This edited collection explores the notion of Italianness - or Italianità - through migration history. It focuses on the interaction between Italians circulating around the world, and their relationship with Italy from a political and cultural perspective. Answering the important question of how migration affects Italianness, the authors explore the ways in which migrants retained their Italian culture, customs and practices during and after their travels. Spanning a long period from the Risorgimento up until the 1960s, the book sheds light on the institutions and social structures that contributed to the construction of cultural links between Italian migrants and their country of origin. Not only broad in its temporal scope, the volume covers a wide geographic area, examining the lives of Italian migrants in North America, South America, Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Bringing together a wealth of research on Italians, alongside the different migratory routes taken by these men and women, this book provides new insights into Italian culture and seeks to strengthen our understanding of Italian migration history.

Stéphane Mourlane is Associate Professor of Modern History at Aix-Marseille Université and a researcher at TELEMMe research centre.Céline Regnard is Associate Professor of Modern History at Aix-Marseille Université, researcher at TELEMMe research centre and a former member of the Institut Universitaire de France.Manuela Martini is Professor of Modern History at the Université Lumière Lyon 2, a researcher at the LARhRA research centre and a member of the Institut Universitaire de France. Catherine Brice is Professor of Modern History in the Center for Research in Comparative European History (CRHEC) at the Université Paris-Est Créteil, and a former member of the Institut Universitaire de France.