Valley of Roots: Lands of Migrants - A Project to Connect Italian Descendants with Their Ancestral Homeland

The municipal administration of Padula has obtained the approval of the project "Valley of roots: the lands of migrants", signed together with six other Valdiano municipalities (Monte San Giacomo, San Pietro al Tanagro, Casalbuono, Atena Lucana, Polla, and Sanza), aimed at raising awareness among local communities on the theme of Italian emigration and root travels and to create a tourist offer aimed at Italian descendants, on the occasion of "2024 - year of Italian roots". Local historical research has highlighted how, in the period between 1870 and the seventies of the last century, the Vallo di Diano was one of the areas of the South most affected by mass emigration to transoceanic and European destinations, emphasized the teacher and researcher, Fabio Ragone, who directed the drafting of the project. A careful reading of the migratory flows shows that, for almost the entire period, out of every 100 inhabitants of Valdiano, as many as 10 chose to emigrate. In the two subsequent migratory waves (the one between the two wars and that of the post-war period), the Vallo di Diano continued to record record departures towards countless destinations, in particular Argentina, United States, Brazil, Venezuela, Canada, Australia, Colombia, Uruguay, and Mexico. On the European front, however, the flows to Germany, Switzerland, France, and Belgium are impressive. In the case of Padula, the program includes an offer of events, activities, and services for root tourists that will develop during the period from March 2024 to February 2025, thanks to the collaboration of communities residing abroad, producers, and local associations. "The goal of the project," explained the mayor of Padula Michela Cimino, "is to allow the descendants of emigrants to know, through events and initiatives, the territory of their ancestors."