Background notes on Sestri Levante and Casarza Ligure

Sestri Levante is on the coast at the extreme southern end of the eastern Italian Riviera, and is by far the most important of the two. Casarza is about 4 miles inland from Sestri and, today, is virtually a suburb of it. The two are linked by a route which is described as an ancient salt road which carries on to Varese Ligure, Borgo Val di Tara and from there to Parma and the Po Valley. To travel South along the coast from Sestri you follow, more or less, the route of the Roman Via Aurelia which also requires that you begin by passing through Casarza. This route was of little importance until 1823 when it was much improved by the opening of the Passo del Bracco

The following 2 sections titled "Sestri Levante" and "Casarza Ligure" are taken from the book "Emigrazione nelle Americhe dalla Provincia di Genova - La Parte Orientale". The book has been compiled by the University of Genoa and contains one chapter for each comune in the province. It is of "academic" quality, subject of course to the availability of surviving source material. Subject also to the accuracy of my translation and abridgement.

Sestri Levante

The Comune (=administrative district) of Sestri Levante consists of the main centre close to the island (=peninsula) together with many inland villages, most of which are totally out of sight of the sea. The earliest centres, as indicated by the churches, are those of San Nicolo on the island, and Santo Stefano del Ponte slightly inland and to the north. This latter is said to be on the site of a much earlier church built by the monks of Bobbio in the early centuries of the Christian era. There are certainly documented records of it from the 11th century. The present structure of the church of San Nicolo is said to date from 1151, but contains a trace of an 8th century structure. Note that the separate settlement of Riva Trigoso, which is further down the coast, is comparatively recent.

Up until the 14th century the island was dominated by a well-fortified citadel which formed an outpost of, and was owned by, the City of Genoa. Progressively the town expanded onto the mainland and in the mid-17th century the new church of Santa Maria di Nazareth superceded San Nicolo. During the period of Napoleonic administration (1805-1815) the population was put at 1000, of which only 20% was in the main centre with other secondary centres at Santo Stefano del Ponte, Santa Vittoria di Libiola, San Bartolomeo and Trigoso.

Early maps of Sestri fail to show any coast road running north from the centre, nor any road running south. The only important route in and out of the town is that running inland along the valley of the Petronio through Casarza to Varese Ligure and then to the Passo di Cento Croci and on to Parma. The coastal (ie. low-level) route northward to Chiavari was constructed in 1810. The route to La Spezia was improved in 1823 with the construction of the Passo del Bracco, while the original salt road inland to Parma was much improved in 1833. The railway line from Genoa to Sestri was completed in 1871, and the onward extension to Las Spezia in 1874.

Tax records from around 1850 show that the main occupation of the whole area was peasant agriculture. One minor exception was in Libiola which had some copper mining activity, and a more important exception in Riva Trigoso where the predominant activity revolved around fishing and the sea. Fishing in the immediate waters of Sestri was relatively poor, so a fleet of boats went as far as the Tunisian coast, setting off at Easter and returning in August. The catch consisted mainly of sardines and anchovies which were packed in barrels under salt. The fleet could be anything from 30 boats, rising to 160 boats by 1880. After the end of the fishing campaigns the boats would be used for coastal trading, going up the coast as far as Marseilles. From about 1880 onwards increasing quantities of salted anchovies came on the market from Spain, depressing this activity.

Records of emigration to South Americam particularly Argentina, start from about 1800 and become more significant in the second half of the 19th century. At first the emigrants appear to be primarily among the fishermen and seamen, but, after 1870, there was an agricultural depression in Liguria which led to a higher proportion of peasant farmers among the emigrants. The importance of the salt road and associated trading activity of Sestri also declined from 1823 with the opening of the Giovi pass from Genoa to Turin. In 1854 this pass was further improved by the opening both of a railway line from Genoa to Turin and a road tunnel on the same route.

By the end of the 19th century cash remittances sent home by emigrants were increasing, and also some emigrants were returning having accumulated savings sufficient to buy a plot of land or enlarge the family home. Riva Trigoso had seen the arrival of industry, notably a shipbuilding yard which, by 1899, had 4 slipways. In the first years of the 20th century the tourist/bathing activity developed to provide additional employment possibilities. Population increased, drawn in from neighbouring comunes, such that housing became continuous from San Stefano del Ponte to the main centre of Sestri. Nevertheless, emigration continued and reached it highest levels around 1905 when up to 180 people were leaving each year. It continued at over 100 per year up until WWI, despite 20 to 40 returnees per year.

Before WWI the favoured destination was Argentina, but plenty of individual records exist of emigrants in Santiago (Chile), Lima (Peru) and Montevideo (Uruguay). Emigration from Riva Trigoso, however, in the first decade of the 20th century favoured the USA. One particular destination for fishermen was Santa Cruz in California, a town which more recently has been twinned with Sestri Levante. The design of the 'Leudi' fishing boats from Sestri were copied in Santa Cruz where they came to be known as 'Montereys'. After WWI emigration picked up again owing to poor economic conditions in Italy. But the pattern of population development in Sestri was changing. The inland villages were likely to be in decline while there was growth in Riva and along the seaside parts of central Sestri due to both the growth in tourism and the expansion of shipbuilding in Riva. In the years following WWII emigration declined to 10 - 15 people yearly, mostly to the US with few going to Latin America.

Casarza Ligure

Traditionally the main occupation has been peasant subsistence agriculture with the possibility of some cash crops such as olives, vines and silk worms. The woods yielded chestnuts for animal feed and also for human subsistance in bad times. Incomes might be supplemented by seasonal emigration to the Po valley at harvest time. Copper deposits were found further up the valley at Bargonasco and by 1880 associated industries developed sufficiently to bring additional population into the area. Production of copper wire resulted in both Sestri and Casarza being among the first places in Italy to have electric lighting.

From 1840 onwards emigration became significant with the destinations being any of Germany, Great Britain, Corsica, elsewhere in Europe, and the Americas. South America, notably Buenos Aires and Montivideo, was as likely a destination as the United States. Emigration became sufficient to cause a fall in population from 1848 onwards. Between 1870 and 1880 agricultural and livestock production fell with the abandonment of the more marginal hillsides. The influx drawn by the copper industries after 1880 brought an end to the population decline, notwithstanding a continued stream of emigration with South America always remaining a popular destination. Emigration to the USA started to pick up after 1900 but immigration restrictions were placed on it from 1920 onwards. Copper mining in the area also virtually stopped between the war, but by then Casarza was increasingly becoming a suburb of Sestri and its population continued to grow,

Italian Emigration in General

Emigration from Italy in general increased notably from 1870 onwards to reach a peak in the decade before WWI. It picked up again after the end of the war but never reaching pre-war levels. The increase after 1870 particularly included a much larger proportion from Southern Italy and Sicily and was directed to the US rather than South America. The first immigration controls by the USA were enacted in 1921 and 1924. Specific quotas were more restrictive on Mediterranean countries than on the northern Europeans. At some point the quota for Italy was 1/13 of that for Germany. For northern Italians, who had a long history of emigration to south America, these restrictions simply redirected the flow away from the USA and back towards the south. The Southern Italians never had the same family connections with South America to draw them back in that direction.

Emigration in the Azzaro family.

All the details listed here are recorded in the notes for the relevant individuals, but the bits regarding emigration are summarised here. The whole story starts with 3 brothers born in Casarza Ligure. They are Emanuele (born 1840), Antonio (1843) and Giuseppe (1846).

Emanuele. Obviously we know that Emanuele came to England where he married, raised a family and died. The first record of him in England is with the birth of his first daughter Theresa in Sept 1871. Before that the only story (unverified) is that he fought with Garibaldi's volunteers in the Italian War of Independance (1860/61). The conscription list for 1860 marks him as "Renitente" (which means that he failed to show up for military service). There are two 'verbal' stories in the family, also without a shred if evidence, which add to this. One is that he came to England quite young (ie. in his teens) but returned to Italy to join Garibaldi's army in the 1860/61 war before coming back to England. The story that "he walked all the way there and all the way back" may relate to this journey, The second story is that he had a brother who emigrated to Argentina (now verified) and that Emanuele also first went to Argentina before coming to England (no shred of evidence found). These stories can only have come from one or more of Aunt Madge, Uncle Tony or cousin June in which case they must have heard them from Grandad Gary (ie. Andrew Azzaro).

Antonio. Antonio's record on the military conscription list for 1863 marks him as "Renitente", but we have no idea why he failed to turn up. The first record of him in Argentina is in the 1869 census by when his eldest son Augustin is aged 3 and recorded as having been born in Argentina. The census records him as married to Maria Gariboto who is aged 19, and they are living in Merlo, which is 50km south-west of Buenos Aires. Maria Gariboto says that she was born in Italy and subsequent events show that the priest in Casarza knew about the marriage, so maybe they had been married before they left for Argentina. Antonio and Maria appear to have had 5 children, the last one having been born in 1871. Some time later Antonio abandoned the Argentinian family and returned to Casarza. He was certainly back in Italy by 1879 when he presented himself for military service 16 years late. Back in Italy he settled down with a new partner, Carolina Traversano, and had 4 more children between 1892 and 1901. There is a record of an Antonio Azaro, age 46, arriving by ship in Buenos Aires in 1890, Was this him? Was this a final attempt to sort out his affairs in Argentina? Note that Antonio's father died in 1883, so his return to Italy wasn't obviously triggered by the need to claim an inheritance. Note that, while in Argentina, Antonio and his family consistently spelled their surname with a double 'z' whereas Giuseppe's family used a single 'z'. This is said to be because the two brothers fell out and wanted to distinguish their families. After returning to Italy, Antonio reverted to using a single 'z'. Everyone in Casarza with the name Azaro is a descendant of Antonio.

Giuseppe. Giuseppe also failed to turn up when called for army service in 1866. The first subsequent documented record of him is that of his marriage to Teresa Bonino in Merlo, Argentina in 1875. Then, between 1877 and 1894 they had 11 children, all born in the town of General Las Heras, which is 67km south west of Buenos Aires. The family consisted of 10 boys and only 1 girl, so the name Azaro is widespread in Las Heras. It appears that, once in Argentina, Giuseppe rapidly changed his name to Jose, the Spanish equivalent.

Narciso. Narciso is one of Antonio's children, born in Italy after his return from Argentina. He emigrated to America, choosing to go to San Francisco, and stayed for 6 years before returning to Casarza. The record of his arrival at Ellis Island shows that he arrived in 1913 at the age of 18.

More recently. I have met one of Antonio's great-grandchildren in Casarza and been told a little of the background to more recent emigration. Firstly, I gather that almost everyone in and around Sestri Levante is likely to know of relatives in Argentina, which makes a move easier to contemplate. Secondly that both before and after WWII there were good reasons why Italians might still want to emigrate. One was that, before the war, during the Mussolini era, any known supporters of the socialist party would find it difficult to get jobs in any branch of local or national government, or to enter any of a number of professions. Then again, after the war, anyone believed to have been too active a supporter of the Fascist party would also find life made difficult for them. In both cases emigration to South America might be a feasible solution. Thereafter it might well be the death of a relative still in Italy which might bring a family back to claim an inheritance. My informant had herself been born in Argentina shortly after the war and then returned with her family to Italy at the age of 13.