Migração, trabalho e famílias operárias: a formação do espaço urbano e a Vinícola Peterlongo (Garibaldi, RS, 1900-1960)

Abstract

The thesis seeks to reconstruct the spaces of the city of Garibaldi, presenting them as spatialities produced by individuals and their families throughout the processes of migration and neighborhood formation. To this end, the Peterlongo winery and its workers are taken as central objects of analysis. The study focuses on the period between 1900 and 1960, which encompasses the municipality’s political emancipation and the economic growth of the factory. By examining the migration decisions made by these individuals, the thesis aims to understand the extent to which the historical process of Italian immigration affected the life trajectories of the family groups analyzed. In other words, based on the premise that the Conde D’Eu colony—now the city of Garibaldi—was created as a settlement intended to receive Italian families, it also attracted immigrants from other countries. The research also examines the background of the working-class families, addressing the motives that led them to choose industrial labor, particularly at the Peterlongo winery. The study describes the life paths of several working families in order to detail the experiences of these laborers across various spaces and in the different social roles they occupied throughout their lives. These trajectories are contextualized within the complex dynamics of human life, highlighting how individual, collective, and family choices—alongside successes, failures, and strategies—shaped the structures of life, work, and sociability of the subjects studied. The research demonstrates that family networks functioned as privileged channels of access to employment at the factory, constituting not only a form of economic insertion but also a mechanism for the reproduction and social shaping of the urban spaces surrounding the industrial unit. The kinship and proximity relationships between workers and employer reveal how personal ties influenced labor opportunities and structured community dynamics, establishing networks of trust that extended beyond strictly professional interactions. The contribution of this study lies precisely in showing that employment at the factory was not limited to its economic dimension; rather, it played a central role in shaping the city’s social configuration, revealing how the history of labor and families intersected with the organization of urban space and with collective life.