“Il Bel Paese” - a story about a beautiful nation, yet not attractive enough for its own people.
Italy is one of the most visited countries in the world - yet the statistics show a very different facet of this state. As of January 2023, there were about 6 million Italians officially residing abroad: 10.1% of the Italian population. Among the 3.2 million compatriots that stayed in Europe, 10.4% of them picked France, myself included (XVIII edizione "Rapporto Italiani nel mondo”, Fondazione Migrantes.)
Our heritage is not enough, apparently. What is it though? How come so many individual stories come to have same common denominator?
I decided to start this personal quest, moved by the inability to settle in my small town in the north of Italy. In and out since the age of 17, I’m now trying to find the answer through the people that are familiar with the struggles and the courage it takes to leave your Motherland.
A post on a Facebook group and a few espressos after, I met Michele, Federico, Livia, Andrea and Vito, fellow Italians living in Paris, all sharing the same journey. An endless dissonance between ourselves and our homeland, love and hate, homesick and sick of home.
Michele, 28, from Napoli. In Paris since 2015.
Livia, 85, from Rome. In France since 1990.
Federico, 30. From Verona. In Paris since 2021.
Vito, 40, from Palermo. In Paris since 2012.
Andrea, 27, from Messina. In Paris since 2021.
© Francesca Bossoni
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