The Islands Where We Left Our Ancestors is a story about the experience of its author, Joshua Santospirito, and his dad when they travelled to the Aeolian Islands, the place from where their family originates.
“My dad was very interested in reconstructing the history of his family,” explained Santospirito.
“We went together and travelled to all the different islands, exploring the lives of those who came before us and delving into the theme of the Italian diaspora.
“This is very present aspect within the book. I tried to investigate why, now as then, many people leave their homeland to move from one part of the planet to another,” he continued.
The journey turned out to be challenging for both father and son, for two reasons.
“My dad wanted to find out where his great-grandfather was buried, but the farther back in history one goes, the more difficult it is to find official documentation, records and other useful information,” said Santospirito.
The other challenge was that by travelling with his father, the author found himself somehow reverting to an adolescent version of himself, namely the “sullen teenager who responds immaturely to his parents”.
The Santospirito family’s migration story began in 1897, when Santospirito’s grandfather, at the age of five, left the island of Salina to start a new life in Australia.
While the search for his great-grandfather Basilio’s story didn’t yield the answers he was looking for, the trip to the Aeolian Islands allowed the author to establish a connection with Italy, a place he felt connected to and alienated by simultaneously.
“I think this is a very common condition for those of Italian descent,” said Santospirito.
“[Growing up, they] experience Italy only through the stories of their grandparents or parents, through those traditions and customs that they try to maintain and pass on over time.
“[They engage with the culture] without really belonging to it.”
Joshua explained that it was this trip with his dad that allowed him to “find a way to explore [his] Italian-ness” by drawing everything he saw in Italy and incorporating these illustrations into his identity.
“At the end of the book, I illustrated all my ancestors as a way to connect with them,” he shared. “I tried to imagine them and reconstruct their stories based on what I experienced during my journey.”
The Islands Where We Left Our Ancestors was entirely created, written and drawn by Santospirito, a well-rounded creative with a background as a cartoonist, musician and multimedia artist.
The book consists of seven chapters, each dedicated to one of the seven Aeolian Islands.
“Each chapter tells the story of what my father and I experienced on that particular island,” he revealed.
“It’s a book for everyone, with family and genealogy stories,” he explains.
The book is expected to be released on July 2 with an official presentation at Co.As.It. in Carlton on July 25, before special performances based on the book will open a themed exhibition at the Italian Museum.
