Open from 9 April – 15 May 2026 at the Italian Institute of Culture in Edinburgh, Incontri is a curated collection of photographs and images offering a glimpse into the rich and diverse narratives of Italians in Scotland over the past century. The images are of people and places and tell stories about how Italians found a place in the Scottish landscape and how they transformed it.
Seeking better economic opportunities and escaping poverty, Italians settled throughout Scotland. They brought with them their traditions, language, and culinary expertise and channeled these into their entrepreneurial ventures. Italian-owned cafes, restaurants, and ice cream parlours became fixtures in Scottish towns and cities. Often experiencing prejudice and discrimination, they nevertheless established strong commercial and personal relationships in the places they settled. The sinking of the Arandora Star in 1940 was an event that created long-lasting trauma in the historic community. But that trauma is shared in complex ways by the generations who moved to Scotland after the Second World War and who continue to come today.
Incontri focuses on Italians in Scotland, but doesn’t see them in isolation nor assume a single history nor sense of identity. It blurs borders of community and nation. The contribution and impact of Italians has been varied and sometimes invisible occurring in places outside familiar frames of family life and culinary achievement. Incontri hopes to acknowledge this variety of experience.
The images in the exhibition come from different places: civic and commercial archives, online genealogical sites, and from the storehouse of family memories. Some were taken by professional photographers, others are amateur, family snapshots. Often, they are unauthored, their photographer unknown. If the Internet now makes old photographs more accessible and digital technology allows people to create and share their own stories as they happen, other images are preserved, maybe discarded, often unseen, in family albums, drawers, suitcases, or in plastic bags.
We never take what the images show for granted. We hope that the photographs act as prompts for thinking critically and creatively. Often, it is the small, seemingly insignificant detail that hosts a hidden story. Sometimes it’s what isn’t in the photograph that says the most.
Incontri is generously funded by Historic Environment Scotland.
Launch night
Join us on Thursday, 9 April 2026 at 5:30 pm for the launch night. Free entry: email rsvp.iicedimburgo@esteri.it to reserve your space.
From 9 April – 15 May 2026
Opening times
Mondays to Thursdays
9.30-13.30 / 14.30 -16.00
Fridays
9.30-13.00
Free entry (booking required: please email rsvp.iicedimburgo@esteri.it or phone 0131 668 2232 & include the full names of all the guests in your party).
Please note that security checks will be in place on arrival.
Please note that photographs and footage will be taken throughout the event. These images and videos may be used for marketing, publicity, and other purposes, including on our website and social media channels. If you do not wish to have your image used, please inform the event organisers or contact eventi.iicedimburgo@esteri.it before the event.
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