Irina Todorova,
Sirma Kazakova,
Technical University of Varna, Bulgaria
https://doi.org/10.53656/his2025-2-5-psy
Abstract. The public consciousness of Bulgarians is dominated by the perception that the large waves of emigration from Bulgaria to the West occurred after the collapse of the communist regime in 1989 and were a consequence of the economic crises of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. But this is not the case at all. This process goes back centuries. Various chroniclers attest to the Bulgarian presence in Italy as early as the Middle Ages. They show us that centuries ago Bulgarians chose Italy as their second home. Few historical sources testify to the specific motives for this choice and even fewer to the experiences of these Bulgarian settlers.
The opportunities for scholarly inquiry into the motives of contemporary immigrants are considerably more significant. Therefore, this study will boldly ask: „If for centuries Bulgarians have chosen Italy as their ‘second homeland’, what was, and what is today, the reason for this? To find an answer to this question, besides the analysis of historical sources, this study used the modern possibilities of survey research and studied the motives of 85 Bulgarian emigrants who chose to live in Italy in the 21st century.
This study shows that, both in the past and in the present, the economic lack of resources neither gave rise to nor sustained Bulgarian emigration to Italy. Repeatedly, the search for asylum created streams of those in need of protection, but with tolerance and understanding of the Italic peoples that took them in, the Bulgarians settled the lands given to them, and with work and effort they repaid what was given to them. The Bulgarians chose Italy to strengthen their Orthodox faith, to strengthen the writing of the whole Slavic race, to develop the potential of Slavic culture and to provide for the needs of the Catholics in their lands. The linking of the Bulgarian and Italian families helped in the rescue of thousands of Jews in the Bulgarian lands, expanded charity and care for the poor, sick and war victims. Decades after the most famous marriage in Bulgarian history between a Bulgarian king and an Italian princess, love continues to bring representatives of Italian and Bulgarian families together. And today, Bulgarians choose Italy because they value its education, culture and art and the opportunities to touch, learn and develop their potential. BUT, as in the past so today, Bulgarians give to Italy their scientific potential, the „beauty“ of the greatest basses born on Bulgarian lands; the verses of some of the most popular Bulgarian poets, the grandeur of magnificent sculptures. their parents.
Keywords: emigration; emigration of Bulgarians to Italy; emigration waves; motives for emigration
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