ABSTRACT
By the late nineteenth century it was commonplace for Italians to perceive America as a land of prosperity, opportunity and freedom: an American myth had become part of Italian life. It played a large role in the decision of numerous Italians to emigrate to America. This vision of America ‘was kept alive through the letters of over four million immigrants who settled in America between 1880 and 1920’ (Liehm 1984: 34)1.
