This thesis investigates on the memory of the “retorno” starting from a critical perspective that assumes the “Portuguese-speaking global south” as a historical and conceptual reference space. It provides a reflection on the idea of ​​specificity attributed to the colonisation promoted by Portugal in Africa, taking into account the contradictions associated with the migratory movement triggered by the violent process of decolonization of Portuguese Africa. The traumatic memories on the return expose violence as a constitutive component of the colonial reality but they also reproduce the dynamics that conceal racism. The exploration of the “soffitta”, taken as a metaphor for the family memory, accompanies that of the public archive. It reflects the attempt to establish a dialogue between history and memory by overcoming the logic of antithesis that traditionally opposes them. Using the critically problematic concept of “postmemory” the work reflects on the reconfiguration of the relationship between the present and the past following the idea of ​​”legacy as a task”. Saving the past from the progressive disappearance of witnesses involves a risk of ideological abuse inherent in the process of transmission. The translation of colonial memories on the return from intimate space to the space of public debate shows the relationship between the construction of family mythology and the adoption of the lusotropical discourse. Also, the attempt to define the indecipherable nature of the retornado carries the risk of sanctioning colonial violence by denying a collective responsibility. An attempt is presented to configure the terms of a Portuguese post-colonial question with opaque outlines. This thesis reaches an open conclusion, articulated on the ever-present risk of appropriation of critical post-colonial categories by hegemonic ideology. The denunciation of racism as a permanent legacy and the reconfiguration of the colonial archive is a possible and necessary operation but not without risks.