Italian Venezuelans

Italian Venezuelans are Venezuelan citizens of Italian descent. The word may refer to someone born in Venezuela of Italian descent or to someone who has emigrated to Venezuela from Italy. Italians were among the largest groups of European immigrants to settle in the country. Approximately 5 million Venezuelans have some degree of Italian ancestry.

Italians began arriving in Venezuela in massive numbers in the last half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries. Yet Italians began to transmit a sound cultural heritage, giving and receiving demonstrations of social empathy, which contributed to their integration and to the huge flows into Venezuela in 1947 and in 1948.

The massive presence of travelers, explorers, missionaries, and other peninsular and insular Italian immigrants over the course of almost 500 years made Venezuela acquire a Latin vocation instead of a Hispanic one. Italians also influenced Venezuelan accent, given its slight sing-songy intonation.

History

Before the discovery of huge deposits of oil in Venezuela, during the first half of the 20th century, the emigration of Italians to Venezuela was limited. A number of Italians moved to Venezuela from Italy during the colonial times as Filippo Salvatore Gilii, José Cristóbal Roscio, Francisco Isnardi. In the Republican era of the 19th century there was a small number of Italians and their descendants who attained high status in Venezuelan society, such as Agostino Codazzi, Constante Ferrari, Carlos Luis Castelli and the surgeon Luis Razetti.

In the 1940s and 1950s the Dictatorship of the general Marcos Pérez Jiménez promoted european immigration to his depopulated country, and more than 300,000 Italians emigrated to Venezuela where flourished under his administration because he had started many urban infrastructure projects thanks to the revenues of oil exportation. There were ample opportunities to work in construction developments, and as a result the economic stance increased within its cities, especially Caracas, Valencia, Barquisimeto and Maracaibo. The Electoral Law of 1957, which allotted to foreigners voting rights for the very first time, became a detrimental event for the Italian communities in Venezuela. The law was put into place by General Pérez Jiménez, to aid him in his reelection campaign . The loss of Perez Jimenez in the presidential referendum meant that his social programs would end, and a huge gap in leadership would follow.

The Italian immigrants had notably supported President Perez Jimenez’s referendum of December 2 of 1957, as well as expressing public adherence to the dictatorship by about 75,000 Italians liderated by the entreprenour Filippo Gagliardi. And so, when the General Perez Jimenez fell from power in January 23 of 1958 the hostile attitude of the provisional military government towards the removed president was also reflected on the groups who were supportive of him. For this reason, many migrants and their families chose to return to Italy through the following year, subsiding towards the end of February, when the Minister of Foreign Affairs recognized the potential damage of this shift and proceeded to guarantee security to the remaining Italians in Venezuela. This is a relevant factor, since acts of disdain towards the Italian populace undoubtedly affected the decisions of that ethnic group in regards to choosing to leave or enter the country.

The Italians in the 1961 Venezuelan census were the biggest European community in Venezuela (ahead of the Spanish).

In 1966, according to the Italian Embassy in Caracas, of the 170,000 Italians present in the country, 90% lived in the main cities: about 96,000 in Caracas, 14,000 in Maracaibo, 8,000 in Maracay, 6,000 in Valencia and 5,000 in La Guayra. Most of these Italians were born in Sicily, Campania and Puglia; only 15% were born in northern Italy (mainly in Emilia-Romagna). They initially worked in construction, in the service sector, in commercial agencies and in different businesses (like hotels, banks, restaurants, etc.), in manufacturing activities (the shoe industry in Caracas, for example, was fully in Italian hands) and a few also in the oil industry.

In 1976 the "Dirección de Estadísticas" of Venezuela registered 210,350 Italians residents and 25,858 Italians "naturalised" (who had obtained Venezuelan citizenship). In 2001, 126,553 Italians were living in Venezuela.

Marisa Vannini calculated that in the 1980s Italian-Venezuelans made up almost 400,000 of Venezuela's population, including second-generation descendants of immigrants. The Italian language in Venezuela is influencing Venezuelan Spanish with some modisms and loanwords and is experiencing a notable revival between the Italian-Venezuelans of second and third generation.

Santander Laya-Garrido estimated that the Venezuelans with at least one grandparent from Italy can be nearly one million at the beginning of the 21st century (like the former president of Venezuela, Raul Leoni, whose grandfather was an Italian mason refugee of the 19th century).

Currently, Italian citizens resident in Venezuela are reduced to less than 50,000 due mainly to demographic mortality and to their return to Italy (because of a Venezuelan political and economic crisis in the 2000s). The Ambassador of Italy in Venezuela, estimated that 5–6% (1.44 to 1.73 million) of the current Venezuelan population is of Italian origin.

Professions

Initially, agriculture was one of the main activities of the Italian community in Venezuela. In the 1950s, entire Italian families were moved from Italy to special agricultural areas, like the "Colonia Turén" of the Portuguesa region.

However, most Italians concentrated in commercial, building and services activities during the second half of the 20th century. In those sectors, Italians reached top positions in the Venezuelan economy.

The community's main Italian newspapers are ''Il Corriere di Caracas'' and ''La Voce d'Italia'

both published in the Capital, and the main Italian school is the ''Agustin Codazzi'' of Caracas (with courses from elementary to high school). Since 2002, the Italian government has become the promoter for a provision which makes it mandatory to teach the Italian language as a second language in a consistent number of public and private schools within Venezuela.

Most of the Italian community in Caracas but even in the rest of Venezuela followed Deportivo Italia football club, as its own representative team.

Indeed, the Italian-Venezuelans have obtained significant results in the contemporary society of Venezuela. The Italian Embassy calculates that 1/4 of the Venezuelan industries, not related to the oil sector, are directly or indirectly owned and/or managed by Italian-Venezuelans.

In the Italian community, actually one of the most important in Venezuela, there are Presidents of Venezuela (like Jaime Lusinchi and Raúl Leoni), entrepreneurs (like ing. Delfino, who with his "Constructora Delpre" made in Caracas the tallest skyscrapers of South America: Parque Central Complex), managers (like Pompeo D'Ambrosio), sportsmen (like Johnny Cecotto), artists (like Franco De Vita), beauty pageants (like Daniela di Giacomo and Viviana Gibelli), and many others personalities.

One winner of the title Miss Venezuela was born in Italy: María Antonieta Cámpoli in 1972 (later she represented Venezuela in the Miss Universe, where she was the runner-up).

Main Italo-Venezuelan Institutions and Associations

* ''Asociación Civil "Agustin Codazzi"'' in Caracas
* ''Casa de Italia'' in Caracas, Maracay, Valencia, Ciudad Bolívar
* ''Centro Italo-Venezolano'' in Caracas, Barcelona, Maracaibo, Valencia
* ''Club Social Italiano'' in Puerto La Cruz, Acarigua, Calabozo
* ''Deportivo Italia'' Football Club
* ''Instituto Italiano de Cultura'' in Caracas
* ''Camera di Commercio, Industria ed Agricoltura Venezuelana-Italiana'' in Caracas
* ''Regional Associations'' of Italians in Venezuela
* ''Genealogía Italiana en Venezuela''

Education

The Colegio Agustín Codazzi in Caracas is an overseas Italian school recognized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy.

There are also multiple Italo-Venezuelan schools in the country:Informazioni utili nel Paese


. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy (Farnesina). Retrieved on November 21, 2015.

Caracas:
*Colegio Agustín Codazzi
* Colegio San Francisco d'Assisi
* Colegio Nuestra Señora de Pompei
* Colegio Amerigo Vespucci
* Collegio San Marco Evangelista
* Collegio Patria
* Colegio Bolivar y Garibaldi

Eastern Venezuela:
* Collegio Maria Montessori in Ciudad Bolivar
* Collegio Angelo de Marta in Puerto La Cruz

Western Venezuela:
* Collegio R. C. Agazzi in Barquisimeto
* Collegio San Pedro in Barquisimeto
* Collegio Juan XXIII in Maracay
* Collegio Antonio Rosmini in Maracaibo
* Unidad Educativa Juan XXIII in Cabimas

Geographical distribution and origin

The Italians who migrated to Venezuela came mainly from the regions of South Italy, like Abruzzo, Campania, Sicily, and Apulia, but there were also migrants from the north, such as from Emilia-Romagna and Veneto.

The Italian Consulate in Caracas stated that in 1977, of 210,350 Italians residents in Venezuela, 39,855 were from Sicily, 35,802 from Campania, 20,808 from Abruzzi, 18,520 from Apulia, 8,953 from Veneto, 7,650 from Emilia-Romagna and 6,184 from Friuli – Venezia Giulia.

The Italians are concentrated mainly in the north-central region of Venezuela around Caracas. The Consulate stated that in the same 1977 there were 98,106 Italians in the Distrito Federal of Caracas, 39,508 in Miranda State, 14,203 in Maracaibo, 12.801 in Aragua State and 8,104 in Carabobo State, as well as 66 in the Amazonas equatorial region.

In the 2000s, it was determined that nearly 90% of the Italo-Venezuelans were concentrated in the northern coastal section of Venezuela facing the Caribbean sea. Approximately 2/3 of them are residents of the metropolitan areas of the three main Venezuelan cities: Caracas, Maracaibo and Valencia.

There is also a considerable number of Italian residents that live in the city of San Cristóbal and in the Andes region.

Demographics

Population

States with the highest proportions of Italian-born population tend to be those of the North-central coastal area (Capital and Central Region), the Andean Region ( Mérida) and the Insular Region.

At the 2011 census, this was the breakdown of Italian-born population by state, showing that the capital area was the one with the biggest concentration of native Italians.

Italian Influences

Language

Italian was introduced to Venezuela by Italian immigrants, and it now has over 200,000 speakers, making it the country's second most spoken language after Spanish. Italian was widely spoken across the country, specially in the capital "Caracas," "Maracay," and other cities; it is also commonly spoken (mostly by the older generation) by residents of the town of La Carlota, a town in Venezuela which was one of the main settlements for Italians immigrants, regional languages of Italy were also brought to the country such as Neapolitan and Sicilian, Italian is the second language of many Venezuelans of Italian descent after Spanish, also the Italian government has become the promoter of a provision requiring the teaching of Italian as a second language in a constant number of public and private schools within Venezuela.

Cuisine

Italian cuisine is one of the most influential in the country's every day in fact, Venezuela is the second country in the world with the most consumption of pasta only after Italy itself. Pasta is the third most consumed product in Venezuela, whose per capita consumption is 12.6 kg.

Pasticho (lasagna in Italian) is extremely common dish in Venezuelan Cuisine, Pasticho basically Lasagne is one of the traditional Venezuelan dishes being popular as hallaca, it is consumed in the original form, but also received adaptations, the variants are innumerable, for example, in some, layers of ham are added or the pasta is replaced by banana or by cachapas leafs, a version which is known as ''chalupa,'' in others it has been completely modified which involve sauce of chicken or fish, and ''Pasticho de berenjena'' which resembles greek Moussaka.

Pizza is one of the most popular dishes in Venezuelan cuisine, pizza has had completely different contrast and variations. L'Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana has approved Portarossa, a Venezuelan business, for "La margarita," which comprises mozzarella cheese, and "La Marinada," which contains tomato sauce and garlic, as the eighth Latin American pizza certified as Pizza Napolitana by this establesiment, is an example of the various variants of pizzas in the country; it serves numerous types of pizzas, including "La Pizza Parrilla," which is made with chicken, pork, chorizo, and french fries, as well as Focaccia de Lomito carpaccio.

Polenta originated in Italy originally made from boiled cornmeal. Funche as it is better known in Venezuela, has been incorporated into stews. The typical dish is made with chicken. In the East and West of the country they additionally prepare it with sardines. The typical Polenta of Venezuela is a baked cake made from a mix of precooked corn (Harina P.A.N.), water and salt, stuffed with some meat, chicken, fish or pig stew.

Cannoli is a pastry tube filled with ricotta cheese and honey or chocolate.

Notable Italian-Venezuelans

Architecture

* Jorge Rigamonti – Designed multiple national and international award-winning buildings
*Graziano Gasparini – Architect, architectural historian and painter

Musicians

*Benito Canónico – Composer
*Rodolfo Saglimbeni – Conductor
*Nacho (singer) – Singer
*Antonio Lauro – Musician
* Franco De Vita – Artist, singer, composer and pianist
*Rosario Marciano – Pianist and writer
*Pablo Manavello – Composer, guitarist, singer and songwriter
* Iván Pérez Rossi – Singer and musician
*Alejandra Ghersi – Musician commonly known as Arca (musician)
* Yordano – Composer and singer
*Humberto Bruni Lamanna – Classical guitarist
*Roberto Luti – Singer and record producer
* Corrado Galzio – Piano player and founder of cultural radio
*Primo Casale – Composer, conductor and violinist
* Lele Pons – Singer and internet personality
* Jorge Spiteri – Rock musician pioneer
* Rudy la Scala – Singer and record producer
* Evio Di Marzo Migani – Songwriter and composer
*Daniel Calveti – Singer
* Gabriel Coronel – Singer
*Italo Pizzolante – Composer and musician

Actors and entertainers

*Gioia Arismendi – Actress
* Paula Bellini – TV entertainer
*Briggitte Bozzo – Actress
* Umberto Buonocuore - Actor
* Verónica Ortiz – Actress
*Desideria D'Caro – Actress
*Viviana Gibelli – Actress and producer
*Alejandro Nones - Actor
* Jullye Giliberti – Actress
* Enrique Sapene - Actor
*Fedra López – Actress
*Carla Baratta – Actress
*Anastasia Mazzone – Actress
*Dora Mazzone – Actress
* Fanny Otatti – TV entertainer
*Sheyene Gerardi – Actress and producer
* Concetta Lo Dolce – Actress
*Viviana Gibelli – TV show host and actress
*Renny Ottolina – Producer and TV entertainer
*Alba Roversi – Actress
*Dante Carle – Actor
*Irma Palmieri – Actress
*Patricia Zavala – TV presenter
*Roberto Messuti – Actor
*Marisela Berti – Actress
*Humberto Tancredi – Actor
*Ángel David Revilla – Personality and writer
* Andrés Mistage – Actor
*Luciano D'Alessandro – Actor
*Fernando Carrillo – Actor and singer
*Marisa Román – Actress
*Wanda D'Isidoro – Actress
*Rosanna Zanetti – Actress
* Caterinna Valentino – TV hostess
* Maria Grazia Bianchi – Actress
*Julie Restifo – Actress
*Dora Mazzone – Actress
*Marjorie Magri – Actress
*Claudia La Gatta – Actress
*Giancarlo Pasqualotto – Actor
*Laura Termini – Actress
*Gigi Zanchetta – Actress
* Gioia Lombardini – Actress
*Mónica Pasqualotto – Actress
*Camila Canabal Sapelli – TV hostess
*Paula Bevilacqua – Actress
*Ainett Stephens – Television personality
* Annarella Bono – Actress and TV hostess
*Julie Restifo – Actress
*Doris Wells – Actress
*Carlos Guillermo Haydon – Actor
*Luciano D'Alessandro – Actor
*Antonio Delli – Actor
* Gabriel Coronel – Actor
* Sandro Finoglio – Actor
*Roberto Lamarca – Actor
*Dino D’Avanzo – Chef host TV
*Dayana Colmenares – Television personality

Scientists

* Leon Croizat – Biologist
*José Del Vecchio – Physician
* Francisco De Venanzi – Physician
*Santos Dominici – Physician
*Francisco Mago Leccia – Ichthyologist
*Alejandra Melfo – Physicist
* Carlos Alberto Moros Ghersi – Internist
*Domingo Luciani – Physician
* Olga Gasparini – Sociologist
*Luis Razetti – Physician
* Milena Sardi de Selle – Psychiatrist
*Nora Bustamante Luciani – Physician
*Otto Huber – Biologist

Journalists

* Rafael Agostini – Journalist
* Gaetano Bafile – Journalist
* Enza Carbone– Journalist, TV presenter
* Jose Gerbasi– Journalist
*Roberto Giusti – Journalist
*Nelson Bocaranda – Journalist
* Eduardo Rodriguez Giolitti – Journalist
* Sergio Novelli – Journalist
* Pedro Penzini Fleury – Journalist
*Anna Vaccarella – Journalist
*Marianela Balbi – Journalist
* Silvia Bernardini – Journalist
*José Nucete Sardi – Journalist
*Miyó Vestrini – Journalist
* Pascual Venegas Filardo – Journalist
* Ana Vacarella – Journalist
*Carlos Henríquez Consalvi – Journalist
* Lindsay Casinelli – Journalist
*Margarita D'Amico – Journalist
* José Visconti– Journalist

Economy

* Alberto Adriani – Economist
*Pompeo D'Ambrosio – Financial manager and vice-president of bank
* Calogero Paparoni - Coffee trader
*Filippo Gagliardi- Entreprenour
* Armando Scannone- Engineer
* Filippo Sindoni- Industrialist

Painters

* Juan Vicente Fabbiani – Painter
*Francisco Massiani – Writer and painter
*Emilio Boggio – Painter
*Emilio Jacinto Mauri – Painter

Religious

* Filippo Salvatore Gilii – Italian Jesuit priest and linguist who lived in the Province of Venezuela before the War of Independence
* Enzo Ceccarelli –

Politicians

* Jaime Lusinchi – President of Venezuela (1984–1989)
*Raul Leoni – President of Venezuela (1964–1969)
* Agostino Codazzi – Geographer, cartographer, military officer and governor
*Carlo Castelli – Italian military that fought with Simon Bolivar in the Venezuelan War of Independence
* Juan German Roscio – Lawyer, chief architect of the Venezuelan Constitution of 1811
*Rafael Lacava – Governor of Carabobo
*Vicencio Scarano Spisso – Politician
* Aníbal Dominici – Politician
*Otto Hernández Pieretti – Politician
* Alberto Carnevali – Politician
* Carlos Alberto D'Ascoli – Politician
*Mario Masciulli – Military engineer
* Francisco Isnardi – Politician
*Alberto Franceschi – Politician
* José Antonio Velutini – Politician
*Diego Alfredo Molero Bellavia – Politician

Sports

* Amleto Monacelli – Bowler
*Ettore Chimeri – F1 driver
*Miguel Mea Vitali – Footballer
*Fernando Aristeguieta - Footballer
* Rafael Mea Vitali – Footballer
* Jaime Moreno Ciorciari – Footballer
* Andrés Rouga – Footballer
*Jefferson Savarino - Footballer
*Sandro Notaroberto - Footballer
*Francisco La Mantía - Footballer
*Francisco Cervelli – Major League Baseball player
*Massimo Margiotta – Footballer
*Andres Galarraga – MLB player
* Marco Scutaro – MLB baseball player
* Gianfranco Di Julio – Soccer player
*Giovanni Carrara – Major League Baseball player
* Gabriel Cichero – Football defender
* José Luis Dolgetta – Footballer
* Nahuel Ferraresi – Footballer
*Francisco Carabalí – Footballer
*Giancarlo Schiavone – Footballer
*Matías Lacava – Footballer
* Ángel Agnello – Footballer
* Ricardo Andreutti – Footballer
*Carlos Angelini – Footballer
*Gilberto Angelucci – Footballer
*Luis Annese – Footballer
* Diego Araguainamo – Footballer
* Samuel Barbieri – Footballer
*Héctor Bidoglio – Footballer
* Mauro Cichero – Footballer
* Gabriel Cichero – Footballer
* Vicente Suanno – Footballer
* Yaquino Celli – Footballer
*Franco Signorelli – Footballer
* Humberto Scovino – Footballer
*John Cernicciaro – Footballer
*Diego García Veneri – Footballer
* Ricardo Mammarella – Footballer
* Jorge Casanova – Footballer
* Alexander Bottini – Footballer
* José Rafael Bottini – Footballer
* Daniel Saggiomo – Footballer
* Enzo Potolicchio – Racing driver
*María Elena Giusti – Swimmer
* Andrés Galarraga – Baseball player
*Enrico Forcella – Sport shooter
*Guillermo Vento – Baseball player
* Jimy Szymanski – Tennis player
*Daniel Canónico – Baseball right-handed pitcher
*Giovanni Savarese – Former soccer player
*José Antonio Casanova – Baseball manager
*María Vento – Tennis player
* Rubén Limardo – Fencer
*Johnny Cecotto – Sportman (moto & race cars)
*Iván Palazzese – Sportman (moto)
*Juan Carlos Bianchi – Tennis player
* Francisco Limardo – épée fencer
*Johnny Cecotto – Moto driver

Beauty queens

*Daniela Di Giacomo – Miss International
*Michelle Bertolini – Miss International
*Marzia Piazza – Miss Venezuela 1969
*Diana Croce – Miss World Venezuela 2016
*Debora Menicucci – Miss World Venezuela
*Donatella Bottone – Miss International
*Gabriella Ferrari – Miss World Venezuela
* Jeannette Donzella – Miss Venezuela 1971
* Monica Lei – Miss World Venezuela
*Faviola Spitale – Miss International
* Graciela Guarneri – Miss International
* Fabiola Candosin – Miss World Venezuela
*Carolina Cerruti – Miss World Venezuela
* Patricia Tóffoli – Miss World Venezuela
* Olga Antonetti – Miss Venezuela 1962
*María Antonieta Cámpoli – Miss Venezuela 1972
*Paola Ruggeri – Miss Venezuela 1983
*Adriana Vasini – Miss world Venezuela
*Mariam Habach – Miss Venezuela 2015
* Mariángela Bonanni - Miss World Venezuela 2010
*Valeria Vespoli - Miss Supranational Venezuela

Writers

*Job Pim – Writer
*Tulio Chiossone – Writer
* Odoardo Crema – Writer
*Victoria De Stefano – Writer
*Vicente Gerbasi – Writer

See also

* Italian diaspora
* Italian language in Venezuela
* Italy–Venezuela relations
* Corsican immigration to Venezuela
* Deportivo Italia (1948-2010)

References

External links

Statistical Data on the Italians in the world

Italian emigration



Italiani nel Venezuela (in Italian)

Bibliography

* Cassani Pironti, Fabio. ''Gli italiani in Venezuela dall’Indipendenza al Secondo Dopoguerra''. Roma, 2004
* Favero L. e Sacchetti G. ''Un secolo di emigrazione italiana: 1876–1976''. Centro Studi Emigrazioni. Roma, 1978
* Mille, Nicola. ''Veinte Años de "MUSIUES"''. Editorial Sucre. Caracas, 1965
* Santander Laya-Garrido, Alfonso. ''Los Italianos forjadores de la nacionalidad y del desarrollo economico en Venezuela''. Editorial Vadell. Valencia, 1978.
* Vannini, Marisa. ''Italia y los Italianos en la Historia y en la Cultura de Venezuela''. Oficina Central de Información. Caracas, 1966

{{Italian schools in Venezuela

Venezuela