Il paese delle ciambelle”. Un secolo e mezzo di pratiche e immagini della mobilità in Romania

The countries of Eastern Europe have been, and continue to be, an interesting crossroads of migratory streams, and have seen profound changes in the mobility of populations arriving and leaving through the succession of political regimes and economic systems. The Romanian case is emblematic of this point of view. Since the mid-1800s, Romania has been a land of emigration to the Americas, as well as a destination of immigration from Western Europe. During the interwar period and again after World War II, this mobility stopped, due to the closure of borders, and it was replaced by clandestine emigration and labor/student migration within the countries of the socialist bloc. Starting from the 1990s, with the reopening of the borders, Romania went back to being a destination of immigration, especially for small business owners from Germany and Northeast Italy. At the same time, massive emigration towards Western Europe began and gained momentum. Today, the continuing economic crisis in many European countries has created new scenarios: on the one hand return migration is consolidated, and on the other hand Romania has become a country of settlement for new groups of foreigners as well as a transitory country, as a gateway to Europe. Starting from the theoretical debate on the concept of a “culture of emigration”, this article reflects on the social and cultural implications of these different types of mobility, particularly the interconnections and the historical ties built over the years with Italy. The study presents three processes of the signification of the elsewhere, “hierarchy”, “feminization”, and “ethnicization”, describing how the migratory choices over time have been oriented by as well as shaped these ideas.