etween 1880 and 1914, thirteen million Italians emigrated abroad, with four million choosing the United States as their destination. The departures were announced through posters displayed on city walls. These posters were intended to last only a few weeks, printed on thin, low-quality paper. For this reason, very few have survived to the present day.
The upper section of these posters typically featured an image of the ship and the name of the company. The lower half, which was updated more frequently, displayed the departure schedule.
In the 19th century, ocean liners were still sailing ships equipped with a steam engine and a single propeller. To convey to the public that the ship was a steamship, illustrators would add large billows of black smoke coming from the funnels.
It's interesting to note how in the first poster displayed here, from 1886, the sails are unfurled to the wind. In the following one, from 1890, the sails are no longer hoisted but are neatly gathered at the yardarms. By the third poster, dated 1900, sails and yardarms are no longer visible, though they were still stored in the hold to be used if necessary. The fourth and fifth posters, from 1908, depict one of the very first Italian ocean liners with twin engines and twin screws, significantly reducing the risk of being stranded in the middle of the ocean; the auxiliary sails have disappeared entirely.
Migrants brought great profit to shipowners, who often ferried them to the New World in dire conditions. Epidemics on board were common, and burials at sea numbered in the dozens, sometimes even hundreds, on each crossing. It was only at the end of the 19th century that Italian legislation finally granted minimal protections to migrants.