From Odessa to Ticino: the story of Iryna Balmeli's return to her roots.

Iryna Balmeli is an art historian and researcher at Archivio del Moderno of Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). The young woman left her native Ukraine because of the recent conflict and returned to Ticino, the land of origin of her ancestors. She told the story of her journey and arrival in our Canton in an article published on the pages of Cooperazione.

Odesa, the destination of Santino Balmelli (1801 - 1855) - the ancestor of Iryna Balmeli - was home to many migrants of Italian or Ticino origin during the 19th century, who moved to the city on the Black Sea to work as architects, artisans, artists, musicians and opera singers or to become entrepreneurs. There are also traces of Ticino architecture and art in Kerc, a city in Crimea between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, where the young researcher lived for a few months with her family to get away from the Chernobyl area following the nuclear disaster. Carlo Bossoli (1815-1884) from Lugano painted the town in the 1850s. "The architect Giorgio Torricelli, originally from Lugano, participated in the realisation of the Kerc centre, with, for example, The Great Staircase of Mithridates", explained the art historian.

Recalling the story of her ancestor, the researcher tells how "at the age of 17, he left Calprino, now Paradiso, to go to Odessa, where he worked as a master builder. He married Rosina Hornstein, a German woman with whom he had many children." Today, due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the young art historian and her parents have returned to their ancestor's homeland, although they often think of their family and fellow citizens who remained behind. "Every day, I thank God that I can fall asleep and wake up without the alarm sirens and the bombings. And I am very grateful to Switzerland and Ticino for their hospitality and the peace I have found." What may come as a surprise is that before 2018, Iryna Balmeli and her parents were unaware of their Ticino origins: "As a child, many people asked me curiously about the origins of my surname. My parents and I thought it was Italian or something like that."

Once she arrived in our Canton, Iryna Balmeli was able to find a job that suited her training as an art historian: "During my studies at the National Academy of Art and Architecture in Kyiv, I started to study Italian, and thanks to free lessons from a volunteer teacher and courses organised by the Canton of Ticino for Ukrainians, today I work 30% as a researcher at Archivio del Moderno at the USI Academy of Architecture. In this role, I assist with bilateral projects between Switzerland and Ukraine. I collaborate with the vice-director of Archivio del Moderno, Nicola Navone, and contribute to bridging the gap between Switzerland and Ukraine by publishing research on Ticino architects in Odesa, including translations in Ukrainian." As chance would have it, the researcher arrived in Massagno, the birthplace of the Frapolli brothers, two architects "who built numerous buildings in the city on the Black Sea." Thinking about the future, Iryna Balmeli hopes to be able to stay in our Canton: "I like it in Ticino. I managed to find a job that suits my professional profile and that I'm very passionate about. I lost my job in Ukraine during the war, and now I am doing my best to start my life here again, if possible."

History, and not only personal history, is particularly important to Iryna Balmeli: "Since I was a child, I loved history, art and law. I believe that while it is very important to look to the future with confidence, we should never forget our past and where we come from. History should teach us not to make the mistakes of the past."

The full interview with Iryna Balmeli published by Cooperazione is available at the following link (p. 70). (Italian only)