This research was conducted to collect reliable data and information regarding the families of Pietrabbondante who, between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, left their homes in search of a more dignified future for their children. Scholars of Italian migration are well aware of the unprecedented scale of this phenomenon—the countless individuals who abandoned their families, homes, and country with no intention of returning. Analyzing such phenomena requires a sociological study of human displacement—often described as “mass movements”—referring to the unidirectional migration of vast numbers of people.
It is often difficult to reconstruct stories from family archives that recount the journeys undertaken after departing from port. While boarding lists provide the names, ages, and professions of each passenger, many seem to vanish from the records upon reaching destinations such as Ellis Island or Buenos Aires. What became of them? Where did they settle? Who was there to welcome them? These questions are now put to the descendants of those who emigrated more than a century ago.
The act of departure—the severing of past and future—ignored a present defined by hunger and poverty. To depart also meant breaking emotional ties and disconnecting from one’s own history; it meant feeling the bitterness of being forced to leave simply to survive. Those who left and never returned were never able to mend the rift with their past; yet, the prospect of returning was never a subject for discussion.
This project seeks to restore a voice and a sense of dignity to those who departed for distant lands and never returned. By gathering stories from private family archives, it has been possible to “humanize history,” giving a name and a face to a small fraction of the vast multitude of Italians who boarded steamers to put down roots elsewhere.