There are over 100,000 Sri Lankans in Italy. Many are permanent residents or have moved there in search of work.

History

Early sources show that Sri Lankans have had a presence in the areas of present-day Italy since the Roman times. According to historian Pliny, four people from Sri Lanka visited the court of Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

in 50 AD. There was another delegation from Sri Lanka into Rome during the era of Emperor

Julian Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (give ...

in 375 AD. There were strong links between the two countries and Sri Lanka was known as 'Taprobane' to the Romans. Sri Lankans started to migrate to Italy in the 1970s. Italy was attractive to the migrants due to perceived easier employment opportunities and entry, compared to other European countries. The first immigration waves during the second half of the Eighties consisted mainly of Tamils, followed by Sinhalese at the beginning of the 1990s. In the late 1970s, Catholic women migrated to Italy to work in elderly homes. Many Sri Lankans have also illegally migrated to Italy. Admission acts also encouraged more Sri Lankans to migrate to Italy. For example, the Dini Decree in 1996 made it easier for Sri Lankan workers to bring their families to Italy. In Rome, Naples and Milan, the Sri Lankans have built up "enlarged families", where jobs are exchanged among relatives and compatriots.

Demographics

Sociologist

Enrica Morlicchio Enrica is a feminine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Enrica Antonioni (born 1952), Italian film director and actress *Enrica Bonaccorti (born 1949), Italian actress *Enrica Calabresi (1891–1944), Italian zoologist *Enri ...

estimated in 1992 that 2/3rds of the Sri Lankan population in Italy was Sinhalese and Tamils constituted 1/3rd. The major Sinhalese communities in Italy are located in Lombardia (In the districts Loreto and

Lazzaretto A lazaretto or lazaret (from it, lazzaretto a diminutive form of the Italian word for beggar cf. lazzaro) is a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. ...

), Milan, Lazio, Rome, Naples and

Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

(Particularly

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

and

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

). Most Italian Sinhalese work as domestic workers. But they have also opened businesses such as restaurants, cleaning enterprises (e.g. Cooperativa Multietnica di Pulizie Sud-Est), call centres, video-shops, traditional food shops and minimarkets. Sinhalese are the majority of Sri Lankan Italians in most of Italy, and Sri Lankan Tamils contribute the majority of Sri Lankan Italians in Sicily.

Community

The major community organisation representing Sri Lankans in Italy is the

Sri Lanka Association Italy Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, ...

. Smaller community and political organisation exist in areas with a sizable Sri Lankan population such as the Sri Lanka Association Florence, Coordinamento Tamil, Centro Culturale Tamil, Sri Lanka Women's Association Napoli and Associazione dei Tamil in Italia. Several other organizations are based in cities including Naples, Bologna,

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

etc.

Notable Sri Lankan Italians

Nadeesha Uyangoda
– Journalist and Writer
L'unica persona nera nella stanza
66thand2nd, 2021) *

Sepala Ekanayake Sepala Ekanayake (or Ekanayaka; born June 3, 1949, in Karatota, Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka) gained international notoriety after hijacking an Alitalia Boeing 747 with 340 passengers on June 30, 1982. Life and career Early life Ekanayake atte ...

– Sri Lankan hijacker of the Alitalia Boeing 747 *

Hemantha Jayasena Hemantha G Nag Jayasena (born September 16, 1971) is a Sri Lankan-born Italian cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and leg-break bowler. Jayasena first played cricket back in 1990, turning out for Sri Lankan Premier League side Panadura Sport ...

– Sri Lankan born Italian cricketer. * Samantha de Mel – Sri Lankan born Italian former cricketer

References

External links