Italian-Canadian Narratives Showcase
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The Story of an Italian Canadian Immigrant: Romana Prezio

January 26, 2022 (Updated February 27, 2025) // Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies //

Written by Lauren Prezio

Photograph from the private collection of Romana Prezio.

By providing individuals such as Romana Prezio with a platform to share their unique stories of immigration to Canada, a moment of history can be acknowledged and shared with a wider audience.

Introduction

Romana Prezio was interviewed on October 11th, 2021 where she was given the opportunity to speak about her journey as she reminisced through looking at old photographs from her personal archive. Following the completion of the interview, an academic poster project was created to present the significant details of Romana’s immigration experience. Additionally, a version of the academic poster can be found on ThingLink where readers have the option to hear the poster read aloud and view the sections with a closer look. All of these creations can be found below for direct viewing. Romana Prezio was born on May 30th, 1938 in Pietracamela, Abruzzo, Italy. However, she left this small town in March of 1950 to make her way to Ontario, Canada where she has permanently resided ever since.

Interview

On October 11th, 2021 Romana Prezio was interviewed by Lauren Prezio from her home in Collingwood, Ontario. Romana begins by explaining how she left Italy at the young age of 11 years old to be with her father that had been in Canada already for a few years. She boarded the ocean liner in Naples in March of 1950 and off she went with her mother, grandmother and three sisters until they finally arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia after a long and rocky trip. Once reconnecting with her father Adolfo, Romana and her family were complete once more. Over the course of the interview, we learn about her struggles being a new immigrant to Canada and the major differences she endured upon leaving Pietracamela. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the interview however is her answer to “where is home for you?” to which Romana immediately says Canada, although she will never forget her roots.

The interview transcript can be found by clicking the link below where readers can listen to all the details on video.

Link to the Interview, “The One We Call Romana”: https://youtu.be/4sAsyUYXgsU

Academic Poster

Gallery

Photograph taken by Lauren Prezio during the interview.
Photograph from the private collection of Romana Prezio.
Photograph from the private collection of Romana Prezio.
Photograph from the private collection of Romana Prezio.
Photograph from the private collection of Romana Prezio.
Photograph from the private collection of Romana Prezio.
Photograph from the private collection of Romana Prezio.
Photograph from Romana’s Interview Video.
Photograph from the private collection of Romana Prezio.

Bibliography

All photographs included have been approved for sharing from the private collection of Romana Prezio. 

Prezio, Lauren. “Personal Interview of Romana Prezio: The One We Call Romana.” YouTube. 11 October 2021. https://youtu.be/4sAsyUYXgsU; access at Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies as of December 2021, www.italianheritage.ca.

Prezio, Lauren. “The Story of an Italian Canadian Immigrant: The One We Call Romana.” In Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies, suprv. Teresa Russo. University of Guelph: 26 October 2021, Guelph (academic poster, www.italianheritage.ca).

How to cite this page

Prezio, Lauren. “The Story of an ITalian Canadian Immigrant: Romana Prezio.” In Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies, suprv. Teresa Russo. University of Guelph: December 2, 2021, Guelph (add URL). Italian-Canadian Narratives Showcase (ICNS), Sandra Parmegiani and Kyra Bates.