ABSTRACT
The contribution aims to shed new light on the internal “Book Commission”’s work of the “Dante Alighieri” in the early twentieth century. It will draw on many sources, including the reports of the first president Arturo Galanti. In particular, the action carried out by the “Dante” for the dissemination of free books for Italian emigrants falls within the sphere of interest brought with President Villari to emigration and Italian schools abroad, to flight against the “nationalization” and the risk of oblivion of those who were separated from their homeland. But what were the books sent free of charge outside the Kingdom? Which recipients, including schools, educators, patronages? What were the places of arrival, in Europe, the Americas and as far as Australia?These are some of the questions to which the work aims to return answers. In summary, the transnational circulation of the Italian book, addressed to the protection and education of emigrants, will be reconstructed in the educational and cultural strategies of the “Dante”: the cooperation on Italian soil with the General Directorate of Schools Abroad, with the General Commissariat of Emigration, with publishing houses and other associations; the organization of libraries on board steamers; the dissemination of thousands of books in the different countries of emigration “among Italians leaving the homeland and to preserve in them the national imprint too easy to get lost” (GALANTI, 1918, p. 1).
Keywords:
Italian Emigration; History of Education; School Cultures; Italian Book Circulation; Private Associationism