Memories from Emilia-Romagna and Sicily

Italian immigrants in the Lea Valley and London

This oral history project aims to record the memories of people who migrated to this country from the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Sicily from the 1950s onwards.

The project will explore the reasons for coming over here, the feelings, the achievements, the failures and frustrations of two distinct communities working in the food trade:  people working in catering in London who came predominantly from the region of Emilia Romagna; and people from Sicily who came over to work in the greenhouses of Hertfordshire and Essex.

The experiences of the Italian migrants and those of their families in many ways reflect the experiences of other communities of migrants. Their life histories are important in order to understand the roots of this community in the present for future generations.

The project is run by ENAIP, the educational branch of ACLI (Christian Association of Italian Workers).

The oral history materials will be deposited at Camden Archives at the close of the project. A small exhibition will be shown at Camden archives and then some other venues over the summer of 2006.