Italian Venezuelans

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 (among them Agostino Codazzi) moved to Venezuela from Italy during the colonial times and the Simón Bolívar era. In the second half of the XIX century there was a small number of Italians and their descendants, who were able to reach important levels inside the Venezuelan society, like Luis Razetti.

By 1926 there were 3009 Italians in Venezuela... approximately one-third lived in the capital, one-sixth in Trujillo and there were respectable showings in Bolivar, Carabobo, and Monagas. Zulia, with its port of Maracaibo, had gained in importance...... The "Societa' Fratellanza Italiana" was a mutual benefit society founded in Caracas in 1883. Other organizations of the small Italian community included the "Associazione Nazionale Combatenti", the "Lega Navale Italiana", the "Camera di Comercio Italiana in Venezuela", a section of the "Croce Rossa Italiana" and, founded in 1923, the "Partito Nazionale Fascista", with over two hundred members and organizations in four cities:Caracas, Valencia, Puerto Cabello and Barquisimeto (Duaca).....Two Italian newspapers, "Eco de Italia", followed by "El Eco de la Patria", were published in the early 1920s. The first attempts to provide schooling in the Italian language date from the late 1930s, as do the beginnings of the first social club, "La Casa de Italia" (officially founded in 1937 with the patronage of the Italian minister). The Casa co-sponsored an Italian school, a cultural institute and several sports teams, notably in soccer and cycling.Susan Berglund[6]

In the 1940s and 1950s the Venezuelan President Marcos Pérez Jiménez promoted European immigration to his depopulated country, and more than 300,000 Italians emigrated to Venezuela (although many later returned to Italy).

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 170000 Italians present in the country, 90% lived in the main cities: about 96000 in Caracas, 14000 in Maracaibo, 8000 in Maracay, 6000 in Valencia and 5000 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).[7] In 2001, 126,553 Italians were living in Venezuela.[8]

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).[9] 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.[3]

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.[10]

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.[11]

Most of the Italian community in Caracas but even in the rest of Venezuela followed Deportivo Italia football club, as its own representative team.[12]

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.[13]

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 [14] in 1972 (later she represented Venezuela in the Miss Universe, where she was the runner-up).

Coat of Arms of Deportivo Italia (the futbol team of the Italian community in Caracas), that won five Venezuela Championships and the famous Little Maracanazo.

• 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
• Deportivo Italia Football Club
• Instituto Italiano de Cultura in Caracas[15]
• Camera di Commercio, Industria ed Agricoltura Venezuelana-Italiana in Caracas
• Regional Associations of Italians in Venezuela[16]
• Genealogía Italiana en Venezuela http://www.italven.org

The Colegio Agustín Codazzi in Caracas is an overseas Italian school recognized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy.[17]

There are also multiple Italo-Venezuelan schools in the country:[18]

Caracas:[18]

• 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:[18]

• Collegio Maria Montessori in Ciudad Bolivar
• Collegio Angelo de Marta in Puerto La Cruz

Western Venezuela:[18]

• Collegio R. C. Agazzi in Barquisimeto
• Collegio San Pedro in Barquisimeto
• Collegio Juan XXIII in Maracay
• Collegio Antonio Rosmini in Maracaibo

• Filippo Salvatore Gilii - Italian Jesuit priest and linguist who lived in the Province of Venezuela before the War of Independence.
• Juan German Roscio - Chief architect of the Venezuelan Constitution of 1811.
• Agostino Codazzi - Geographer, cartographer, military officer and governor.
• Primo Casale - Composer, conductor and violinist.
• Carlo Castelli - Italian military that fought with Simon Bolivar in the Venezuelan War of Independence.
• Renny Ottolina - Artist, TV anchor, politician.
• Jaime Lusinchi - President of Venezuela (1984–1989).
• Raul Leoni - President of Venezuela (1964-1969)
• Pompeo D'Ambrosio - Financial manager and vice-president of bank.
• Luis Razetti - Surgeon, considered the driving-force behind the Renaissance of Venezuelan Medicine.
• Leon Croizat - Biologist.
• Daniel Canónico- Baseball right handed pitcher.
• Johnny Cecotto - Sportman (moto & race cars).
• Daniela Di Giacomo - Miss International 2006.
• Graziano Gasparini - Architect and art historian.
• Alejandra Ghersi - Musician commonly known as Arca (musician).
• Iván Palazzese - Sportman (moto).
• Franco De Vita - Artist, singer, composer and pianist.
• Marco Scutaro - International baseball player.
• Francisco Cervelli - Major League Baseball player.
• Gianfranco Di Julio - Soccer player.
• María Antonieta Cámpoli - Miss Venezuela 1972.
• Sandro Finoglio - Mister World 1998
• Mario Masciulli - Military engineer.
• Rosario Marciano - Pianist and writer.
• Massimo Margiotta - Former footballer.
• Lele Pons - Internet personality and actress.
• Giovanni Savarese - Former soccer player.
• Patricia Salerno- Biologist.
• Vicencio Scarano Spisso - Politician.
• Ainett Stephens - television personality and model
• Yordano - composer and singer
• Corrado Galzio - piano player and founder of cultural radio and television programmes.

Areas of Venezuela where the Italian community is concentrated

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[19] 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.

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

• Statistical Data on the Italians in the world
• Italian emigration
• Venezuelan 2001 Census:Italians (in Spanish)
• Italiani nel Venezuela (in Italian)

• 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