Yana Gergova and Mariyanka Borisova
Papers of BAS, Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 2, No 3-4, 2015
ETHNOLOGY
CULTURAL HERITAGE IN MIGRATION: BULGARIAN SUNDAY SCHOOLS IN ITALY
Yana Gergova and Mariyanka Borisova
Abstract: In the paper we examine the emergence and the development of the Bulgarian Sunday schools in Italy and particularly the ones in Rome, Nettuno-Cerveteri and Milan, and their role as consolidation centers and translators of Bulgarian cultural heritage in migration settings. We analyze the cultural heritage, transmitted and promoted at and by Bulgarian schools in Italy, manifested in several hypostases: Bulgarian language, festive calendar, folklore, Bulgarian sites of memory – all of them actively functioning in the dynamics of interaction between Bulgarian migrant institutions in various Italian cities. Our analysis consider especially significant the process of inclusion of the Bulgarian sites of memory in Italy in event school life as a basis for transfer of knowledge and construction of national identity and belonging.
Key words: Migration, Bulgarians in Italy, Sunday Schools, Cultural Heritage, Identity, Sites of Memory