Nel secolo dello sport: storie di italiani in Argentina.

This paper reconstructs the history and the specific organizational forms of sports clubs networks promoted by the Italian-speaking community in Argentina. The analysis of the diachronic itinerary and of the differentiated profile of each sport discipline aims at clarifying the peculiar traits of sportisation within Argentina, especially in relation to the crucial social space represented by the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, where a large part of the Italian community settled since the late 19th century. The case studies investigated form a narrative of organizational stories through which it is possible to identify the main features of a peculiar strategy of integration and inclusion. In-depth historical analysis reveals recurring and fundamental aspects of the relationship between nationalization, migration, integration and sportisation such as: the role of communitarian leaderships as capable of developing a unifying mission; the institutionalization of the community through the constitution and/or the mobilization of social networks; the identity dynamics inside the group and sometimes even the metamorphosis of the original paradigms as a result of authentic paradoxes of success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]