Per scelta e per forza. Migrazioni internazionali e mutamento culturale nelle Alpi italiane

Foreign immigration and cultural change in the Italian Alps. Severely affected during the 20th century by depopulation and neglect, the Alps also suffered an erosion of their cultural heritage. Since the beginning of the 21th century, however, population has begun to grow in many areas, maily due to immigration flows. This paper will provide quantitative and qualitative data on the presence of foreigners in the Italian Alps, also considering some specific local cases of immigration. We will then adress the following questions: what effects are Alpine repopulation, and notably the impact of foreign inhabitants, exerting on local cultures? Should repopulation be seen as an opportunity for social innovation and cultural creativity or rather as a threat to “indigenous” cultures? Is demographic discontinuity precluding cultural continuity? Will foreign immigration, especially if directed to demographically depleted areas, favour over time the emergence of new forms of identity and “tradition”, as a result of the re-invention of the territory?