Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, my great-grandfather Frank Fiorentino was one of 5.5 million people who moved out of Southern Italy to escape the mob, poverty, and disease—and they've been leaving ever since. While tourists flock to Venice and the Amalfi Coast, half of Italy’s small towns are already in an advanced state of abandonment or almost completely depopulated, according to the Italian government. 

The country designated 2024 the Year of the Italian Roots in the World to draw 80 million Italian descendants (like me) back to trace their roots. "Most of Italy's emigrants left small rural towns and want to visit them.