NORWICH – Norwich will be one of the way points in the journey of a former London Times journalist tracing the emigration of a people from a small group of islands off the Sicilian coast to the far-off corners of the world.
Margaret Allen, a former financial writer and Op-Ed page editor for the London Times, will be visiting Norwich this weekend to speak with members of the local Italian-American community that trace their heritage to the Aeolian Islands.
Those interested in meeting Allen, and sharing stories and pictures from their families’ past, are invited to attend a covered dish supper in her honor at 5 p.m. on Saturday at the St. Bartholomew’s Msgr. Guy Festa Parish Center on East Main Street. Allen’s presentation will begin at 6 p.m., following the dinner. She will also be available following 9.a.m. Mass on Sunday morning at the Parish Center.
JoAnn Testani, the church’s historian, has helped organize the visit. She said she expects Allen to be welcomed with open arms during her stay.
“Everyone is anxious to tell their story,” said Testani, who has been working to get the word out among Italian-Americans in the community. According to the historian, the events have been planned so that Allen will be able to reach as many of those community members as possible.
Allen described her interest in the Aeolian Islands as a “love affair” which began with her first visit to the island of Lipari during a holiday in Sicily.
Over the years, she has returned to the islands numerous times and now spends nearly six months out of the year there. In that time, she has become well acquainted with the local community, many of which have family in the U.S. or Australia.
“People started moving out in large numbers in the late 18th century,” reported Allen. This Aeolian Diaspora, as it is sometimes referred, spread families around the world. Some of the first emigrants made their way to Argentina, “presumably because Spanish provided fewer difficulties in speaking than English,” she explained. Others found their way to the US and Australia.
“Australia is commonly described as the largest of the Aeolian Islands and the number of Aeolians there far outstrips those in the islands themselves,” she added.
It was the story of a man from Melbourne, Australia that sparked Allen’s interest in tracing the emigration of Aeolian families. At the age of 7, his family had sent him by ship from Messina to join relatives in Australia. According to Allen, he told her he cried the entire journey, which he made by himself.
“I became interested in the stories people had to tell when they returned for holidays, or permanently,” she said. Allen continued her research in Australia where she visited families.
Many of those she has spoken to have passion and “a real thirst for knowledge about their past,” she explained. This has caused her to alter her purpose slightly.
“This started as an academic exercise, but now I’m hoping to extend it into a book,” said Allen.
In the course of her research, Allen said she learned that Norwich has the largest Aeolian community in the U.S. Because of this, she has made it the first stop on the American leg of her tour.
She invites anyone of Aeolian heritage to bring their stories and photographs with them to St. Bart’s.
“I want to tell the story of why they left their islands and settled down in the U.S. ... how their lives have changed and what contacts they maintain with their heritage,” she said.
According to Testani, the writer plans to make another trip to Norwich in the spring or summer of this year to continue her research.