This year, America’s Mother Road is host to three Italians from Friuli Venezia Guilia, an autonomous region in northeastern Italy. Journalists Giusy Concina and Mario Lavaccia, along with social media manager Leo Essana, are traveling Route 66 to celebrate its centennial and reconnect with the descendants of Friulian immigrants who made America their home more than a century ago.
The journalism and cultural heritage project is called “Route 66 - Roots in Motion,” and began in Chicago in September, with plans to end in Santa Monica in late November.
“The story is starting a long time ago. That’s why we love the United States,” Concina said. “We found, after the second World War, a lot of people coming from our region. Not only Italia, but especially our region, Friuli Venecia Guilia.”
After studying the story, with this year marking Route 66’s centennial, Concina said they realized it was an important anniversary for them, too. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, thousands of people left Friuli seeking economic opportunities abroad. Many found work in American construction, mining, agriculture and skilled trades, according to the project’s website.
The expedition seeks to recover their stories, learn how their descendants have preserved their Italian heritage, and strengthen cultural ties between our two countries.
“We’re going down all of Route 66 to meet [the immigrants] and talk about the difference between our area, of course, and the US. How is life going on here? How many changes have they seen during their time here?” Concina said. “Because 100 years of road, it means a lot of things have changed.”
The group said they started working on the project a year and half ago, taking the time to find the immigrants and their descendants, talk to them, and set up appointments. They had to authorize everything from the cars to the stops along the route.
“We were talking about how to organize, what to see, where to stop, and that gave us the opportunity to study quite a lot about US history. You know, the route is long. It crosses eight states - it’s longer than the whole of Italy,” Concina said. “Up and down, east and west, Route 66 is even double. So, for us, it’s impressive.”
Throughout the stages of their journey, they will collect interviews and stories related to Friulian and Julian immigration, while simultaneously presenting the Friuli Venezia Giulia of today - a region made up of culture, landscapes, traditions, production capabilities, hospitality, and people. Among the tools designed to create a tangible connection between the region and America is the “Hospitality Passport Golden Ticket,” a symbolic invitation presented during some of their most significant meetings to transform a connection forged along the road into a future journey of discovery of the region.
With that spirit in mind, the group visited the HPPR studio with gifts in tow that included stickers, keychains, magnets, a small notebook and even cookies from Fruilia, along with a warm invitation to look them up if we’re ever able to visit the region.
“The most hard part was deciding exactly where to stop, because if we would like to see everything along Route 66, we’d need more than two months, and that’s impossible,” Concina said.
Essana said just entering Amarillo, they found five or six places they wanted to eat. It was difficult to choose. When they first arrived in Chicago, they debated over what car to choose. ‘Maybe let’s go for a Toyota. No, no, no, we’ll go Ford, because Ford is American.’ Lavaccia said Ford was his favorite brand.
However, they couldn’t choose a clear favorite from everything they’d seen so far in America.
“Everything was so different, so we cannot say ‘this is better than that.’ Everything gives us a different point of view of the town or the place,” Concina said. “For example, I get surprised in Tulsa. We stopped along the Route 66 at a library and ice creamery in the same place. I said, ‘Oh, I have to describe this,’ because in Europe, it’s not allowed to enter a library and a bookstore with some food in your hands.”
Given Chicago Fire is a popular TV show in Europe, they were excited to get a tour of a Chicago fire department. They said it was much larger than they were used to in Italy.
“We got to interview with them. So, we discovered how complicated is the job, how they work, and that’s so interesting,” Concina said.
We met the group in their first hours of arrival in Amarillo, with plans to stay for two days through Halloween. They’d just traveled through Oklahoma, and Concina said, “it was like a green heaven.” They planned to stop at the Big Texan for dinner, and of course, get a look at Cadillac Ranch before they left.
“The thing about Texas, it’s very big. The biggest thing that I love is Buccee’s,” Essana said. “In the shop inside, you can get anything there.”
Lavaccia said he loved to see the patriotism in America.
“I love to see everywhere, the flag, it’s impressive. It’s something that in Europe, you don’t feel,” Lavaccia said. “I want to tell you that you are so lucky to live here.”
“Roots in Motion” has plans to broadcast in Italy before Christmas after the group’s return, and Americans will have a chance to view their work on Youtube. They’re also planning a book that will be released sometime in March.
