An exhibition was inaugurated on October 3 in the Italian capital, focusing on the lives and tales of missionaries held by the Italian National Museum of Emigration (MEI) and the Migrantes Foundation. It will be open until November 16.
As part of the Jubilee of the Missionary World and the Jubilee of Migrants, an immersive exhibition is being held in Rome that recounts departures, meetings, and hopes. From October 3 until November 16, the large hall of the Quadreria of the Monumental Complex of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome is hosting the exhibition entitled 'Like Bridges All Over the World: Life choices, stories of religious missions'. The exhibition brings together history and modern times and is free of cost.
A tale told by many hands for the Jubilee of Migrants
"The Jubilee will give us the chance to tell the grand story of Italian missionaries," commented MEI president Paolo Masini. The connecting thread brings together centuries of emigration and religious missions.
"Hope guided migrants and missionaries," noted Migrantes Foundation general director Pierpaolo Felicolo.
And among the archives, said historian and researcher Marisa Fois, "stories emerged that were less well known but as decisive as those of well-known figures."
The route alternates between different geographical and historical perspectives: from the nineteenth century to the current day, from Europe to South America, from Africa to Asia.
Documents, letters, newspapers, and photos tell of parishes, schools, orphanages, and radios created to welcome Italians around the world. Visitors are welcomed with an interactive world map, lit up by lines that connect Italy with other continents, while the voice of the actor Massimo Wertmuller leads a tale that alternates faces from the past and contemporary images.
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Immersive journey through migration and reception stories
Among the protagonists are: Vincenzo Pallotti, Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, Luigi Guanella, and Francesca Saverio Cabrini, the first-ever naturalised American citizen of Italian descent. There are also missionaries not as well known, people who stayed by the side of miners in India, of migrants in Sweden in the 1930s and of orphans in Brazil.
From the radio stations of Belgium in the post-WWII era to German newspapers, from language courses in Switzerland to solidarity projects in Russia: a mosaic of stories that show how missions had always built bridges, wherever there were Italians in search of a future.
Immersive technologies, images and sounds transform the show into an emotional experience and a video paying homage to the protagonists completes the project.
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