The transnational immigrant home is understood analytically, in an extensive literature, as a mobile construct that is not necessarily confined in its application to a single locale or building. The home has significant symbolic meaning for transnationals, as well as referring to their places of residence. In this study, however, we explore the physical structure of the transnational immigrant home and its materiality - the house. We examine two distinct types of homes of Italian immigrants in Melbourne - their past houses in Italy and their current houses in Melbourne. We argue that these houses form tangible links within Italian-Australian social space, and are parts of a network that constructs this transnational space. It is necessary to consider the actual materiality of such houses in order to extend the common understanding of 'home', seeing it not only as an abstract idea but also as a specifically located tangible structure and an active participant in the formation of transnational social spaces. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd & Global Networks Partnership.

Italian migrants House Melbourne Transnationalism materiality home

Social spaces Houses material culture participatory approach Melbourne Victoria [Australia] immigrant literature review building Italy urban housing Common understanding Physical structures Transnationalism Australia Regional planning