Stories of Italian immigration told at Lambton County museum

Arrival of a donated traditional Italian dress sparkled an exhibition on this month at the Lambton Heritage Museum in Lambton Shores.

Article content

Il Camino: From Italy to Sarnia-Lambton opened in May at the museum and continues through June – Italian heritage month – telling stories of Italian families which came to Sarnia-Lambton during the past century.

It’s based on a traveling exhibition created by Sarnia’s Italo-Canadian Cultural Club in 1990.

“The exhibit never had a chance to come to the Lambton Heritage Museum,” said curator-supervisor Dana Thorne.

But when the museum received the donation of the traditional dress a few years ago, “that kind of sparked my interest,” she said.

Thorne said she reached out to the exhibition’s organizers “to see if they would be interested in revising the story and telling it again.”

The dress that started it all was owned by Antonietta Rocca who brought it with her in 1953 from Italy when she immigrated to Sarnia.

Article content

“It was part of the original traveling exhibit in the early 1990s” and also was displayed at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa, Thorne said.

“It’s a beautiful example of the traditional style from Ciociaria and it made a great addition to our collection, and a showcase piece I wanted to make sure we had a chance to display,” she said.

Many immigrants from Italy came to Lambton, particularly the Sarnia area, in the years following the First World War, Thorne said.

The exhibition looks at traditions families brought with them, challenges they faced, what they accomplished and ways Italian heritage remains alive today in Canada, the museum said in a news release.

“We have some items that were brought by those early immigrant families that had been family treasures,” Thorne said about the exhibition.

Article content

They include a “beautiful copper pot” used to carry water, traditional shoes and “baby swaddles over 100 years old that are still in great shape,” she said.

“We’ve got a section on wine making, so you can see the press, and the barrel and then the demijohn where they ferment the wine.”

A culinary section includes a pasta maker and other tools traditionally used in Italian cooking, Thorne said.

“And there’s some beautiful textiles as well,” including “handmade blankets that are very colorful and very striking,” she said.

Sharing stories of Italian immigrants can help develop an appreciation of their culture and how their experiences and skills strengthened the community, Thorne said.

The county museum previously has told immigration stories from Scotland, Slovakia and the Netherlands.

Article content

Special events with the exhibition include a screening of the Disney Pixar movie, Luca, during Friday’s PA day at 1 pm, at the museum.

The family film is set in the Italian Riveria in 1959 and there will be free popcorn and chance to make a craft.

Also, June 15, at 2 pm, Caroline di Cocco, a former Ontario culture minister who came to Sarnia with her family at the age of six, will speak about Italy’s Ciociaria region.

Registration online at https://loom.ly/gPBMiC0 is required for her presentation.

Admission to the Heritage Museum is free this year as part of the county’s 175th anniversary celebrations.

[email protected]
@ObserverPaulM

Article content