The exciting story of the Museum of Emigration in Santa Ninfa

The experience

Santa Ninfa Museum of Emigration

Between 1894 and 1924 the migratory phenomenon also affected the village of Santa Ninfa. Thousands leave from the small village of Trapani for the United States. From the 1800s to the first half of the 1900s, there was also a great exodus in this part of the hinterland of western Sicily. Poverty, political persecution, and in some cases the desire for adventure, push a substantial number of the community to challenge the unknown, in search of a more dignified life, leaving forever affections and bonds. Those roots, however, have never been severed, always alive and thriving in the families of Italian-Americans who have handed down culinary traditions, religious devotion, values that have become models of reference and a sense of community. And it was precisely the great influence of the country of origin that was decisive in the birth of the two “Workers’ Societies” in New York.

The Museum of Emigration, which is part of the Belicina Museum and Natural Network, was created as part of a project coordinated by the Network of Sicilian Emigration Museums to remember those who in the past were forced to leave for foreign lands due to political reasons following the uprisings of the Sicilian fasces in 1894, or due to the spread of the phylloxera epidemic in 1897. It houses a permanent exhibition on Sicilian emigration with particular emphasis on mutual associations and social commitment to which large sections of the Belìce communities were dedicated. The museum has numerous objectives and activities, starting with the fact that it has become the ideal place for the presentation of books and essays on the phenomenon of migration, past and present, in synergy with the nearby library. There are also didactic activities and the possibility of any in-depth studies thanks to a multimedia room connected to the Internet. Also interesting are the ad hoc itineraries on the reconstruction of the journey, from the story of the departure to the carefully collected letters and photos. Great attention is given to the promotion of the study of the migration phenomenon in schools, included in the school program with the important aim of recovering documentary and photographic material otherwise destined to be lost. The focus of the activities is represented by the so-called return tourism, in this 2024 defined as roots tourism, which involves the composition of the family tree of families. It is also important to enhance the history of the relations that the territory has maintained over time with the various host countries, from which the promotion of meetings and cultural exchanges on the theme of migration arises, today more than ever of great relevance.

Phone: 0924 61563

Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9am-1pm; 16-18

Guided tours in Italian and English