There is a small Italian community in India ( it, italo-indiani, also called Italian Indians) consisting mainly of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n citizens of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

heritage as well with expatriates and migrants from

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 ...

who reside in

Migration History

Since

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, people from the Italian peninsula moved to India mainly as merchants. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the first Italians to arrive in India were

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

and Christian missionaries. Since the 16th century, many of these Italian Jesuits came to South India, mainly Goa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Some of the most well known Jesuits in India include Antonio Moscheni, Constanzo Beschi, Roberto de Nobili and Rodolfo Acquaviva In the 1940s, during World War II, the British brought Italian prisoners of war, who were captured in either Europe or North Africa, to Bangalore and Madras. They were put up at the Garrison Grounds, today's Parade Grounds-Cubbon Road area. In February 1941, about 2,200 Italian prisoners of war arrived in Bangalore by a special train and marched to internment camps at Byramangala, 20 miles from Bangalore. In recent years, many Italians have been coming to India for business purposes. Today, Italy is India's fifth largest trading partner in the European Union. The Italian government has already identified India as a priority country and, in particular, as the Focus Country for 2007 and there are several Italian companies currently doing business in India. Many Italian expatriates in India therefore tend to be entrepreneurs from multi-national companies. In addition, there are some students. Italy also maintains an active diplomatic presence in India; apart from an embassy in Delhi, it has consulates in Goa, Mumbai and Kolkata. There are currently between 15,000 to 20,000 Italian nationals in India based mostly in South India. The city of Mumbai itself has a sizeable number of Italians and some in Chennai.

Notable people

Sonia Gandhi Birth name#Maiden and married names, née Maino is an Indian politician born in Lusiana near Veneto (northern Italy) and served as the President of the Indian National Congress. Sonia Gandhi married into the influential Nehru-Gandhi family and is the daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi and the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, she initially shunned politics, only to be elected as the leader of the INC in 1998. In September 2010, on being re-elected for the fourth time, she became the longest serving president in the 125-year history of the Congress. Other notable Indians of Italian birth or descent include: * Swami Yogananda Giri - Hindu religious figure and Founder of the Unione Induista Italia * Shiva Keshavan - Indian luger * Dino Morea - Indian actor * Ileana Citaristi - Odissi dancer * Lekha Washington - Indian film actress and model * Alessia Dipol - Italian-born Togolese alpine skier who formerly represented India (2011-2013)

References

External links

Italian Cultural Institute in New Delhi

Consulate General of Italy in Mumbai

Centro Risorse India

Italian Trade Commission India
{{Portal bar, India, Italy Europeans in India Italian diaspora by country, India Indian people of Italian descent, Diasporas in India, Italian India–Italy relations

Migration History

Notable people

See also

References

External links