Cresci Museum for the History of the Italian Emigration
via Vittorio Emanuele 3
About
A one hour drive from Florence lays a Tuscan jewel: Lucca, an old town surrounded by intact city walls. Among many other attractions, a small gem: the Chapel of Santa Maria della Rotonda that houses the Cresci Museum of the Italian Emigration, an interesting and touching museum gathering hundreds of public and private documents, pictures, postcards, identifications, maps and memorabilia related to the many migrations of Italians all over the world. For over 100 years, until the 1960s, more than 26 million Italians left their country to find a better life. The Foundation is named after the Florentine emigration researcher and collector Paolo Cresci. It also holds an immense archive that contributes to the study and research of the history of Italian emigration. The museum is open October to April: 9:30-12:30/14:30-17:30, and May to September: 10:00-12:30/15:00-18:30. -Maria Frullini
