El asociacionismo italiano en América durante la gran oleada migratoria

Abstract

This article studies the long term Italian association movement in America, its main stages, features and behaviors. The text focuses especially on the mutual aid societies during the mass migration period, the last third of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th. The historical research confirms the wide temporal and geographical dissemination of Italian voluntary associations in America, its urban nature and its predominance in the cities of New York, Buenos Aires and São Paulo. Finally, we highlight how associations, despite its practical sense, also accomplished an important role as social spaces and places where immigrants could recreate their native identity.