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 Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, started arriving in the first third of the 19th century and settled mainly in the coastal towns 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.Rio Caribe Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

. Known locally as Los Corsos, Corsicans played a central role in the development of the

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 an ...

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 Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in th ...

, 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 neph ...

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 Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both 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 an ...

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 c ...

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 Fermentation, fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', from which cocoa solids (a mixture of non ...

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 José Cipriano Castro Ruiz (12 October 1858 – 4 December 1924) was a high-ranking member of the Venezuelan military, politician and the president of Venezuela from 1899 to 1908. He was the first man from the Andes to rule the country, and was ...

(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 (1945-1968), Miss Venezuela 1962 * Diego Arria Salicetti (born 1938), economist, diplomat, polítician * Josefina Benedetti (born 1955),composer * Oscar Benedetti Pietri (1926 - 2021), engineer * Ernesto Branger Orzattoni (1853-1926), entrepreneur * Aimée Battistini (1916-1989), painter * Aristides Calvani (1918-1986), politician and lawyer * Aníbal Dominici (1837-1897), politician and lawyer * Santos Dominici (1869-1954), physician * Alberto Franceschi (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 * Raúl Leoni (1905 -1972) – President of Venezuela, 1964–1969 * Jaime Lusinchi (May 27, 1924 – May 21, 2014) – President of Venezuela, 1984–1989 * Antonio Liccioni (1817 - 1901), gold miner entrepreneur of El Callao * Juan Liscano (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 (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 upri ...

(1937-1998), actor * Leopoldo Sucre Figarella (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 (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