The idea for Rituals of Migration emerged when we began to compare the customs surrounding emigration from Ireland and Italy. In Ireland, local communities bade farewell to emigrants they would never see again by holding an “American wake,” an all-night ceremony with drinking, music, and keening. In Italy, although the chances of returning were much higher, departures also featured lamentations and silent processions.

In both countries, family, friends, and neighbours gathered to read the “American letter,” learning the news from abroad and checking to see if the envelope contained money or prepaid passage tickets. In thinking about these aspects of migration, we also drew inspiration from literature – short stories by Máirtín Ó Cadhain and Maria Messina; Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn: A Novel and the sequel, Long Island – and from films such as Rocco e i Suoi Fratelli (1960), Nuovomondo (2006), and The Field (1990).