IN THE NAME OF HONOUR. A journey into the history of abandoned children with a focus on Sicily in the 19th century - Presentation by Dr Lucia Barbera at Museo Italiano

Museo Italiano, Co.As.It.

199 Faraday Street, Carlton

Tuesday 10 November 2015, 6.30pm

Free Event – RSVP [email protected]

The practice of abandoning unwanted babies is as old as history itself. This practice reached a peak during the 18^th and 19^th centuries in Catholic Europe, with an estimated 10 million children abandoned in the years 1800-1899. Thus, the 19^th century became known as “The Century of Foundlings”. In order to cope with such a high number of abandoned children, specialised institutions such as hospices for foundlings and orphanages were established throughout Europe, including all over Italy. These institutions provided the children with a safe shelter, where they were not just fed and cared for, but also given an education so that they could fit into society.

This talk will explore the evolution of the concept of childhood throughout the centuries, with a specific focus on the pioneering childcare system which spread throughout Sicily during the Bourbon Period (1734-1860). Using original documents, Dr Barbera will offer glimpses into the lives and subsequent careers of boys and girls left in the trust of the foundling hospital of Messina.

Dr Lucia Barbera holds an international PhD in the History of Social Institutions and Cooperation for Development from the University of Messina and an Advanced Master’s Degreein Institutions and Policies for Human Rights and Peace from the University of Padua. She has worked in associations for the promotion of human rights as well as in the protection of women and children’s rights. She has collaborated with several Universities, with the Office of the Ombudsman for Minors in Veneto and with the Prosecutor of the Juvenile Court in Venice.

Lucia is the curator of the documentary and photographic exhibition “I Figli della Pietà” [Children of Charity] for the Province of Messina, in collaboration with the State Archive of Messina. The project was sponsored by the Sicilian Regional Authority for Cultural Heritage and by the Messina branch of the Consortium for the Promotion of Cultural Tourism in Sicily. Website: http://ifiglidellapieta.blogspot.com.au/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ifiglidellapieta

Lucia is the author of L’assistenza all’infanzia abandonata nella Sicilia d’età borbonica [Assistance to Abandoned Children in Sicily during the Bourbon Era] (Aracne, Rome 2012); “Enti e soggetti ‘terzi’ a salvaguardia dell’infanzia abbandonata: prime note su Sicilia e Veneto nel XIX secolo”[Organisations and people active in the care of abandoned children: Notes on 19^th century Sicily and Veneto], in Acta Histriae, 21, 2013, 3, pp. 215-232. Lucia has collaborated on many publications, including: E. Pelleriti, Fra terra e mare: sovranità del mare, controllo del territorio, sicurezza dei mercanti  [Between land and sea: sea sovereignty, territorial control, safety of merchants] (Rubettino, Soveria Mannelli (CZ) 2011); P. De Perini, L. Barbera, A. Cofelice (eds), La Dichiarazione universale dei diritti umani interattiva! Tutti i diritti umani pertutti! [The Interactive Universal Declaration of Human Rights! All human rights for all!] (CD-ROM) (The University Human Rights Centre of Padua, Padua, 2008); P. Degani, M. Mascia, E. Serrano (eds), Giovani immigrati e partecipazione [Young immigrants and participation] (Print House, Padua 2005).