History in Practice: Local Identity in a Global Context

This article examines the processes of identity formation in a rural southern Italian community. These processes, as manifested amongst the population of Delianuova, a small mountain town in the province of Reggio Calabria, are examined in historical context, with a specific focus on the effects of long-standing and major emigration. The article shows that the global nature of emigration from Delianuova, and the close ties between the town and its emigrants in other parts of the world, has over time led to a higher level of involvement and engagement with the Italian state, the European Union, and other parts of the world, than might otherwise be expected. Interviews and oral sources form a major part of the study, in order to understand the more personal aspects of identity formation in a community that has often been overlooked in more far-reaching historical narratives.