Chinatown in Milan is an
ethnic enclave
In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
situated in the
8th quarter of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
(
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 ...
), and it is an important commercial district. It is the oldest and largest Chinese community in Italy, with about 21,000 people in 2011.
The Milanese
Chinatown was originally established in via Canonica in the 1920s by immigrants from
Wencheng County
Wencheng () is one of the five counties in the prefecture-level city of Wenzhou, in southern Zhejiang province, with a population of 250,000 .
The county is located in the southwest of Wenzhou city proper, and borders Ruian city, Taishun County ...
, in the
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...
province, and used to operate small textile and leather workshops.
Today the district is filled with hairdressing salons, fashion
boutiques, silk and leather stores, libraries, traveling agencies, medicine centres and massage parlours. The Chinese takeaways and restaurants in the area are mostly specialised in
Zhejiang cuisine. Several Italian-Chinese companies are also headquartered in the neighborhood, including the editorial desk of the newspaper ''Europe China Daily''.
Via Paolo Sarpi is the main street and is largely a pedestrian area. Other important locations are Via Bramante, Via
Giovanni Battista Niccolini
Giovanni Battista Niccolini (29 October 1782 – 20 September 1861) was an Italian poet and playwright of the Italian unification movement or Risorgimento.
Life
In 1782, Niccolini was born in Bagni San Giuliano to a family of limited means. He ...
Via Giovanni Battista Niccolini
in Milan, OpenStreetMap, retrieved 23 November 2014 and Via Aleardo Aleardi.
References
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
Districts of Milan
{{Lombardy-geo-stub