Argentina stands in second place, after the United States, in attracting the largest number of Italian immigrants to its shores. Of the almost six million immigrants arriving in Argentina from Europe during the 1871–1914 period, over 55 percent came from Italy (p. 8). Eugenia Scarzanella of the University of Bologna has produced an excellent account and analysis of the second, and by far the largest, wave of Italian immigration to Argentina (1850–1912). She uses 1912 as the cut-off date because it was then that the Italian government forbade the emigration of its citizens to Argentina owing to deficient sanitary conditions aboard the ships.
Using official documents, consular reports (above all), mutual aid societies’ records, immigrants’ accounts, diaries, biographic fragments, newspapers, and secondary sources, the author analyzes trends in the trans-Atlantic migration, how the Italians fared in Argentina, and what impact they had on the host country. She points out the mythical image Argentina conjured in the minds of thousands of hopeful contadini who came in search of land and how the dream of owning one’s plot did not always materialize. Then again, many Italians did become successful landowners and small businessmen. There is no doubt of the crucial contribution of the Italian agricultural worker toward transforming the province of Santa Fe into the granary of the nation. In Entre Ríos and Corrientes the farmers were also successful; in Mendoza the Italians became the leading vintners and cultivators of orchards; in Tucumán they grew sugarcane; and in Córdoba they became influential artisans and merchants. In Buenos Aires Italian-owned urban properties were quite numerous, and it was in that city and in Rosario that the Italian entrepreneurs’ influence was most marked.
The Italian immigrants and their descendants’ success in commerce and in the acquisition of real estate facilitated their entry into the middle class. Also important was the role played by the mutual aid societies, which performed many functions. They encouraged leadership and organized much-needed community services in the areas of health, education, culture, and recreation. The burgeoning group of Italian achievers became a decisive factor pushing for political change by the first decade of the twentieth century. Scarzanella also discusses the important contributions of Italian intellectuals, journalists, priests, and members of religious orders (especially the Salesians) and their far-reaching impact on the Italian community and Argentine society. Despite the comparative success of large numbers of Italians, relatively few chose to become Argentine citizens. One reason was their desire to continue enjoying the protection of the Italian consuls. Another factor was the hope harbored by many of returning to their native land.
Scarzanella is one of a group of Italian, North American, and Argentine scholars, each assessing independently different aspects of Italian migration to Argentina. Major figures in these endeavors are Samuel Baily, Roberto Cortés Conde, Marcello Carmagnani, and Antonio Annino. Scarzanella’s book is a thoroughly researched work that succeeds in demonstrating the degree to which Argentina’s economic and social fabric was thoroughly permeated by the contributions of Italian immigrants.
