Colonia Valdense is a small city located in southwestern
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, within the
Colonia Department
Colonia () is a department of southwestern Uruguay. Its capital is Colonia del Sacramento, the country's second oldest city.
Weather
Colonia has an annual average temperature of 20.4 °C (68.7 °F). In winter it has an average temperat ...
. It is home to around 3,200 people.
Location
It lies along
Route 1, west of
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
and about west of its intersection with Route 51.
History
Colonia Valdense was founded in 1856 (officially as "Valdense"), following the arrival of
Italian immigrants
, image = Map of the Italian Diaspora in the World.svg
, image_caption = Map of the Italian diaspora in the world
, population = worldwide
, popplace = Brazil, Argentina, United States, France, Colombia, Canada, P ...
from
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
, especially from the Waldensian Valleys and the
Aosta Valley
, Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title = Official languages
, population_blank1 = Italian French
...
. The town is named after
Pierre Valdo, a French merchant, founder of the religious movement known as "
The Waldensians". The
Waldensian Evangelical Church
The Waldensian Evangelical Church (''Chiesa Evangelica Valdese'', CEV) is a Protestant denomination active in Italy and Switzerland that was independent until it united with the Methodist Evangelical Church in Italy in the Union of Methodist and ...
, which is now a Protestant church, has a strong presence here.
Language
Spoken dialect was the
Patois
''Patois'' (, pl. same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or ...
, which was an
occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language
Occitan (; o ...
dialect spoken in the town of
Villar Pellice
Villar Pellice (Vivaro-Alpine dialect, Vivaro-Alpine: ''Lo Vilar de Pèlis'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a popul ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
from where the settlers were originated. The dialect was spoken mainly in the
Colonia Department
Colonia () is a department of southwestern Uruguay. Its capital is Colonia del Sacramento, the country's second oldest city.
Weather
Colonia has an annual average temperature of 20.4 °C (68.7 °F). In winter it has an average temperat ...
, where the first pilgrims settled, in the city called
La Paz, Colonia
La Paz is a village in the Colonia Department of southwestern Uruguay.
Geography
The village is located on Route 52, south of Route 1. It is about southwest of Colonia Valdense and southwest of Nueva Helvecia.
History
This village was establ ...
. Today it is considered a dead language, although some elders at the mentioned location still practice it. There are still written tracts of the language in the
Waldensians
The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation.
Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...
Library (Biblioteca Valdense) in the town of Colonia Valdense,
Colonia Department
Colonia () is a department of southwestern Uruguay. Its capital is Colonia del Sacramento, the country's second oldest city.
Weather
Colonia has an annual average temperature of 20.4 °C (68.7 °F). In winter it has an average temperat ...
.
Patois
''Patois'' (, pl. same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or ...
speaker arrived to Uruguay from the
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
. They were
Waldensians
The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation.
Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...
, members of the oldest Protestant church in Italy, giving their name to the city Colonia Valdense which translated from the Spanish means
Waldensians
The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation.
Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...
Colony.
Its status was elevated to "Pueblo" (village) on 6 November 1951 by the Act of Ley N° 11.742. On 24 September 1982, it was renamed to "Colonia Valdense" and its status was elevated to "Ciudad" (city) by the Act of Decreto-Ley N° 15.323.
Population
According to the 2011 census, Colonia Valdense had a population of 3,235.
Source: ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay''
Places of worship
*
Waldensian Temple (
Waldensians
The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation.
Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...
)
[Colonia Valdense](_blank)
*
Our Lady of Fatima Chapel (
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
)
Twin towns
*
Luserna San Giovanni
Luserna San Giovanni (Occitan: ''Luzerna e San Jan'', Piedmontese: ''Luserna e San Gioann'', French: Lucerne Saint-Jean) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located in the Val Pellice a ...
,
References
External links
Information about Colonia Valdense at ''Multimedia Uruguay portal cultural''INE map of Colonia ValdenseLinguistic Book published by
University of the Republic (Uruguay)
The University of the Republic ( es, Universidad de la República, sometimes ''UdelaR'') is Uruguay's oldest public university. It is by far the country's largest university, as well as the second largest public university in South America and t ...
*
Populated places established in 1856
Populated places in the Colonia Department
Waldensianism
{{Colonia-geo-stub