Corsicans The Corsicans ( Corsican, Italian and Ligurian: ''Corsi''; French: ''Corses'') are a Romance ethnic group. They are native to Corsica, a Mediterranean island and a territorial collectivity of France. Origin The island was populated since ...

, coming mainly from the regions of Cap Corse and La Castagniccia in the mediterranean island of Corsica, started arriving in the first third of the 19th century and settled mainly in the coastal towns of

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

and rum industry in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Around the 1950s many Corsican families left Paria and settled in Caracas, and have been active in politics, commerce, medicine and the arts.

Historical background

The first Corsicans to settle in Venezuela were sailors and missionaries, who moved from the island when was part of the Italian

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. During the reign of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

Corsica suffered a decline in agricultural production (particularly in the wine, olive and chestnut industries) due to unfair trade practices imposed by France. That coupled with a population boom due to the eradication of malaria in coastal areas, forced many Corsican families to emigrate to the Caribbean. The first wave of Corsicans arrived in the Venezuelan region of Paria around 1830. Antonio Oletta, Francisco and Cayetano Morandi, José Vicente Franceschi and Juan Bautista Lucca were some of the first Corsicans to settle in the town of

Carúpano Carúpano is a city in the eastern Venezuelan state of Sucre. It is located on the Venezuelan Caribbean coast at the opening of two valleys, some 120 km east of the capital of Sucre, Cumaná.cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

exporting firms, most notable being that of the Franceschi & Co, established in 1830 and still existing today, making it one of Venezuela's oldest companies. There were two other significant waves of immigration at the end the 19th century. While most of them went to

Carúpano Carúpano is a city in the eastern Venezuelan state of Sucre. It is located on the Venezuelan Caribbean coast at the opening of two valleys, some 120 km east of the capital of Sucre, Cumaná.Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and

Ciudad Bolivar Ciudad () is the Spanish word for City Ciudad may also refer to: *La Ciudad (archaeological site), Hohokam ruins in Phoenix, Arizona *La Ciudad, district of Durango City, Mexico *''La ciudad'', novel by Mario Levrero 1970 *La Ciudad ''The City'' ...

. The Corsos controlled the Venezuelan

cocoa bean The cocoa bean (technically cocoa seed) or simply cocoa (), also called the cacao bean (technically cacao seed) or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substance ...

trade and modernized many of the towns where they lived.

In 1876, four companies -Franceschi & Cia., Massiani & Cia., Lucca & Cia. and Raffalli Bros., represented almost 90% of the export of cocoa carried out during that year. Nearly half a century later, in 1921, five companies -Franceschi & Cia., Prosperi & Cia. (founded 1890), Antoni Brothers, Benedetti, Vicentelli y Santelli & Cia. (founded 1889) and Raffalli Brothers still represented 80% of the export trade for cocoa from Carúpano. (Harwich Vallenilla, Nikita. La red comercial corsa. 1991). On 01.18.1870, the company « Compañia Minera Anonima El Callao » was founded by Liccioni & Cagninacci (cf Acta de Fundacion, en sesion de 6 de Marzo de 1883).

The port facilities, road improvements and a telegraph cable that connected Carúpano with

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

were some of the projects put forward by the Corsicans in Carúpano. During the turbulent dictatorship of General Cipriano Castro (1899-1908), the value of agricultural production contracted by 52%, the year of the economic blockade of the great European powers due to default on foreign debt. In 1908, accusing the opposition to his regime, General Castro massively expelled Corsican producers and traders established in and around Carúpano.

Distinguished Venezuelans of Corsican Descent

* Rafael Agostini Hospedales (1808-1881), writer and lawyer *

Olga Antonetti Olga "Olguita" Antonetti Núñez (February 19, 1945 – December 12, 1968) was a Venezuelan beauty pageant titleholder for 1962, and the official representative of Venezuela to the Miss International 1962 pageant held in Long Beach, Californi ...

(1945-1968),

Miss Venezuela 1962 Miss Venezuela 1962 was the ninth edition of Miss Venezuela pageant held at Teatro Paris (now called Teatro La Campiña) in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 27, 1962. The winner of the pageant was Olga Antonetti, Miss Anzoátegui. This was the first ...

Diego Arria Diego Enrique Arria Salicetti (born 8 October 1938 in Caracas, Venezuela), is a Venezuelan politician and diplomat who served as Venezuela's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1991–1993) and President of the Security Council (Mar ...

Salicetti (born 1938), economist, diplomat, polítician *

Josefina Benedetti Josefina Benedetti Punceles (born September 17, 1953) is a Venezuelan-American composer, musicologist and choral director. Biography Josefina Benedetti was born in New Haven, Connecticut from Venezuelan father of Corsican ancestors. She studie ...

(born 1955),composer * Oscar Benedetti Pietri (1926 - 2021), engineer *

Ernesto Branger Orzattoni Ernesto, form of the name Ernest in several Romance languages, may refer to: * ''Ernesto'' (novel) (1953), an unfinished autobiographical novel by Umberto Saba, published posthumously in 1975 ** ''Ernesto'' (film), a 1979 Italian drama loosely ba ...

(1853-1926), entrepreneur *

Aimée Battistini Aimée Battistini (1916-8 July 1989) was a Venezuelan painter. Biography Battistini was born to a Corsican family, in the state of Bolívar, Venezuela. From a young age she reproduced classics of oil painting. Upon moving to Paris in 1928 wi ...

(1916-1989), painter * Aristides Calvani (1918-1986), politician and lawyer * Aníbal Dominici (1837-1897), politician and lawyer * Santos Dominici (1869-1954), physician *

Alberto Franceschi Alberto Franceschi González (born 20 May 1947) is a Venezuelan politician and businessman. Since December 2013, Franceschi has been living in exile in the United States after the Nicolás Maduro government threatened to arrest him. Initially ...

(born 1949), politician and businessman * Arturo Hernández Grisanti (1927 – 2008) – writer, politician *

Arturo Uslar Pietri Arturo Uslar Pietri (16 May 1906 in Caracas – 26 February 2001) was a Venezuelan intellectual, historian, writer, television producer, and politician. Life Born on 16 May 1906 in Caracas, Venezuela, his parents were generalSantos Himiob ...

(1906 – 2001) – writer, intellectual, political thinker, winner of the

Prince of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

Raúl Leoni Raúl Leoni Otero (26 April 1905 – 5 July 1972) was the president of Venezuela from 1964 until 1969. He was a member of the Generation of 1928 and a charter member of the Acción Democrática party, and the first Labor minister of Venezuela (d ...

(1905 -1972) – President of Venezuela, 1964–1969 *

Jaime Lusinchi Jaime Ramón Lusinchi (27 May 1924 – 21 May 2014) was a Venezuelan politician who was the president of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the external debt, populist policies, currency dep ...

(May 27, 1924 – May 21, 2014) – President of Venezuela, 1984–1989 * Antonio Liccioni (1817 - 1901), gold miner entrepreneur of

El Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Call ...

Juan Liscano Juan Liscano Velutini (7 July 1915 – 17 February 2001) was a Venezuelan poet, folklorist, writer and critic. He was director of Monte Ávila Editores. Major examples of his poetic work are: ''Nuevo mundo Orinoco'' (1959), ''Cármenes'' (1966) ...

(1915-2001), poet, writer, folklorist, editor * Francisco Massiani (1944 - 2019), writer * Ascanio Negretti (1897 - 1949), violinist * Ángel Santos Palazzi (1877 - 1916), militar * Alicia Pietri (1923 - 2011), public figure who twice served as First Lady of Venezuela (1969–1974 and 1994–1999) * Luis Geronimo Pietri (1892 - 1969), politician, diplomat and lawyer * Berenice Perrone (born 1936), singer and actress *

Bartolomé Tavera Acosta Bartolomé Tavera Acosta (1865–1931) was a Venezuelan journalist and historian. He is considered a pioneer of ethnology and linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study bec ...

(1865-1931) Historian, ethnologist, linguist and journalist * Leon Santelli, rum Master *

Espartaco Santoni Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...

(1937-1998), actor *

Leopoldo Sucre Figarella Leopoldo Sucre Figarella was a Venezuelan politician and engineer of Corsican ancestors. A member of the Sucre family Sucre Figarella served as governor, minister and senator during his long and eventful political career. He was nicknamed "The Bui ...

(1926-1996), politician * Jose Felix Oletta, physician and politician * Luis Augusto Vegas Benedetti (1935-2006), trader and politician * José Antonio Velutini (1844-1912), militar *

Luis Emilio Velutini Luis Emilio Velutini (born January 8, 1953, in Caracas) is a businessman and investor of the Latin American financial and real estate market. A descendant of Vicente José María Velutini, an immigrant from Corsica who arrived in Venezuela during th ...

(born 1953), businessman

External links

Puerto Rican and Venezuelan Connections, Corsica Isula

Venezuela y la inmigracion corsaBetween America and Europe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corsican Emigration To Venezuela Corsican diaspora Demographics of Venezuela History of Corsica

Historical background

Distinguished Venezuelans of Corsican Descent

See also

External links