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It goes... where?
Although in the mid-19th century there were small nuclei of Italian emigrants in the Americas who often went abroad after the failure of the various Risorgimento uprisings, a migratory flow of a certain size headed, beginning in the last decades of the 19th century, first to European countries and involved first the northern regions - Liguria first and foremost - and only later the southern ones, which, however, showed a clear preference for overseas destinations.
What marked the choice between the two Americas was whether or not they had money to invest in expatriation. It cost more to reach Latin America where the economic prospects were better, the language problems surmountable and the cultural differences less. Instead, the ticket to the United States cost less and it was easy, in a rapidly developing country, to find work, albeit low-skilled or unskilled, in agriculture or industrial enterprises. Moreover, being employed in infrastructure construction sometimes allowed for a seasonal pace such that periodic returns home were possible, if desired.