Descrizione
A brief reminder of some major moments of Moroccan history and of the commercial and political relations between Morocco and Italy during the last centuries, together with a glance at the first Italian travellers in Morocco such as Edmondo de Amicis, and their travel notebooks complete the picture of the Italian presence in Morocco from the end of the 18th century up to today. Italy, which is a host country for thousands of Moroccan emigrants nowadays, has also known mass emigration for decades and provided a working force to North and South America mainly, but also to the Maghreb. These countries represented the hope of a better life for the have-nots of the Peninsula South and, later on, for Italian Jews rejected by fascism. Brave and hardworking, these second chance applicants who came from an impoverished background contributed to the building of modern Morocco with their know-how. Through touching personal stories this book also recalls the distressing period of World War II, when it did not feel good to be Italian under French protectorate. From this bitter-sweet account of the Italian presence in Morocco, and despite the difficulties of gathering fragments of a shattered memory, emerges the picture of an «active, simple mannered and respectful to local traditions» community.
