Oral History
Memories from Emilia-Romagna and Sicily
Italian Memories in Wales
Text in Italian Memories from Emilia-Romagna and Sicily
[Memories of Italian Immigrants in the Lea Valley and London]
An ACLI-ENAIP Oral History Project, founded by the Heritage Lottery Fund
To view the exhibition please click on the following links:
Introduction to the Exhibition (pdf 54KB)
Emiliano Romagnoli's Lives (pdf 518KB)
Sicilian's Lives (pdf 494KB)
Italian Memories in Wales (pdf 99,494KB)
To listen to some extracts from the recordings click on the following links:
Memories from Emilia Romagna clip
Memories from Sicily clip
We have collected the reminiscences and personal photographs of people who migrated to this country from Italy from the 1950s onwards.
Our project has explored the reasons for coming over here, the feelings, the achievements and frustrations of two distinct communities working in the food trade, catering in London by people predominantly from the region of Emilia Romagna, and people from Sicily who came over to work in the glasshouses in Hertfordshire and Essex. The sound recordings and personal photographs have been deposited at the Camden Local Studies and Archives, London, the Museum of Epping District Forest in Waltham Abbey and at Lowewood Museum in Hoddesdon, Borough of Broxbourne.
The experiences of the Italian migrants and those of their families in many ways reflect the experiences of other communities of migrants. Their life histories are important in order to understand the roots of this community in the present for future generations.
The project aims to encourage the Italian community in England to celebrate their heritage through the preservation of their histories which are often hidden from the public. Telling these stories to their relatives and the wider community will help generate a greater debate both within the community and from outside.
A photographic touring exhibition has been created with the use of stories and personal photographs to disseminate the information more widely. We have presented the historical material to local schools and other relevant organisations.
As from the end of June 2007 you can visit the exhibition in Italy at The Castle of Bardi (Parma) and Museo delle Mura in Borgotaro and then permanently at the Emigration and Archive Studies in Bedonia (Parma).
Should you require further information or if you have been involved with the migration from Emilia-Romagna or Sicily, please contact Acli-Enaip, telephone (0044) 020 7278 0139 or email: oralhistory@enaip.org.uk.