One past, three identities: a visual journey through the remnants of the Italian community in Tunis.
La Goulette was a small world facing the sea, a world of immigrants and hopes. The port of Tunis was once the landing point for thousands of Italians who crossed the Mediterranean in search of a brighter future on its southern shore, going in the opposite direction to today's migrants.
It all started with a small community of Livornese Jews in the early 19th century, followed by Sicilians who were drawn by proximity and crossed the sea to work as fishermen. It was known as 'Petite Sicile': a vibrant cultural hub for Italian immigrants, who brought their traditions, saints and pasta with them. They even set up Italian-language newspapers, such as Il Corriere di Tunisi. Today, there's not much left but memories, a few traces in the urban landscape, and the last descendants of this migratory history.
"We Italians in Tunisia are a mixed bunch, maybe even triple-identity. I feel Sicilian, and I'm proud of it because my mum was born in Sicily, but I was born and raised here,"
Rita Strazzera, vice-president of the "Piccola Sicilia" association in La Goulette.
Read the full feature, written by Tino Mantarro, on Touring Magazine, issue 4/2023.
