May 15 - June 30, 2024
What does it feel like to take the first step onto a ship that will sail you 7,000 kilometers away from your home? How do you decide what to take with you, and how do you say goodbye to your loved ones? What awaits you on that distant shore?
Join us as we explore the stories of Italian families that immigrated to Sarnia-Lambton in the last century. Many of their experiences are universal for emigrants from countries around the world. The Italians of Sarnia-Lambton came from almost every region of Italy, but the majority came from Ciociaria. Other regions of origin are Abruzzo, Campania, Calabria, Sicilia, Sardegna, Veneto, and Friuli.
Many first-generation Italian immigrants were labourers from poor, rural areas of Italy. Sometimes immigration officials in Canada would examine the hands of the men when they arrived to ensure they had calluses, proof that they were used to hard working and working with their hands. Second generation Italians distinguished themselves in every sector of society: business, politics, religion, culture, and sports.
This exhibition is based on a travelling exhibit prepared by Sarnia’s Italo-Canadian Cultural Club in 1990. Key organizers of that exhibition were Caroline Di Cocco, Antonia Ambrose, Fr. Claudio Holzer, and Nella D’Agostini, with the support of the Italian-Canadian Community of Sarnia-Lambton and the Italian Consulate of Toronto.
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