In Search of a Better Life

Description

Grimaldi is one of the great sending towns of Calabria, a region of the south of Italy from which thousands of people have emigrated to Canada and the rest of the world. Thunder Bay is home to the largest immigrant community of Grimaldiesi anywhere in the world. In this work, the author examines the reasons why so many of these people have settled in the Lakehead, and describes the process of integration in an area of Canada that was vastly different than the Calabrian town from whence they came. In addition, relying on personal and family experiences, the author sheds some light on the significant changes that have occurred within the Grimaldesi immigrant community and offer insights into the significant phenomenon of return migration.

By: John Potestio

John Potestio was born in 1939 in Grimaldi, one of the most important sending towns of Italian emigration. His family settled in Thunder Bay in 1953, a community where he has lived for nearly seventy years. He is  a retired teacher of both Secondary school and University. Potestio is the author of several book that deal with various aspects of settlement of Italian immigrants in our city. He is married to Alba and has two children Frank and Rose.

• Published by: Thunder Bay Museum Historical Society
• Pages:182
• Binding: Softcover