Migration Discourses

This week we took a train to Prato and visited the synagogue and Jewish museum of Florence!

Prato:

After discussing the city of Prato and the migration of many people from China to Prato during class, we took a visit to see the city and the textile museum there. Because of the articles we read in class, I think a lot of us were expecting to get off the train and see the exact descriptions these articles gave: large populations of Chinese people, big manufacturing warehouses, and Chinese influence on stores and restaurants. Many of the articles we read talked about this influence, however it wasn't as prominent in the city-center as we expected.

The textile museum was interesting since Prato is one of the largest players in the textile industry in Europe. The museum took us through the years of the industry and how it has grown. It wasn't until the end they discussed how to migration of Chinese individuals to Prato has influences this growth.

The museum showed many different ways of producing fabrics, and the different materials that go into it. It also displayed how different dyes show up on different materials like wool or polyester. This museum was interesting because it taught the history of the textile industry in the city, as well as the process of making textiles and the history of the clothes that were made. I felt as though the museum covered up the history of the industry a bit, since it did not discuss the unfair labor or the hardships many Chinese immigrants go through to arrive here.

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Synagogue and Jewish Museum:

Growing up in the Catholic church it was interesting to compare the differences between the churches I've been in and the synagogue we visited in class. the synagogue was absolutely beautiful. One fact I found intriguing was that there were no images of religious figures. When you go into a church, all around there are images of Jesus or saints, but I found it refreshing that there were no images for reasons of focusing on worship itself. We also spoke about the influence of the middle east on the color scheme and structure of the building. It was interesting to see how the fascination and popularity of the middle east at the time influenced its layout.