Dr. Matteo Binasco

Studying the history of migration is studying phenomenon which has always been, and always will be, part of human life. For thousands of years, men and women have been “on the move” for a variety of reasons, but above all for improving their lives. Migrating is not simply moving from one place to another place, but it is actually a daunting experience that brings a set of dramatic changes to those who leave. Studying the history of migrations encapsulates a set of questions that help us to better understand the problems that we are facing today. Problems like racism, social exclusion, poverty, and much more. 

Over the last fifteen years, I have been focused on researching the migrations to Rome during the early modern period. Since it’s foundation, the Eternal City has been a magnet for men and women coming from Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Though Rome’s status as a global and multicultural city is plain for all to see, it is crucial to understand that its capacity to attract people from everywhere started centuries ago, particularly during the early modern period. 

Among the many foreign groups who decided to come to Rome were the Irish. At first glance, when one thinks of Irish migration the first image that comes to mind are the Irish communities in Boston, New York, and Sydney. However, the Great Irish Diaspora of the nineteenth century was preceded by another less consistent but very important Irish migration from the late sixteenth to the late eighteenth centuries. Then, Irish men and women fled to Europe and settled in Paris, Sevilla, Valladolid, and also Rome. It is important to study this migration as it allows us to understand the process of migration and integration to another country. Society was not so different then, as the same cultural, economic, and linguistic problems exist today. 

Though never a large community, the experience of the Irish in Rome offers an avenue to examine how and to what extent they sought to integrate into Roman society and, at the same time, how the Romans viewed them.