Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, is most often associated with a version of Scottish culture that has evolved in its own unique ways. Though worthy of celebration, that perception tends to overwhelm the realities of everyday life experiences by people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. A strong and vibrant Italian presence on the island, for instance, dates back more than 150 years.

Italian Lives, Cape Breton Memories conveys the rich and varied experiences of Italians living in Cape Breton in their own words—the immigration experience; work experience in the home, the steel plant and the coal mines, and life in business, politics and other areas of endeavour. As ethnographers, editors and analysts, Sam Migliore and Evo Dipierro help illuminate a variety of other important and sensitive subjects: the treatment of Italians during the Second World War; the maintenance of a sense of cultural identity and traditions; and the sorrow of watching family and friends leave the island for employment elsewhere.

First published in 1999, and long since out of print, Italian Lives, Cape Breton Memories is now re-released for a new generation.

Dr. Sam Migliore is a medical and visual anthropologist at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, in Surrey, British Columbia. He has worked extensively with Italian Canadians in Cape Breton, southern Ontario and the lower mainland of British Columbia. Sam has also travelled to Italy for additional research. His research has led to the publication of numerous articles, several ethnographic films and two books. In recent years he has focused on issues related to the interrelationships among culture, aging and well-being. Sam was inducted into the Vancouver Italian Culture Centre’s Hall of Fame in 2013.

Sam Migliore's profile page

Evo Dipierro was born in Sydney, Cape Breton Island where he lived for most of his life. With undergraduate degrees from Cape Breton University, Evo earned a law degree from Dalhousie University in 2002 and practised until 2014. He was ordained into the priesthood in 2009, having earned a Master of Divinity from St. Joseph Seminary and Newman Theological College, Edmonton. He is presently the pastor of St. Columba Parish in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia.

A. Evo Dipierro's profile page