This article examines the migration of rural populations from the mountainous regions of northern and central Italy to German cities during the nineteenth century, situating these movements within the broader context of long-term mountain depopulation. Drawing on archival sources, family records, and administrative documentation, it reconstructs the transformation of initially seasonal mobility patterns into more permanent migratory routes extending across Central and Northern Europe. Migrants included men, women, and children engaged in a wide range of occupations beyond agriculture, such as itinerant trade, street music performance, toy selling, domestic service, and other forms of mobile labor. Particular attention is devoted to the involvement of children entrusted to traveling masters and to the migrant networks linking Apennine communities with cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. The study highlights how these experiences fostered processes of economic and social integration, contributing to the emergence of Italian entrepreneurial activities in Germany and to the development of enduring transnational connections between places of origin and destination.
Die Abwanderung italienischer Bergbauern in deutsche Städte
Stiaccini Carlo
2026-01-01
Abstract
This article examines the migration of rural populations from the mountainous regions of northern and central Italy to German cities during the nineteenth century, situating these movements within the broader context of long-term mountain depopulation. Drawing on archival sources, family records, and administrative documentation, it reconstructs the transformation of initially seasonal mobility patterns into more permanent migratory routes extending across Central and Northern Europe. Migrants included men, women, and children engaged in a wide range of occupations beyond agriculture, such as itinerant trade, street music performance, toy selling, domestic service, and other forms of mobile labor. Particular attention is devoted to the involvement of children entrusted to traveling masters and to the migrant networks linking Apennine communities with cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. The study highlights how these experiences fostered processes of economic and social integration, contributing to the emergence of Italian entrepreneurial activities in Germany and to the development of enduring transnational connections between places of origin and destination.
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