguria, Archive Superintendence Office of Liguria and the University of Genoa. The Assembly has nominated a Council, which is more restricted, where representatives of the founding bodies (the Port Authority, the Region, the Province, the Town Council, the Chamber of Commerce, the Museo del Mare ).
The Council, at the same time, has nominated a Scientific Committee, presided by Prof. Antonio Gibelli of the University of Genoa, which has incorporated representatives from prestigious national and foreign institutions, as well as renowned scholars.
Archive Project
CISEI emerges to be able to catalogue and increase the value of documents, as well as to promote research and studies on Italian emigration abroad. The centre aims to be a reference point for all those whose aim is the study of emigration and everything connected to it, and for all those who currently need archival data regarding departures from Genoa. We therefore propose collaboration with other realities, which have significant data and an archive at their disposal to give life to a documentary section that collects documents from public and private archives, as well as video and audio material, through the collaboration with public and private sectors.
To this end, the centre has prepared a “Progetto Archivi”(an Archive Project), to be developed during the 2007-2008 biennial period, which has two main lines of action: the first focuses on monitoring local sources and the second concerns the study and partial acquisition of material regarding the landing places at the countries of destination and especially the great arrival ports for Italian emigration abroad (New York, San Paolo, Santos, Buenos Aires).
Our collaboration with Ellis Island, in particular, has become a solid project of increasing relevance for the future. The aim is the creation of a database, which up until now is still largely incomplete, starting with the archive data in existence in Genoa (first port of departure for Italian emigration) and the arrival ports for Italian emigrants, as well as crossing data from other Italian and foreign archive sources. Research will be developed in various phases, the first, currently being carried out, being the collaboration with the centre in Castle Garden, directed by Dr. Ira Glazier, who is working on data supplied by Ellis Island, the American National Archives and the Emigrant Savings Bank. CISEI will work in collaboration with the American group with its own research unit, and will also contribute the findings developed by another CISEI research unit based on the documentation preserved in archives, albeit public or private, in Genoa and Liguria, to the final creation of the database.
Computer Console
The Port Authority of Genoa created a computer Console in 2004 based on the departures of Italian Emigration, which is still in progress. The Console includes material from documentary archives, audio archives, cinematographic archives, as well as documents of various types. To make the Console, the Port Authority of Genoa created a work group with the task of individualising, developing and updating the scientific content of the computer container and the apt technology able to sustain the project. The Console is the first nucleus of the historical-archival reconstruction work that, when running at full speed, will contain the archive, which will be as complete as possible, of the names of Italian emigrants. The Console can be consulted today at the CISEI and there is also a copy at the Museo del Mare e della Navigazione of Genoa.
Collaborations
CISEI has been a member of AEMI, the association of European migration research centres/museums, since 2006. Being a member of AEMI represents a success for the centre and acknowledges the international value of the studies promoted and the research programmes launched by the centre. Continued collaboration with AEMI has made CISEI the candidate to host the association’s annual meeting in 2008. As far the international network is concerned, the centre has always been especially interested in research centres/museums in cities that were important ports of departure for emigrants in Europe (Le Havre, Liverpool, Hamburg, Rotterdam) as well as in the large arrival ports in the world (New York, San Paolo, Santos, Buenos Aires), and aims to establish collaborations and partnerships for research projects of mutual interest.
Exhibition – Museum
The section dedicated to Ocean Liners, recently opened at the Museo del Mare e della Navigazione (MUMA) in Genoa, is the first nucleus of the future Museo dell’Emigrazione, which will have a permanent section specifically dedicated to emigration within the MUMA.
The exhibition “da Genova a Ellis Island: il viaggio nell’emigrazione italiana” (from Genoa to Ellis Island: the voyage in Italian emigration) which will be inaugurated in Spring 2008 will represent the second nucleus of the future Museum. The programme is part of a wider plan to re-evaluate Genoa’s cultural resources and highlights Genoa’s status as a maritime city and a gateway to the world. This is the reason why the theme of emigration was integrated into the wider context of the sea and navigation, developing it within an existing museum that is widely recognised and renowned for its activity.
The Exhibition-Museum will focus on the theme of the voyage, “told” by the documents collected at the departure points and arrival ports, the voyages described in log books, images and writings by men, women and children who left their lands and tell us of their hopes to return, starting from the first peasant emigration flux in the 19th century up until today. The material exhibited will be characterised by its originality and Genoese source typicality, showing the result of research carried out by experts within archives in Genoa and Liguria, as well as national and international archives, for the first time. The extraordinariness of the material available in the local section of the national and port archives on the wait before the voyage, the departure from the port of Genoa and the crossing, turns the exhibition into a unique witness of a fundamental part of the emigration experience. The exhibition will highlight, in particular, ports in South and North America as arrival points, creating a triangle between New York, Buenos Aires and Santos. It will particularly focus on documents and multimedia material from Ellis Island, a symbol for millions of people all over the world. The Exhibition-Museum, as we have already mentioned, will open in Spring 2008 and will be held at the MUMA. This exhibition will contribute to the constitution of a permanent section dedicated to emigration within the museum.
