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Article Mattmark, 30 August 1965: A catastrophe that changed Switzerland's perception of Italian migrants RICCIARDI, Toni Abstract The Mattmark tragedy of August 30th, 1965 fuelled the debate in Switzerland, which had already been going on for a few years, regarding the country's largely un controlled economic development. This development required ever more foreign labour – especially for big infrastructural projects – including lowskilled labour, which had been abandoned by the Swiss. For the Italian community in Switzerland, the tragedy represented an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of their presence in a country in which they were not accepted and were not well integrated. Using the Mattmark tragedy as a case study, this paper demonstrates how the identitar ian construction of Switzerland as a whole, and its relationship with foreigners, is strongly linked to the identitarian construction of the Canton of Valais, where the tragedy occurred. Mattmark represents a major turning point in Switzerland's long and tormented relationship with foreigners: it changed Switzerland's perception of foreigners and of the Swiss themselves and resulted in significant social, media related and political changes, especially regarding the subject [...] Reference RICCIARDI, Toni. Mattmark, 30 August 1965: A catastrophe that changed Switzerland's perception of Italian migrants. Revue suisse d'histoire, 2016, vol. 66, no. 3, p. 401-419 Available at: http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:91827 Disclaimer: layout of this document may differ from the published version. 1 / 1 Abhandlungen / Articles SZG/RSH/RSS 66, 2016, Nr. 3 Mattmark, 30 August 1965: A catastrophe that changed Switzerland’s perception of Italian migrants Toni Ricciardi Mattmark, 30 August 1965: A catastrophe that changed Switzerland’s perception of Italian migrants The Mattmark tragedy of August 30th, 1965 fuelled the debate in Switzerland, which had already been going on for a few years, regarding the country’s largely un- controlled economic development.
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