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This is a museum dedicated to the thousands of Italian migrants who left the country during the earlier part of the 20th century. It consists of a series of boards with information about aspects of life in the Italy of the 19th/20th centuries, the reasons for emigration, the conditions on board emigrant ships and the life they went to. There is a mock-up of the bunks used on board and a computer to check information about relatives, which I found unsuccessful - the Ellis Island website is better. The story is grim in parts, especially, for me, a mother's description of the death of her daughter due to disease on board the ship. The major disadvantage is that the text is all in Italian, and you will need to be able to read the descriptions to get the full story behind the pictures. There is a cafe, but I was only able to get a straight coffee, there was nothing else on offer. I went in September, when the museum is only open Saturdays and Sundays, so check opening times before your visit - during most of the summer it's open every day. At the time of the visit, there was a video exhibition dedicated to current migration in a container linked to this modern building. I also visited the "Old Calabria" exhibition in an old restored chateau-like farmhouse nearby, which is largely a collection of photographs, but the landscape setting is beautiful.…
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Date of experience: September 2015
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Ok, so materials are only in Italian, and there's no bookstore or anything so there's no chance of taking your experience with you. But. If you are at all interested in Italian emigration, this is a very moving experience.
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Date of experience: August 2014
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