Armando Forgione presents book on Irpinia emigration and history

Prefect Armando Forgione presented his book, ‘Arrivederci, ma quando… Memorie di un frate errante’, at an event in Avellino. The work reconstructs the life of Frà Vitantonio (Gianfilippo Carsillo), a Franciscan friar and distant ancestor of the author, who was forced to flee the Irpinia region in 1862 following the unification of Italy due to new state laws removing military service exemptions for the clergy.

Based on a collection of letters passed down by Forgione’s grandmother, the book details the friar’s exile in Dalmatia and his eventual return to his homeland in 1888. During the presentation, Forgione reflected on the theme of depopulation and the historical roots of emigration in Irpinia, describing the region as a ‘forgotten land’ that requires continuous investment.

Forgione also shared personal connections to the area, noting how the 1980 earthquake severed his family’s physical ties to the region by destroying their ancestral home, a loss that contributed to the broader pattern of displacement and migration seen in the territory.