Abstract

The current article analyzes the development of the Italian identity discourses in Chile during the 19th century. This analysis progresses through the assessment of the eth-nic Italian press, which was published in Santiago and Valparaiso since 1861, the year when the Italian colony established in Chile. Specifically, we will examine the state of the Italian press in Chile with a particular interest to the first Italian periodical existent in the Chilean capital, L’Eco d’Italia, published in August 1890. The analysis of the discourses allows to identify the mechanisms involved in the development of the concept of homeland and identi-ty. Indeed, we believe that the literary selection executed by the editors of the Italian journals contributed to the development of an Italian identity shaped on the literary motherland rather than to the actual country of residence.