The latest issue of the magazine “Piemonte News” dedicates a significant in-depth study to the theme of emigration, highlighting the deep and lasting bond between Piedmont and its communities scattered around the world. Italea Piemonte is pleased to present this special focus on initiatives that celebrate our roots and build bridges to the future.

 

The Region’s Support for the Link with the Piedmontese Abroad

The Regional Council has approved the 2025 annual program on migratory movements by a majority, with an allocation of 300 thousand euros. The main objective of this program is “to support and maintain ties with Piedmontese living abroad”. As recalled by the Regional Councillor for Emigration Maurizio Marrone, Argentina has historically represented the most significant destination for Piedmontese emigrants, especially between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century.

The program aims to “keep alive the memory of this important migratory phenomenon and to strengthen the link between Piedmont and its emigrants, enhancing their contribution to the history and culture of the countries that have welcomed them”. To this end, support is provided for the activities of the Regional Museum of the Emigration of Piedmontese in the World in Frossasco (To) and the Regional Museum of Vigezzo Emigration in the World in Santa Maria Maggiore (Vco). The various Piedmontese Associations in the world will also be supported. Marrone highlighted how the approximately 6 million people of Piedmontese origin who live abroad constitute an “important basin for the so-called ‘Roots Tourism'”, attracting in particular young people interested in discovering the land of their ancestors.

Among the initiatives, the program also includes the “Roots” Festival, promoted and curated by the Circolo dei lettori Foundation, to stimulate reflections on the individual and collective identity of migrant communities. The “Journey of Remembrance” will also be proposed again to Piedmontese upper secondary schools.

 

“Fencing without borders”: The Fencing of Pinerolo Stretches a Bridge with San Francisco (Argentina)

A living example of these links is the “Fencing without borders” project, which sees the collaboration between the Pinerolo Asd Fencing Academy and the city of San Francisco, Argentina. This initiative, supported by the Italea Piemonte program and promoted by the Italian Fencing Federation, aims to bring the new Argentine generations closer to this discipline and to found a local fencing school.

As part of this sports twinning, on Tuesday 22 July, two coaches of the Pinerolo Asd Fencing Academy, president Paolo Gay and coach Tommaso Merlo, will leave for Argentina. Their mission, which will end on August 2, involves the organization of training courses and workshops in about ten primary and secondary schools in San Francisco, with the aim of “contributing to the dissemination of values such as respect, dialogue and cooperation”. The mayor of San Francisco, Damián Bernarte, expressed his pride in supporting a collaboration that “unites sport and culture”. The president of the Pinerolo Fencing Academy, Paolo Gay, said he was “happy that fencing has been chosen as a vehicle to build bridges of friendship and mutual understanding”.

This project is a striking example of how Italea Piemonte works to keep alive the connections between Piedmont and the Piedmontese in the world through cultural and sporting initiatives.

To learn more about this and other fascinating stories related to the project, we invite you to read the dedicated articles on our website:

• Pinerolo and San Francisco: fencing joins its overseas roots with Italea Piemonte

• Fencing: a bridge that connects Pinerolo, San Francisco and Piedmontese roots across the ocean

 

Stories from Piedmontese Emigration: Over One Hundred Years of Living Memory

“Piemonte News” also presents us with touching testimonies of a past that continues to live. The degree thesis of Dr. Erika Di Sciacca, “Demographic transformations and migratory flows in the province of Alessandria between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: the case of the Borbera and Scrivia Valleys. Populations and migrations”, explored the causes, development and consequences of mass migration from these valleys. The research, born from an emotional interest, underlined how emigration has left a “lasting imprinting in the territory and in families”. A significant detail that emerged is that Pope Francis’ maternal grandmother, born in Val Borbera, also descended from Italian ancestors, strengthening the bond between Piedmont and Argentina.

A symbol of this longevity and bond with her homeland is Onorina Apprato de Tagliaferro, born in Castellero (AT) on July 7, 1913, who celebrated her 112th birthday in Rio Tercero, Argentina. Despite the decades spent away, he always suffered from nostalgia for Italy, returning there seven times.

Finally, the actor Gabriel Corrado, who was awarded the Star of Italy, rediscovered his origins in Castelnuovo Bormida (Al) thanks to the research of Orsola Appendino. Corrado told how his grandparents passed on to him the love for Italy and how he kept the Piedmontese language and traditions alive, remembering dishes such as bagna cauda and agnolotti.

 

These are just some of the many stories that “Piemonte News” offers us, a constant reminder of the cultural richness that Piedmontese emigration has generated in the world.

To read the complete magazine and discover all the news from Piedmont, you can subscribe to the Piemonte News newsletter and download it in pdf for free: https://www.regione.piemonte.it/web/pinforma/piemonte-newsletter