by Riccardo Liberatore

"Emigration is a phenomenon of high importance and although at times it can be a sign of national illness it is almost always proof of the undeniable energy, the enterprising character, the organizational abilities and the expansive and invading force of a people..."

These words were written in 1900 by Luigi Einaudi, who was to become the second President of the Italian Republic. They illustrate the attempt by Italian liberal elites to turn the mass emigration from the peninsula – 13 million in the 35 years between 1880 to 1915 – which had been a cause of embarrassment for the newly born state, into a strength and a source of pride. In part, Einaudi's comment was consolatory, designed to reassure and convince Italians that not having a territorial and colonial empire like those of France or Britain was of no great loss.

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Source: http://www.britalypost.com/