Story: Italians

Leaving Italy for a better life, 1890s

Leaving Italy for a better life, 1890s

In the 19th century, thousands of poverty-stricken Italians left their homeland. This painting portrays a group of emigrants leaving the port of Leghorn (Livorno) in Tuscany. A group of townsfolk from Leghorn were among the first Italians to arrive in New Zealand, responding to New Zealand agent John Glyn’s enticing advertisements. They were not prepared for the hard labour that awaited them, and the experiment failed. Italians settled much more successfully once their own migration chains began.

Using this item

Comune di Livorno, Italy
Oil painting by R. Gambogi

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Tessa Copland, 'Italians - Leaving Italy', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/438/leaving-italy-for-a-better-life-1890s (accessed 25 April 2024)

Story by Tessa Copland, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2015