Event · Jul 2015
“The Italian Dream”: An Exhibition in Lecce on the Albanian Exodus and 21st-Century Migration
On 23 July 2015, Lecce will host the opening of “The Italian Dream”, an exhibition on the Albanian exodus, the events of 1991 and migration in the 21st century.
The historical and documentary exhibition “The Italian Dream: The Albanian Exodus and Immigration in the 21st Century” will open on Thursday, 23 July 2015 at 6:00 p.m. on the first floor of the former Olivetan Monastery in Lecce.
The exhibition is organised by the Department of History, Society and Human Studies of the University of Salento, with the support of the Mediterranean Department of the Puglia Region, and is curated by Professor Carmelo Pasimeni.
The project is the result of extensive documentary and iconographic research and has been developed in collaboration with Centro Ura, ASAL Student. The exhibition will guide visitors through one of the most important and complex chapters in the recent history of relations between Albania and Italy.
The journey begins with the crisis of Albania’s communist regime following the death of Enver Hoxha and continues through the difficult stages of the country’s democratic transition and the Adriatic crossing undertaken by tens of thousands of Albanian citizens.
Special attention will be given to the events of 1991, which had a profound impact on both the collective identity of the Albanian people and public opinion in Puglia. Almost twenty-five years later, the exhibition offers a broader reflection on the historical significance of those events and their connection with the migration phenomena that continue to shape the 21st century.
Through photographs, documents and testimonies, the exhibition aims to restore complexity and dignity to a migration experience that transformed both shores of the Adriatic and contributed to the creation of new social, cultural and human relationships.
The opening ceremony will be attended by curator Carmelo Pasimeni, University of Salento Rector Vincenzo Zara, Albanian Ambassador to Italy Neritan Ceka, Puglia Regional Councillor for Education and Employment Sebastiano Leo, Department Director Vitantonio Gioia, Ergys Gezka, President of ASAL Student and Klodiana Kuca, President of Integra Onlus.
The exhibition will remain open to the public until 7 December 2015.
Event information
Title: The Italian Dream: The Albanian Exodus and Immigration in the 21st Century
Opening: Thursday, 23 July 2015 at 6:00 p.m.
Open until: 7 December 2015
Venue: Former Olivetan Monastery, Viale San Nicola, Lecce
Curator: Professor Carmelo Pasimeni
In collaboration with: Centro Ura, ASAL Student
