The Register of passport clearances for foreign countries (1919-1928) preserved in the Historical Archive of the municipality of Villamassargia, in Sardinia

Abstract

The essay proposes the transcription and analysis of the Register of passport clearances for foreign countries, relating to the years 1919-1928, preserved in category XIII (“foreign”) of the Historical Archive of Villamassargia, a municipality of south-west Sardinia, mainly agricultural, but with a mining past, linked to the exploitation of the silver galena and calamine in the nearby mine of Orbai between the nineteenth and twentieth century. The Register contains detailed information about the applicant’s foreign passport, including paternity, place and date of birth, profession and foreign country or city of destination. Analysis of passport applications shows that the main destinations are North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia), but also France and, to a lesser extent, the United States.