NORWICH – Italian Americans who trace their roots to the Aeolian Islands will have a chance to celebrate their heritage tomorrow night, with the launch of a book detailing their ancestors’ emigration to the Norwich area.

“Home From Home: The Aeolian Community of Norwich, New York” was penned by Margaret Allen. The work marks the culmination of more than a decade of research by the former London Times journalist into the Aeolian Diaspora – the spread of people from the Aeolian archipelago around the world. For Allen, the extensive research was a labor of love, prompted by her “love affair” with the picturesque cluster of islands off the Sicilian coast.

The book, a work of nonfiction, was published by Centro Studi of Lipari as part of the Aeolian Emigration Series.

“This book is the product of my visits to Norwich and my conversations and research into the lives of Aeolian people there, and their history since the beginning of the Twentieth Century,” Allen explained in the introduction to “Home From Home.”