Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

From the Frignano to the United States: Exhibition Explores Emigration from the Modenese Apennines

Departures, the hardships of the journey, life in new communities, and the enduring bond with their places of origin. From 1 August to 19 October 2026, the Sala degli Scolopi in Fanano will host the exhibition Safeguarding Cultural Diversity: Emigration from the Modenese Apennines to the United States , dedicated to the stories of the men and women who, between the second half of the nineteenth century and the post-war period following the Second World War, left the mountains of the Modena area in search of new opportunities overseas.

The exhibition, which will open on Saturday 1 August, is promoted by the Department of Law and the Interdepartmental Research Centre on Discrimination and Vulnerability (CRID) at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Unimore), together with the Frignano Scientific, Literary and Artistic Academy "Lo Scoltenna", in collaboration with the Municipality of Fanano.

Through informative panels, historical documents, photographs, diaries, family histories and multimedia testimonies, the exhibition retraces the experiences of emigrants from the Modenese Apennines and the contribution they made to the communities that welcomed them. The exhibition focuses not only on the hardships and sacrifices of emigration, but also on the achievements of these communities and their ability to preserve and pass on dialects, traditions, recipes, values, and family and community ties.

The exhibition is one of the outcomes of a broader project dedicated to safeguarding cultural diversity, launched with the aim of reconstructing the relationship between the Modenese Apennines, its emigrants and their descendants around the world. Particular attention has been given to the involvement of younger generations.

More than 150 students from the Cavazzi Institute in Pavullo and Pievepelago and the Sacro Cuore Institute in Modena took part in collecting testimonies, photographs, objects and family stories. Following a training programme led by academics and experts, the students interviewed relatives and descendants of emigrants, consulted archives and reconstructed stories that were often little known or had remained confined to private family memories for generations.

The project was first presented in a comprehensive exhibition held from 31 October to 30 November 2025 at Paolucci Airport in Pavullo nel Frignano. The exhibition register recorded the signatures of 547 students, while the total number of visitors was considerably higher. Specially trained classes from the Cavazzi Institute also acted as exhibition guides, accompanying visitors throughout the exhibition.

Events in Fanano

The exhibition will be inaugurated on Saturday 1 August at 10.30 a.m. in the Church of San Giuseppe with a lecture by Elisa Aldini and Manlio Badiali on the Cherry and Dawson mining disasters in the United States, followed by a presentation by Livio Migliori on the history of Centralia. The official opening of the exhibition in the Sala degli Scolopi, located within the Cantine degli Scolopi complex, will follow.

The programme will continue with four further events, all taking place in the Church of San Giuseppe:

• Friday 7 August, 5.00 p.m. – Matteo Brera will explore the life of Primo Bartolini, tracing his journey from Fanano to Nashville.
• Thursday 13 August, 5.00 p.m. – Massimo Turchi and Raoul Corcini will present new research on Felice Pedroni and the history of Italian gold prospectors in Alaska.
• Tuesday 18 August, 5.00 p.m. – Livio Migliori will discuss emigration from the Modenese Apennines to southern France.
• Saturday 22 August, 5.00 p.m. – A meeting dedicated to the Modenese Society of Highwood, Illinois, and to the memory of Settimio Milani from Fanano.

The Fanano exhibition represents the first stage of the travelling section dedicated to the United States, which will subsequently be hosted in Montefiorino during October, November and December 2026. The section devoted to emigration to Chile will be presented in Guiglia in September as part of the IT.A.CÀ Festival, before moving to Zocca in October. The exhibition will be open to the general public and to school groups.

The complete exhibition will eventually have a permanent home in the Church of the Emigrant in Groppo di Riolunato. The exhibition materials are also available online through the Frignano Emigration Archive, within the Digital Collections of the Lodovico Media Library at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Unimore).

 

Categorie: International - english, Notizie_eng