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Treni della felicità

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A train transporting children from Naples to Modena in 1946

The treni della felicità (lit. 'trains of happiness') was a post-war initiative by the Italian Communist Party and the Unione Donne in Italia [it], whereby 70,000 impoverished children were transported to northern Italy between 1945 and 1952 to be hosted by families that could support them.

History

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The initiative was conceived by Teresa Noce and the Unione Donne in Italia [it] (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 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.[1][4] Early trains also departed from Turin.[5][6]

At the 5th PCI Congress [it], it was decided to shift the focus of the initiative to southern Italy, which was poorer and less developed than the north.[1][7] 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.[8][9][10] 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.[11] In addition to the UCI and the PCI, the initiative was supported by the ANPI, CGIL, and Italian Red Cross.[7]

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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.[12][13] It will be adapted into a Netflix film, The Children's Train, in 2024.[14][15]

See also

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References

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

Further reading

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Articles

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Books

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  • Rinaldi, Giovanni (2009). I treni della felicità: storie di bambini in viaggio tra due italie (in Italian). Rome: Ediesse. ISBN 9788823013353.
  • Maida, Bruno (2020). I treni dell'accoglienza: infanzia, povertà e solidarietà nell'Italia del dopoguerra, 1945-1948 (in Italian). Turin: Einaudi. ISBN 9788806246365.
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