I migranti nella letteratura italiana. Dall'assenza all'equivalenza

Italian literature is characterized by the substantial silence on the issue of migration, showing, as Gramsci already noted, the elitist attitude of his man of letters. These have left in more commercial production the task of witnessing the exodus that for over a century has affected the nation. Starting with a look to the critical positions and disciplines on the topic, the aim of the present paper is to analyze the resurgence of this theme in contemporary Italian fiction focusing on two novels: Il piatto dell'angelo, by Laura Pariani, and Mare al mattino, by Margaret Mazzantini. This reappearance of the topic of migration in Italian literature is matched by a similar phenomenon in the Argentine, an aspect that the essay will refer to emphasize the fundamental differences that determine the narrative strands in both countries.