Pio Lava Boccardo (also known as Pio Lava and Pio Alessandro Lava Boccardo) (

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

, Kingdom of Italy, 31 May 1902;

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 the ...

, Venezuela, 16 August 1971) was an Italian-Venezuelan zootechnician and wildlife breeder. He was director of the zoological parks of

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

and Las Delicias ( Maracay) and founding director of the Parque Zoológico El Pinar, the first zoological park in

, in 1945.

Life

He was born on May 31, 1902, in Alessandria della Paglia,

Piedmont region it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, during the period of the Kingdom of Italy. His parents were Pietro Lava and Maria Boccardo. As a teenager he was part of the

Italian diaspora , 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 ...

that sailed to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

after the First World War, promoted mainly by the economic crisis of the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, the rise of Fascism in Italy with

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

as the main leader, and the promise of great opportunities for personal growth in the New World. Upon arriving in Venezuela in 1921, he settled in

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

at a time of great economic boom in the oil industry. He contracted

nuptials A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

on October 14, 1931, with Panamanian Dolores Sánchez Martín, from a distinguished family of Spanish immigrants formed by Luis Sánchez Caicedo and Elvira Martín. He procreated two daughters: María Elvira (born in

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

in 1932), and Luisa Antonia (born in

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

in 1935); and two sons: Antonio Pedro (born in Maracay in 1937) and Pedro Alejandro (born in Maracay in 1940). Between 1935 and 1945 he was the director of the

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

and Las Delicias ( Maracay) zoos. The latter was originally built to house the personal collection of Juan Vicente Gómez in a section of the Hacienda Sabana de Paja (later called Las Delicias) in 1915. His wife Dolores Sánchez Martín died suddenly from undetermined causes, on May 11, 1943, in Maracay. On August 13, 1945, he participated in the inauguration of the El Pinar Zoological Park in

as director of the new enclosure intended mainly for the exhibition of local wildlife specimens. The land where this new zoological garden was installed was part of the Hacienda La Vaquera, a property previously owned by Juan Vicente Gómez which had been confiscated in 1935. On June 13, 1950, the Government of the United States of Venezuela issued the decree by which it issued a naturalization letter and granted him Venezuelan citizenship. That act determined his resignation to his Italian citizenship. He died on August 16, 1971, at the age of 69 in the Military Hospital of

as a consequence of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT: 1902 births 1971 deaths People from Alessandria Italian emigrants to Venezuela