Italianness as a state of traveling

Italian identity among diaspora is not a fixed belonging but an ongoing movement between places and times: it is enacted through rituals (food, language, pilgrimage), family stories and recurring homecomings that keep people emotionally tied to the homeland. Those practices produce a perpetual longing that reshapes how migrants integrate, vote and transmit culture to the next generation. — Framing national identity as a durable habit of movement reframes immigration policy and assimilation debates to account for persistent transnational loyalties, remittances and cultural influence across borders.