January-December 2010, vol. 1

permanent studycentre on emigrationand the museumof the emigrantrepublic of san marinoreasons for a choiceEmigration has been one of the most distinctive andcharacteristic aspects of the contemporary history of theRepublic of San Marino. Although many other countries haveexperienced and are still experiencing large-scale migratorymovements, not so many countries, as San Marino, haveexperienced such an intensive flow, so long distributed in time,with so many destinations. In past centuries for San Marinopeople emigration was a way to live and survive, almost atradition passed down from generation to generation. Beforebecoming a mass exodus, upsetting ancient balances andhalving the population of small San Marino towns, emigrationwas used as a resource. San Marino people, regulating theirflows according to seasonal trends inagricultural work, used to follow wellknownitineraries, already opened by theirpredecessors, according to preciseconvenience considerations.However the highest rates in emigrationwere reached in the contemporary age, inparticular during the last decades of the19 th century and the 20 th century, whenmore than a half of the population left thecountry. San Marino people who left forSouth America, United States, Canada, France, Belgium andother European States took with them habits, values, ideals andcirculated their culture and know-how. They brought to thehost country, not always welcoming them, their youth, strengthand intelligence. They learnt new professions or improved andadjusted their original professions. In the countryside, mines,marble quarries, builder’s yards, factories, ports, restaurantsand on the roads, they made any effort to be equal to o betterthan resident workers. They tried to integrate, learning theirlanguage, adapting to their costumes. But in their houses, withtheir families, their friends, at meetings and parties, San MarinoSan Marino people have alwaystried to keep collective memory aliveabout the reasons of their departure.They have continued transmittingtheir cultural identity, reinforcingtheir will to maintain the conscienceof common roots and thememories of homeland.people have always tried to keep collective memory alive aboutthe reasons of their departure. They have continuedtransmitting their cultural identity, reinforcing their will tomaintain the conscience of common roots and the memories ofhomeland.Many years have passed and historical conditions are now verydifferent, but the strong link with the homeland, made of work,intelligence and personal initiative of so many San Marinopeople, is still alive and operating. The 13,000 San Marinopeople still living in various countries of the world are thetestimony of that large Diaspora. Today, when the migrationphenomenon may be considered substantially over, and tohave left room to its opposite, a large partof our material and symbolic interexchangewith the rest of the world stillpasses through the children andgrandchildren of our emigrants, who tookover the heritage of a complex butintensive and vital identity feeling.The entire history of our country duringthe contemporary age has inherited theessential characteristics of migration.What would San Marino economy betoday without the accumulation of resources provided byemigrants’ remittances? The inter-exchange of trades,professional experiences, technologies materially took placethrough the migratory flows. What role did the “sign” of ouremigration play in our symbolic universe, in the constructionand definition of our imagination, in our culture, and in short, inour collective identity?On the basis of these questions, involving not only scholarsstudying migratory themes, but all those who want to discovertheir own roots, we felt the need to open in San Marino aIHSJ ITALIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL VOLUME 18 2010 | 45