A new life in Italy is the one designed by one Texan family who decided to move from El Paso to Latronico, a village in Basilicata. Here they have found hospitality, contact with nature and new possibilities and satisfactions.
A new life in Basilicata
We have often talked about Italiani.it emigration stories and returns, today we are dealing with a different story whose protagonist is an American family, exactly of Texan origin, forced to change state, continent, and go and live on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, in search of serenity and normality. A reverse story. A necessary departure from United States for a life that has become unsustainable due to repeated episodes of racism and death of George Floyd.
The family in the village of Latronico
The protagonists of this story are Nadine Dawkins ex soldier and now businesswoman, her husband Kim and to the children Lorenzo e DeNae. They left El Paso, Texas, for the Italy they have always loved. The choice was not accidental. The family has Italian ancestors, who left in 1900 in search of fortune. There is always that umbilical link that lives on from generation to generation.
"After listening to my grandmother's stories, I have always felt a strong connection with Italy and wanted my children to see the country from which their ancestors had left a century ago” Nadine tells in an interview with CNN.
The couple bought an apartment, a three-storey house, for only forty-two thousand euros, in the city centre, put up for sale at an affordable price to try to repopulate the village, located in the stupendous Pollino Park (Power). The family renovated it and now lives there well integrated into the context.
Testimonial of the village
Great appreciation was expressed by the municipal administration which promoted the sale of the properties to counteract depopulation.
The American family now naturalized Italian, despite the initial difficulties of adaptation, has become the sponsor for many who have decided to return to live in the village. The boys showed greater difficulty in changing theirs out of the blue modus vivendi. However, precisely following the increasingly frequent episodes of intolerance, violence and racism against blacks, they accepted the parents' decision also due to the fact that she, the grandmother, often told stories of her Italian family.
A beautiful testimony of integration and of how, once again, our Italy is a welcoming country that gives possibilities.
Basilicata, ancient Lucania, is a territory rich in history, traditions, resources, unique products that must be valued, protected and made known. This is why the initiative to repopulate some villages by selling off the often abandoned houses proves successful.
cover photo from wikipedia. Author: Jeager
