We are excited to share with you an initiative that is particularly close to our hearts and that fully embodies the mission of Italea Piemonte: the exhibition “Migrant Memories – Mémoires Migrants” in Monterosso Grana (CN). This exhibition is not only a historical story, but a real bridge between the past and the present, uniting communities and stories through the common thread of emigration.
On the occasion of the patronal feast of St. James, the Municipality of Monterosso Grana, in collaboration with the twinned French municipality of Bar-sur-Loup and the ACLI Circle of Bourgat, has given life to this touching exhibition. The aim is to narrate the experiences of emigrants from the Grana Valley who, in search of work and a better life, headed for the French Riviera.
The exhibition presents a dozen panels made by the French community, enriched with historical photographs and touching testimonies. An element of great added value is the discovery of about sixty passports dating back to the two-year period 1929-1930, found thanks to Marco Bernardi’s research in the Historical Archives of the Municipality of Monterosso Grana. These documents, digitized for the occasion and projected on a screen, are not just personal data and photographs, but real testimonies of the difficult journeys to France, with entry and exit visas that mark the route. They represent a unique opportunity to reflect on the difficulties faced by men and women forced to seek their fortune across borders due to poverty.
The collaboration for “Migrant Memories” strengthens the intrinsic link between our mission and the deep roots of Piedmontese emigration. Every passport, every photograph, every testimony is a piece of a larger story, that of a land and its people who have been able, and still know, to weave bonds beyond geographical borders.
We invite everyone to visit the exhibition “Migrant Memories” in the council chamber of the town hall of Monterosso Grana. It will be open throughout the summer, during the following opening hours of the municipal offices: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, from 9:00 to 12:00.
Come and discover these “Migrant Memories” and reconnect with an important piece of Piedmontese history!
