The project of "La Nave della Sila", the Emigration Narrative Museum, was born from an idea by the Napoli Novantanove Foundation within the ancient properties of the Barracco family, in the locality of Camigliati in Camigliatello Silano, Calabria. The Foundation, in fact, deals not only with Naples but with the entire southern Italy.
Curated by the editorialist of "Il Corriere della Sera," Gian Antonio Stella, the museum was inaugurated in 2005. Its main intent is to fill the void of historical and civil memory regarding the migratory movement not only of southern Italy but of the entire country.
The external structure gives way, inside, to the shape of a ship, the means used to emigrate from one's homeland.
The anxieties, hopes, and nostalgia of the emigrants are imprinted on the exhibition panels inside. People left nothing behind and went in search of better fortune, with few succeeding in their endeavor.
The center of the room is occupied by the reproduction of three smokestacks that interact with the visitor: inside them, the reproduction of a travel environment. Particularly touching is the reconstruction of the third-class cabin, a cramped and overcrowded space with precarious walls and flooring.
Even today, people emigrate, mainly by sea. The museum, which is part of a dynamic path, has therefore set up a section dedicated to immigration, "Mother Sea." Immigration, from the 1990s to the present day, is retraced in a video narrated by the voices of today's travelers and by the writer Erri De Luca with the words of his "Cimitero di Lampedusa."
The emotions surrounding La Nave della Sila are not limited to the story of global emigration but, thanks to access to arrival registers in the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Brazil, those emotions can become very personal for anyone who chooses to search for a relative who emigrated in the past. This is a possibility offered by the Emigration Narrative Museum.
To organize a visit:
Other places to explore:
- Biodiversity Museum - Cupone
- Antonio Garcea Visitor Center - Sila National Park
- Sila Science Park - Taverna
