ForzaItaliaPgh wrote:Ciao tutti,
On my GGF's Ellis Island passenger record, it lists his ship (La Savoie) as departing from "Le Harve, France". Was it typical for Italians (maybe just Northern Italians) to travel to France to come to America? The last place of residence is in Italy (although the city name seems corrupted as I mention on a different thread), so I don't think he moved to France for awhile, then moved to America. Any idea if this was a normal route? Grazie.
Hi:
Yes! Many Italian immmigrants departed from Genoa, also from Napoli, and from other European ports.
The reasons:
- Many immigrants found difficulties to reach the port of Genoa by rail.
For example, for an inhabitant of the province of Biella, in Piedmont, it was easier to take a train to Torino and quickly get to Le Havre, which go to the port of Genoa.
According to some statistics, in 1874 approximately 17,500 Italian immigrants departed from French ports (Havre, Nantes, Cherbourg).
A similar amount to those who departed from Genoa.
- Some shipping companies owned by French capital and usually operating illegally in Italy.
- Perhaps the ancestor tried his luck in France, by geographical proximity, and then decided to leave for the Americas.
You can read more about this in the book:
Storia dell'emigrazione italiana - Di Piero Bevilacqua, Andreina De Clementi, Emilio Franzina.
Pubblicato da Donzelli Editore, 2001
ISBN 8879896555, 9788879896559
digitized by Google Books
http://books.google.com.ar/books?id=iJS ... CC4Q6AEwAQ
Sorry for my english.
Regards,