Italian Women in Basilicata: Staying Behind but Moving Forward during the Age of Mass Emigration, 1876–1914
This book examines the role of southern Italian women who remained behind when their husbands emigrated in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By piecing together limited archival source material, the author argues that married women were not voiceless or powerless when their husbands were abroad, but they took on roles beyond their limited legal position. They petitioned local officials, requested passports, received remittances, and handled the family finances, all in the absence of their husbands, the legal head of the family. The study also emphasizes the connection forged between women and the new Italian state at a time when women did not have political rights. Centering on Basilicata―a “forgotten” region of the Italian south and one that has not been a major focus of scholarly investigation―this study challenges stereotypes that the Italian south was backwards, uncivilized, and lagging behind northern Italy. The author argues that large scale emigration greatly impacted the married women left behind in the villages of Basilicata, changing their social, political, and economic role.
Articles
“To Leave or Not to Leave? Italian Women and the Migration Decision in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries” (in progress)
From Basilicata to New York City: Ending the Exploitation of Italian Fanciulli Girovaghi in the 1860s and 1870s. Italian American Review (2025) 15 (2): 117–135.
“Birds of Passage from Basilicata” The Craco Society Newsletter, April 2024
“Dishonorable Women? Infanticide and Honor in Basilicata, 1880-1914," Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Vol 25. Issue 3 (June 2020)
“Recognizing the Contributions of Italian American Women,” La Nostra Voce, March 2020
Papers and Presentations
A selection of papers and presentations given at various conferences, meetings, presentations, and seminars:
“How Italian Migration Laws Affected Our Ancestors” webinar for Italian Interest Group
“(Domestic) Battles Within Italy: Women and Brigandage in the 1860s ” The Bitter Bread of War, Calandra Institute of New York Annual Conference
“To Leave or Not to Leave? Italian Women and the Migration Decision in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries,” Subverting the Order: The Representation of Women Emigrants in the Press and in Visual Arts (Italy, c. XIX-XX)
“Child Migrants”, Italian Genealogical Group Annual Conference
“Daily Life for Our Ancestors,” Italian Genealogical Group Annual Conference
“Fanciulli Girovaghi’: Child Migrants during the Age of Mass Migration” Columbia University Seminar in Modern Italian Studies
“Marriage and Infidelity: Adultery in Late 19th Century Italy” Interdisciplinary Network for Nineteenth-Century Italian Studies (INNCIS)
“Powerless Women? Italian Emigration and the Perseverance of the Women who Remained Behind,” Italian Genealogical Group
Book Presentation, Italian Women in Basilicata: Staying Behind but Moving Forward during the Age of Mass Emigration, 1876–1914. Philip V. Cannistraro Seminar Series in Italian American Studies
“Terremoto! Major Earthquakes and their Consequences in Southern Italy,” Eco Italie conference, Calandra Italian American Institute
“‘Fanciulli Girovaghi:’ Child Workers in an Era of Italian Emigration,” Interdisciplinary Network for Nineteenth-Century Italian Studies (INNCIS)
“Abandoned Women: Emigration, Emotion, and Action in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries,” American Historical Association Conference
“Powerless Women?: Italian Emigration and the Perseverance of the Women who Remained Behind,” Women’s Studies Lecture Series, Lehman College
“Infanticide and Emigration: Honor and the Women who Remained Behind,” American Historical Association Conference
“Fanciulli Girovaghi: Children and the Forgotten Side of Italian Emigration (1860-1880),” New York Association of European Historians
Consulting
Providing historical background and genealogical information for various TV and theater productions, including Finding Your Roots on PBS.
