Less than two years away from the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, a Museum of Italian Emigration is opening on 24 October in Rome. This initiative provides an opportunity for people to learn about an important part of Italy’s history and to reflect on what it means now and will mean in the future to be Italian. Without due recognition of the importance of the migration phenomenon for economic, social and cultural developments, the history of Italy would be incomplete. Indeed, in the long unification process, 29 million agricultural labourers, industrial workers and small-scale businessmen went through the experience of leaving their homeland to set off to near or distant lands in search of fortune. The carefully-chosen site for the new museum is the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, which represents the values of Italian national identity.