Immigration, Towns, and Foreigners Narratives of Brazil (1864–1964)

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Italians report on 19th and 20th century Brazil

The Research Group on Immigration, Towns, and Foreigners’ Narratives of Brazil (1864–1964) seeks to become a reference in documentary information on the perception of 19th and 20th century Brazil by Italian men and women. To maintain such a status, the team chaired by Professor Nuncia Constantino conducts interviews, translates books, and investigates biographies aiming for a better understanding of how the mores and ethos of the native country conditioned the perceptions of Europeans as either immigrants or not.

The narratives published as books by at least 60 Italian travelers who visited Brazil between 1861 and 1910 are the focus of one of the main research projects developed by this group, which is linked to the postgraduate History program. In research conducted at the main Italian libraries, Professor Nuncia Constantino had access to books written by D’Elia, Buccelli, Serra, Buscaglione, and Giglioli and to other authors who remained in Brazil as doctors, scientists, merchants, missionaries, or tourists. Partially translated, those books report on Brazilian sanitary, behavioral, and cultural problems.

To learn more about Italian immigrant women, oral interviews are the preferred technique. Tapes recorded more than 20 years ago are available at Delfos – Space for Documentation and Cultural Memory, located at the PUCRS Central Library. These files will be made available on the group’s website in 2013..

The autobiography of the artist, writer, and social activist Lydia Moschetii is a current target of study. Moschetti participated in the creation of several social and cultural institutions, such as the Eye Bank Hospital and the Female Literary Academy of Rio Grande do Sul. Her trajectory is being investigated in partnership with the Areia International Association of University of Genoa (Italy).

The group comprises more than 40 members, from undergraduate students to professors and has established a network of international collaborations that includes the universities of Nantes (France), Groningen (The Netherlands), and Urbino (Italy).