Written by Isabella Valvano
Photographs from the private collection of Rocco Valvano and Maria Carluccio. On the left: AngelaRosa (age 18) and Rocco Valvano (age 21) at their wedding. On the right Maria Carluccio (age 22) and Michele Carluccio (age 25) at their wedding along with Maria’s mother (Giuseppina Covatta) and Michele’s father (Pasquale Carluccio).
Table of Contents
Introduction
Understanding another individual’s life experiences allows for an oral history to be passed down amongst generations. Each one of my grandparents are Italian-born immigrants to Canada, and on October 15th, 2024, I visited my 3 out of 4 of my grandparents – Maria Carluccio, Angela-Rosa Valvano, and Rocco Valvano – in their homes in St. Catharine’s, Ontario, where I conducted a semi-structured interview regarding their journey to Canada. Unfortunately, I was never able to meet or interview my mother’s father, as he had passed before I was born. During these interviews, I asked each of them a set of fourteen pre-determined questions, with added follow up questions where clarification was needed. Video recordings of these interviews were taken with the permission of each interviewee to provide a visual aspect of these oral histories. With their permission, I was also able to collect images and important documents that my grandparents still had from their immigration process.
The purpose of conducting these interviews and collecting these images is to record the stories and experiences of Italian-born immigrants during their voyage to Canada, and to establish a connection between the historical events and the lived experiences of actual individuals. Hearing the different experiences my grandparents faced throughout their journeys to Canada, displays the similarities of hard work and determination each one of them had in hopes of creating a greater life for their future families, as well as the individuality of each of their experiences. I have had the privilege of interviewing my immigrant grandparents and getting to know the resilient histories of my family roots. They are all very proud of what they have accomplished as Italian immigrants in Canada and are excited to share their stories of setting their new roots here in Canada.
Interviews: Conversations with Maria, Angela-Rosa, and Rocco
Read transcription of interviews here:
Analysis
All three interviewees described in detail their journeys to Canada and the different aspects of the journey that were most memorable to them. Many of the experiences that Maria, Angela-Rosa, and Rocco shared related back to different topics that we have discussed in our HUMN 3800 course thus far. Although there are some differences that are shared amongst each of their stories due to the ages that they immigrated at, along with their gender differences, there are also some similarities. One more prominent similarity being that all three stories started off in search of a better life and for more opportunities. As Harney describes, “…the motif for Italian immigration has always included the search for opportunity…” (Harney, pg. 6). Rocco specifically described how he had originally immigrated from Italy to Switzerland in search for work but ended up immigrating to Canada not only due to his wife’s family already immigrating here, but because Canada was a bigger country, meaning more opportunity for work.
Their means of transit from Italy to Canada were also similar. In each story, a boat ride across the Atlantic Ocean was taken for approximately 10-12 days, followed by a train ride to their destination of St. Catharine’s, Ontario. In his writing, Salvatore describes the rough journey made by boat due to the “might of the waves”, rather than more common means of transportation nowadays being comfortably by plane (Salvatore, pg. 166). In her interview, Maria describes how during her time on the boat, both herself and her mother spent the majority of their voyage in their cabins due to the seasickness that they experienced from the roughness of the water. She goes on to explain how her brother was the designated member of the family to retrieve food for both herself and her mother as they were in such discomfort that they were unable to leave their rooms on the ship.
One specific difference from Maria and Angela-Rosa’s experience as new mothers in Canada occurred due to the ages that they had both immigrated to Canada. Maria immigrated at a younger age of 12 years old therefore, by the time she had married and started her own family, she had already been living in Canada for about half of her life. She was already accustomed to the ways of Canadian life; she understood the English language and was already in a financially stable state to care for her children. In Angela-Rosa’s experience, she was already 3 months pregnant with her first child when she became an immigrant in Canada at the age of 19 years old. In her case, she was not only a new mother, but a new immigrant who did not know the English language, did not have any experience working, nor was she in a very financially stable scenario. Compared to Maria’s experience, she found it very difficult to give birth and raise her first child. She explains how she felt alone as she did not have anyone by her side during that time and she did not really know what was going on due to the language barrier, as she had only been living in Canada 6 months before giving birth. At the end of the interviews, I asked each interviewee where home was for them in their present day lives. Although each of them explained that they would consider Canada their home as they have all set their root here and brought up their families in this country, Angela-Rosa mentioned how Italy is always still in the back of her mind today. She explains that her life that she had in Italy will always be a part of her as it is her country, but her home is now here in Canada. In Sidhwa’s writing, she explains how “…it is inevitable that I compare life as I perceive it in the New World with the ways and values in the ancient work of the subcontinent to which I am more accustomed” (Sidhwa, pg. 64). Having Italy stuck in the back of her mind, Angela-Rosa will continue to think about and compare her present life to what it was back in Italy as she has that connection to the country that is still present today. Although Italy is their birth country, they view their future as being here in Canada due to the foundation that have built with family and friends.
Reflection
Throughout my history as a student enrolled in the Concurrent Education program, I have experienced asking educators about their experience as teachers, but I have never been given the opportunity to conduct a true interview of another individual. This interview process has allowed me to understand that there are different types of questions as well as different ways to pose these questions to an interviewee when searching for a specific answer to the topic of conversation. I have always been nervous in the past to ask questions in a different format for clarification purposes, but with this assignment, I understood just how important it is to ensure that the answers given by the individual being interviewed is able to be easily understood by those listening. To do this, I was able to use different wording within the question if I found that the interviewee did not understand what certain words meant or by providing them with examples of answers to the question I was posing to spark their train of thought.
Being a technologically disadvantaged individual, this interview process truly tested and challenged my technological skills. Going into the interviews, I thought I could just easily hit record on my phone and the video of the interview would be captured perfectly. I never thought about the way that I was going to prop my phone up to record the interviews in a way that did not cover the microphone and block the audio. Ensuring the interviewee was in the frame when recording as well as making sure that the lighting was bright enough to see the individual being interviewed was of importance as well. When it came time for editing parts out of the video and adding in introduction and concluding visuals, I was challenged but I was also able to learn from these obstacles and understand the processes that go into creating this type of project. I have gained skills that I will be able to use in my future classroom when I am putting together a video or presentation for my students to provide them with a visual aid for their learning, allowing me to enhance my students’ learning abilities as I can reach different types of learners in my class.
Most of all, throughout this process, I was able to spend time with my grandparents and understand their stories and experiences of settling their roots in Canada. Prior to this experience, I had a brief knowledge of their immigration stories from what they had told my cousins, and I over frequent coffee visits and dinners, but I had never come to understand the intricacies of these histories. Being able to learn what their journeys were like and the sacrifices/risks that they have made to provide my family with the life that we have today instilled in me a new perspective on life. I cherish each and every story that they share, so being able to have this documented and saved in an archive is something that is truly special and something that I know they are all immensely proud about.
Gallery
Bibliography
All photographs included have been approved for sharing from the private collections of Rocco Valvano, AngelaRosa Valvano, and Maria Carluccio.
Harney, Robert F. “Italian Immigration and the Frontiers of Western Civilization.” The Italian Immigration Experience, 1988, pp. 1-24.
Salvatore, Filippo. “Poems for Giovanni Caboto.” The Anthology of Italian-Canadian Writing, edited by Joseph Pivato. Guernica Editions Inc., 1998, pp. 165-170.
Sidwha, Bapsi. “Landscapes of Writings: Collected Essays by Bapsi Sidhwa.” Two Way Culture Shock, 2019, pp. 61-64.
Valvano, Isabella. “New Roots: A Tale of Resilience and Belonging.”
YouTube. 15 October 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW8k3Fa0DcA&t=11s; access at Italian
Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies as of October 2024, www.italianheritage.ca. (this should be link to your page; I can fix this after your
page is published.)
Valvano, Isabella. “New Roots: A Tale of Resilience and Belonging.”
YouTube. 15 October 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_odjnAn9qZo; access at Italian
Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies as of October 2024, www.italianheritage.ca. (this should be link to your page; I can fix this after your
page is published.)
Valvano, Isabella. “New Roots: A Tale of Resilience and Belonging.”
YouTube. 15 October 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRDJB4Hx9p4; access at Italian
Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies as of October 2024, www.italianheritage.ca. (this should be link to your page; I can fix this after your
page is published.)
How to cite this page:
MLA STYLE: Author. “Title.” Title of container, Other contributors, Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs and/or URL, DOI or permalink). 2nd container’s title, Other contributors.
Valvano, Isabella. “New Roots: A Tale of Resilience and Belonging.” In Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies, suprv. Teresa Russo. University of Guelph, 7 November 2024, Guelph (link). Italian-Canadian Narratives Showcase (ICNS), Sandra Parmegiani, Kyra Bates, and Gurpreet Kaur.