A nearly year-long journey across the Atlantic has symbolically connected Sicily, Genoa, and New York in the name of the great history of Italian emigration. On August 11, 2026, Nesea, a 13-meter sailboat, arrived in New York after departing in September 2025 from Castellammare del Golfo, in the province of Trapani.
At the helm was Francesco Felice Buonfantino, a Neapolitan architect and designer of the National Museum of Italian Emigration in Genoa. Traveling aboard Nesea was also the MEI flag, destined for Ellis Island, one of the most important symbols of the Italian immigrant experience in the United States.
The journey did not exactly retrace the transatlantic routes followed by the millions of Italians who left their homeland in search of new opportunities between the 19th and 20th centuries. After departing Sicily, Buonfantino crossed the Atlantic and reached Martinique before continuing through the Caribbean and the Bahamas. From there, Nesea sailed north along the East Coast of the United States until reaching New York.
During the long voyage, Buonfantino met descendants of Italian immigrants, collecting testimonies, family memories, and experiences passed down through generations. The journey therefore became much more than a sailing adventure - it was a voyage through the memory of Italy beyond Italy.
The flag of the National Museum of Italian Emigration will remain on Ellis Island as a lasting symbol of the relationship between Italy and the United States. Genoa, Castellammare del Golfo, Naples, Martinique, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and New York thus become stops along a single story - that of a people who, for generations, crossed the sea carrying their identity, hopes, and memories with them.
