Treni della felicità explained

The treni della felicità was a post-war initiative by the Italian Communist Party and the, whereby 70,000 impoverished children from southern Italy were transported to northern Italy between 1945 and 1952 to be hosted by families that could support them.

History

The initiative was conceived by Teresa Noce and the (UDI), and was promoted by the Italian Communist Party (PCI).[1] [2] The outskirts of Milan were full of impoverished children, and Noce asked her PCI comrades in Reggio Emilia if they would be willing to host some of the children during the upcoming winter.[3] Reggio Emilia offered to host 2,000 children. Other cities in Emilia-Romagna followed suit, including Parma, Piacenza, Modena, Bologna, and Ravenna. On 16 December 1945, the first train departed from Milan and traveled to Reggio Emilia, carrying 1,800 children.[4] [5] Early trains also departed from Turin.[6]

At the, it was decided to shift the focus of the initiative to southern Italy, which was poorer and less developed than the north.[7] That year, 12,000 Neapolitan children boarded trains to the north to spend the winter with host families.[8] Between 1945 and 1952, around 70,000 children from Lazio, Campania, Apulia, Calabria, Sicily, and Sardinia were hosted by families in Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Marche, Veneto, and Lombardy in northern Italy.[9] [10] [11] The host families were not wealthy by any means, but were still willing to feed and house the children. The majority of the children would eventually return home, but still maintained relationships with their host families in the subsequent years.[12] In addition to the UCI and the PCI, the initiative was supported by the ANPI, CGIL, and Italian Red Cross.

In popular culture

In 2019, Viola Ardone published Il treno dei bambini, a novel about a young Neapolitan boy who travels to northern Italy on the treni della felicità.[13] [14] It was adapted into a Netflix film, The Children's Train, which premiered in 2024.[15] [16]

See also

Further reading

Articles

Books

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rinaldi . Giovanni . 16 dicembre 1945: parte il primo treno della felicità . Il Mulino . 4 October 2024 . it . 16 December 2020.
  2. Web site: Saturnino . Francesca . I treni della felicità, una storia di accoglienza nell'Italia divisa . . 4 October 2024 . it . 27 July 2022.
  3. Web site: Bigi . Gemma . 1946, i bimbi dei treni della felicità . . 4 October 2024 . it . 12 January 2012.
  4. Angeli . Franco . Schede . Storia e problemi contemporanei . 2020 . 83 . 1 . 185–194 . 5 October 2024 . it . 1120-4206.
  5. Web site: Del Monte . Gian Piero . Settantacinque anni fa arrivò a Reggio il primo "treno della felicità" . Reggionline . 5 October 2024 . it . 27 December 2020.
  6. Web site: Desiderio . Giancristiano . Il soccorso all'infanzia fragile sui Treni della felicità: il libro di Bruno Maida con il «Corriere» . . 5 October 2024 . it . 29 April 2023.
  7. Fijał . Małgorzata . Treni della felicità. Społeczna inicjatywa na rzecz dzieci w powojennych Włoszech . Politeja . 10 May 2022 . 19 . 1(76) . 47–61 . 10.12797/Politeja.19.2022.76.03 . . Kraków . pl. free .
  8. Bonfiglioli . Chiara . 2012 . Revolutionary Networks. Women's Political and Social Activism in Cold War Italy and Yugoslavia (1945-1957) . pdf . PhD . . 5 October 2024.
  9. Web site: Di Foggia . Carlo . I treni della felicità, quando il Nord salvò i figli del Sud . . 5 October 2024 . it . 7 September 2011.
  10. Web site: Tosi . Marcello . Lugo, Rinaldi e i bambini dei "treni della felicità" . Corriere Romagna . 5 October 2024 . it . 18 June 2022.
  11. Rinaldi . Giovanni . C'ero anch'io su quel treno. La vera storia dei bambini che unirono l'Italia . Semestrale di Studi e Ricerche di Geografia . 1/2022 . 2022 . 139–143 . 5 October 2024 . . it . pdf . 1125-5218.
  12. Web site: Barcone . Mina . "Treni della felicità": quando i bambini del Sud furono spediti e salvati . Barinedita . 4 October 2024 . it . 21 November 2014.
  13. Book: Ardone . Viola . Viola Ardone . Il treno dei bambini . 2019 . Einaudi . Torino . 9788806242329 . it.
  14. Web site: Galeone . Salvatore . La storia incredibile dei "treni della felicità" raccontata da Viola Ardone . Libreriamo . 5 October 2024 . it . 9 January 2020.
  15. Web site: Urbani . Ilaria . Le prime immagini de "Il treno dei bambini" dal bestseller di Viola Ardone . . 4 October 2024 . it . 14 May 2024.
  16. Web site: Armiero . Mirella . «Il treno dei bambini», Netflix diffonde le prime immagini del film tratto dal best seller di Viola Ardone . . 4 October 2024 . it . 13 May 2024.

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