Agenda

International Congress
9 - 11 December 2025

At a historical moment characterized by an increase in international migration, which poses itself as a topic of considerable political-economic and socio-cultural relevance, with a considerable presence in the public debate both nationally and internationally, a space dedicated to rereading the experience of the Italian diaspora (in this case, with significant
representation from the South American area) as well as the more recent phenomenon of Italian-Latin Americans in Italy, can offer a notable contribution to contemporary discussion.
Although the initiative is linked to the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the start of Italian immigration to southern Brazil, with a majority of people coming from the Veneto region, the congress intends to rethink this migratory phenomenon from a broader and comparative perspective, both in relation to the three main spaces of immigration from
the Italian peninsula to Latin America (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay), and in reference to other national contexts where it has nevertheless been relevant, such as Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela. 
The central objective is to reflect on the Italian presence in these territories, the transformation of the environment with architecture, agricultural traditions, relations of sociability, language, religiosity, cooperativism, social and cultural movements, the construction of "little Italies," and the circulation of ideas and people. It will also consider the
demographic and economic dynamics, the narratives related to the phenomenon produced over time, and the specificities that, over 150 years, have led to the construction of an Italian-Latin American group, in the different national declinations, but with sometimes similar and sometimes different experiences in the processes of insertion in the societies of arrival.
On the one hand, such commemorations prompt critical reflection on the historical, anthropological, sociological, political and literary studies that have analysed and interpreted the relationship between Italy and the subcontinent, including in relation to descendants "returning" to the Peninsula. On the other hand, these celebrations offer the opportunity to stimulate new lines of research and interpretive paths, outlining new
approaches to the study of the phenomenon.

Proposals for one of the five thematic panels should be addressed to the panel coordinators and in copy to the conference organization: congressoimmigrazione.venezia@gmail.com

Important dates
Proposal submission deadline: 15/08/2025
Notification of acceptance: 01/09/2025
Enrollment payment: 15/10/2025

Scientific committee
Irene Barbiera, Luis Fernando Beneduzi, Alicia Bernasconi, Federica Bertagna, Alessandro Casellato, Maria Catarina Chitolina Zanini, Chiara Pagnotta, Andrea Zannini

Scientific responsible for the organisation of the event
Luis Fernando Beneduzi

Event organised by Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies and Department of Humanities, open to researchers, students and all interested parties.