Non Sono di Qui
What is it all about
#Non Sono di Qui! Is a series of studio portraits of the various immigrants or expats living permanently in the community of Bagni di Lucca.
The portraits are intended to include all types of immigrants living permanently in the community: English, Americans, Africans, Europeans, Latin Americans and especially Italians from all over Italy.
The goal is to produce a series of images, which can be exhibited in the town of Bagni di Lucca and across the region. Overall, the project aims to explore the cultural diversity and personality of these people who have profoundly influenced and helped improve the country.
In recent years the influx of immigrants from North Africa and the Sub Sahara has raised a great deal of problems throughout Europe, both on a political and social level. These problems are even more widespread in Italy, which is welcoming these immigrants more than any other country in Europe, putting immigration on the political agenda, both at national and at local level. The recent governmental elections and local elections last year saw the issue of immigration become an important voting problem.
The community of Bagni di Lucca, like much of Tuscany, has had its fair share of immigrants over the years. Since the early 1800’s, visitors to the area on the Grand Tour began to settle here and establish their lives here. Since the late 1800’s the area has seen waves of people from the area migrating around the world, looking for a better life, and, they in turn have been replaced, in part, by Italians from other areas of the country as well as foreigners from overseas.
The community that exists today is probably one of the small multicultural communities existing in Italy: while migrant families return to their ancestral home, other families from Europe settle here for work and other foreigners from all over the world make this place their place permanent residence. In the last thirty years or so we have seen an increase in migrants who have settled in the community from North Africa and beyond, looking for a better life, just like the Italians who have headed to the "Americas" to seek their fortunes.
All these people who live and work today in this community have a story to tell and through the project #Non Sono di Qui! we intend to try and present some of these people, who have made Bagni di Lucca their home.
The project is simply intended to raise the question of what an immigrant is, how to define what an immigrant is and who these people are. It is also intended to show that in a community like Bagni di Lucca - much like many other communities throughout Italy - that immigrants not only come from Africa or Asia, immigrants are simply people who come from somewhere else
The portraits are intended to include all types of immigrants living permanently in the community: English, Americans, Africans, Europeans, Latin Americans and especially Italians from all over Italy.
The goal is to produce a series of images, which can be exhibited in the town of Bagni di Lucca and across the region. Overall, the project aims to explore the cultural diversity and personality of these people who have profoundly influenced and helped improve the country.
In recent years the influx of immigrants from North Africa and the Sub Sahara has raised a great deal of problems throughout Europe, both on a political and social level. These problems are even more widespread in Italy, which is welcoming these immigrants more than any other country in Europe, putting immigration on the political agenda, both at national and at local level. The recent governmental elections and local elections last year saw the issue of immigration become an important voting problem.
The community of Bagni di Lucca, like much of Tuscany, has had its fair share of immigrants over the years. Since the early 1800’s, visitors to the area on the Grand Tour began to settle here and establish their lives here. Since the late 1800’s the area has seen waves of people from the area migrating around the world, looking for a better life, and, they in turn have been replaced, in part, by Italians from other areas of the country as well as foreigners from overseas.
The community that exists today is probably one of the small multicultural communities existing in Italy: while migrant families return to their ancestral home, other families from Europe settle here for work and other foreigners from all over the world make this place their place permanent residence. In the last thirty years or so we have seen an increase in migrants who have settled in the community from North Africa and beyond, looking for a better life, just like the Italians who have headed to the "Americas" to seek their fortunes.
All these people who live and work today in this community have a story to tell and through the project #Non Sono di Qui! we intend to try and present some of these people, who have made Bagni di Lucca their home.
The project is simply intended to raise the question of what an immigrant is, how to define what an immigrant is and who these people are. It is also intended to show that in a community like Bagni di Lucca - much like many other communities throughout Italy - that immigrants not only come from Africa or Asia, immigrants are simply people who come from somewhere else