When Ancestry Tourism Becomes Your Path to Italy

 I often talk about visas, bureaucracy, and finding that perfect appartamento...the topics people who want to move to Italy ask the most about.

But there’s a beautiful, different path that brings many women here—-one paved not just with paperwork, but with family history.

I'm talking about Ancestry Tourism, or as the Italians call it, Turismo delle Radici (Roots Tourism).

It’s more than a trip; it’s a global phenomenon where the descendants of Italian emigrants—-estimated to be nearly 80 million people worldwide—-return to the tiny villages their ancestors left behind. If you have Italian heritage, this might be the emotional spark that ignites your own move to Italy.

The Journey of the Soul: Why We Return

For millions of Italian-Americans, the desire to visit Italy is about more than pasta and the Colosseum. It’s an urgent, personal quest for a sense of belonging and identity.

An ancestry trip is a pilgrimage. It means:

• Walking the same cobblestone streets your great-grandparents walked.

• Searching through dusty town hall records (the anagrafe) or parish church archives with a local genealogist.

• Meeting a distant cousin who greets you with a hug and invites you to lunch, creating a connection you didn’t know you was missing.

• Finding the very house where your family's Italian story began.

The Italian government recognizes the profound importance of this emotional connection. In fact, 2024 was designated the "Year of Italian Roots Worldwide" (L'anno delle radici italiane nel mondo). The government launched the Italea project to support this movement, helping travelers organize trips and connecting them with reliable genealogists, especially in the smaller towns and Southern regions (like Sicily, Calabria, and Abruzzo) that saw the largest waves of emigration.

This focus on small villages is key. Roots tourism is a form of sustainable tourism, bringing much-needed life and economic support to the hidden gems that lie far off the main tourist trail of Rome and Florence, like Davoli.

The Ultimate Pivot: From Ancestry Tourist to American Expat

Here’s where the roots journey often intersects with my work as an expat coach. For many American women, finding their family connection in Italy is just the beginning. The emotion of standing in their ancestral town leads to a new question: "Could I live here?"

The deepest connection you can make is through Italian Citizenship by Descent (Jure Sanguinis).

For those who successfully trace their lineage and prove their right to citizenship, the entire framework for moving to Italy changes. You transition from needing a complex long-stay visa (like the Elective Residency Visa) to becoming an EU citizen. This opens the door to living, working, and retiring in Italy with far greater ease.

Your roots may have shown you why you belong here. My job is to help you figure out how to make it happen.

Ready to Dig Deeper?

Whether you are planning your first trip to your ancestral town or you've already found your distant cousins and are now seriously contemplating the move, remember this: the connection you feel is real, and it is a powerful foundation for a successful life in Italy.

The Turismo delle Radici is not just about visiting the past; it's about building your future.

Have you traced your family back to Italy? What village are you from? Share your story in the comments below!