Italian Colombians

Colombian citizens of Italian descent

Ethnic group

Italian Colombians

Italo-colombiani (Italian)
Ítalo-colombianos (Spanish)

Flags of Italy and Colombia in Bogotá

Total population
c. 20,000 (by birth)[1]
c. 2,500,000 (by ancestry, corresponding to about 4% of the total population)[2]
Regions with significant populations
Bogotá[3],Caribbean Region,[4] Norte de Santander,[5] Santander,[6] Valle del Cauca,[7] Antioquia,[8] Cundinamarca,[9] Boyacá,[10] Colombian coffee growing axis, [11] Huila Department, [12] Cauca Department[13]
Languages
Colombian Spanish * Italian and Italian dialects
Religion
Roman Catholicism * Protestantism (Lutheranism * Evangelicalism)  * Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Italians, Italian Americans, Italian Argentines, Italian Bolivians, Italian Brazilians, Italian Canadians, Italian Chileans, Italian Costa Ricans, Italian Cubans, Italian Dominicans, Italian Ecuadorians, Italian Guatemalans, Italian Haitians, Italian Hondurans, Italian Mexicans, Italian Panamanians, Italian Paraguayans, Italian Peruvians, Italian Puerto Ricans, Italian Salvadorans, Italian Uruguayans, Italian Venezuelans

Italian Colombians (Italian: italo-colombiani; Spanish: ítalo-colombianos) are Colombian-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent and Italian-born people in Colombia.[14] Italians have been immigrating to Colombia since the early 16th century.[15]

## History

[edit]

### Colonial period

[edit]

The presence of Italians in Colombia dates back to the times of Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. The very name of Colombia comes from the 'discoverer' of America, idealized by the Venezuelan Francisco de Miranda.[16]

Martino Galeano (member of the noble Galeano Family of Genoa) was one of the most important conquerors of the territory of present-day Colombia (New Kingdom of Granada). As an infantry captain, he directed the military campaign of Pedro Fernández de Lugo, who landed in Santa Marta in 1535. He later founded the town of Vélez, in Santander,[17] being its alderman and co-founder of Bogotá.

In the 18th century, on the ship Santa Rosa, the naval artilleryman Giovanni Andrea Botero arrived from the port of Cádiz to the city of Cartagena de Indias, specifically in January 1716, working in the service of the Spanish crown. The artilleryman Botero[18] was born in the Republic of Genoa, and, due to illness, asked permission, not being a Spaniard, to stay in the territory of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. He traveled to the interior of the country and settled in the municipality of Rionegro, Valley of San Nicolás, Antioquia, where he devoted himself to agriculture and gold mining, founding this family there.[19]

### Independent Colombia

[edit]

Juan Dionisio Gamba was president of Colombia in 1812

Very few Italians arrived in Colombia before the war of independence led by Simón Bolívar, although several hundred monks came from Italy primarily as priests and missionaries were present in the country.

They have left their mark in many lines of the Colombian colonial society.[20]

Although few, these early Italians were present in almost all higher levels of Colombian society, like Juan Dionisio Gamba, the son of a merchant from Genoa who was president of Colombia in 1812.[21]

Italians arriving in Colombia

> ....The Italian influence in Colombia was important in science, culture, arts and laws. Furthermore, they created symbols like the country map, the National Hymn and the Capitol. (La influencia italiana fue determinante en la ciencia, la cultura, las artes y el derecho de Colombia. Además, les dieron vida a símbolos como el mapa, el Himno Nacional y el Capitolio.)

> — Armando Silva [22]

In the mid-19th century, many Italians arrived from South Italy (especially from the province of Salerno, and the areas of Basilicata and Calabria), on the north coast of Colombia (Barranquilla was the first center affected by this mass migration).[23]

One of the first complete maps of Colombia, adopted today with some modifications, was prepared by another Italian, Agustino Codazzi, who arrived in Bogotá in 1849. The Colonel Agustin Codazzi also proposed the establishment of an agricultural colony of Italians, on the model of what was done with the Colonia Tovar in Venezuela, but some factors prevented this.[24]

Italians arriving in Colombia

In 1885, diplomatic relations between Italy and Colombia were interrupted for several years. A wealthy businessman in the Italian-Colombian region of Cauca, named Ernesto Cerruti, stood against the oligarchy and the church in favor of a liberal party and local Masonic group. As a result, Bogotá authorities confiscated his property and imprisoned him. This led to a blockade of the port by the Colombian Navy, and Italian emigration to Colombia was partially restricted until 1899.[25]

Portrait of the Italian Oreste Sindici (1870), composer of the Colombian national anthem

In November 1887, to commemorate the independence of Cartagena, a fervent song with lyrics by Rafael Núñez was played at Bogotá Variety Theatre, and was subsequently adopted in 1920 as Hymn of the Republic of Colombia. The melody came from someone who had arrived as first tenor in an opera company, the Italian musician Oreste Sindici (May 31, 1828 – January 12, 1904), and who lived the last years of his life in Bogotá.[26]

Sindici was an Italian-born Colombian musician and composer, who composed the music for the Colombian national anthem in 1887. Sindici died in Bogotá on January 12, 1904, due to severe arteriosclerosis. In 1937 the Colombian government honored his memory.[27]

Teatro Colón of Bogotá, created by the Italian architect Pietro Cantini

Some important buildings were created by Italians in the 19th century, like the famous Colón Theater of the capital. It is one of the most representative theaters of Colombia, with a neoclassic architecture built by the Italian architect Pietro Cantini and founded in 1892. This Italian architect also contributed to the construction of the Capitolio Nacional of the capital.[28]

The sculptor Cesare Sighinolfi travelled to Bogotà in 1880, invited by his mentor Pietro Cantini to help decorate the Teatro Cristobal Colon. He made monuments to Christopher Columbus and Isabelle the Catholic (1906).[29] In Bogotá, Cesare Sighinolfi succeeded Alberto Urdaneta, as director of the "School of Fine Arts of Bogotá", teaching alongside Luigi Ramelli and Pietro Cantini. In 1896, in Bogotá, he completed a portrait of Rafael Reyes.[30]

During the conflict between the Italian entrepreneur Ernesto Cerruti and Colombian President Rafael Nuñez faced with the threat of military intervention and international pressure, the Colombian government opted to submit to international arbitration. In 1891, Pope Leo XIII, who was respected in both countries due to widespread Catholicism, intervened as mediator in the conflict. Under Papal arbitration, an agreement was reached in which Colombia was to pay compensation to Cerruti, although in an amount lower than that originally demanded by Italy.

In 1908, according to the relation of the diplomat Agnoli to the Italian Commissary for Emigration, in Colombia there were nearly 1,000 Italians, 400 in Barranquilla, 120 in Bogotá, less than 100 in Cartagena and Bucaramanga, with only a few dozen in Cúcuta and other minor cities. Most of the Italians were from Veneto and Tuscany; their main activity was in commerce and hospitality, but 30 Italians owned huge lands and successful farms.[31]

### World War II

[edit]

After World War II, Italian emigration to Colombia was directed primarily toward Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín, mainly concentrated in the capital region.

## Population

[edit]

In 2019, there were 20,315 Italian citizens residing in Colombia.[1] It is estimated that around 2,500,000 of Colombians have full or partial Italian ancestry, corresponding to about 4% of the total population.[32]

## Culture

[edit]

Institute of Italian Culture in the Teusaquillo neighborhood of Bogotá.

There are Italian schools in Bogotá: Colegio Italiano Leonardo da Vinci and Gimnasio Alessandro Volta,[33] in Medellín: Leonardo da Vinci, and in Barranquilla: Galileo Galilei.

Furthermore, there are some institutions promoted by the Italian government, like the Sociedad Dante Alighieri, the Instituto de Cultura italiana and the Casa de Italia in the capital.[34]

### Language

[edit]

Italian immigrants have integrated easily into Colombian society. Today, the vast majority of their descendants only speak Spanish, the national language of Colombia. As of 2008, approximately 4.3% still spoke (or 'understood a little') Italian.

In the last century, the Italian language has had an influence on some Colombian words.[35]

### Cuisine

[edit]

Italians brought new recipes and types of food to Colombia but also helped in the development of Colombian cuisine. Spaghetti and pizza are popular foods in current day Colombia originating from Italy.[36] Like in many other countries, the Italian cuisine is widely popular in most cities and many municipalities of Colombia.[37]

## Notable Italian-born people and descendants

[edit]

### Criminals

[edit]

Pablo Escobar, the notorious Colombian drug lord, was captured in a 1976 photograph by the Colombian police.

* Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord
* Salvatore Mancuso, paramilitary warlord

### Architecture

[edit]

* Giovanni Buscaglione, architect
* Giancarlo Mazzanti, architect
* Patricio Samper Gnecco, architect, urbanist, and politician

### Arts and Entertainment

[edit]

* Rodolfo Aicardi, singer
* Colombian artist Fernando Botero. All Colombians who bear this surname are descend from an Italian naval gunner, born in the Republic of Genoa.[38]Fernando Botero, draftsman, painter, and sculptor
* María Cecilia Botero, actress and TV presenter
* María Dalmazzo, actressColombian singer Shakira, in addition to having Lebanese roots, has Italian ancestry on her mother's side.[39]
* Shakira Mebarak Ripoll, singer-songwriter and businesswoman
* Andrea Nocetti, model, actress and Miss Colombia 2000
* Taliana Vargas, model, actress and Miss Colombia 2007 (1st runner-up Miss Universe 2008)
* Sofía Vergara, actress and model

### Science & The Arts

[edit]

* Agustín Codazzi, geographer
* Oreste Sindici, musician and composer

### Politics

[edit]

* Armando Benedetti, politician
* Gustavo Petro, politician (President of Colombia 2022-2026)
* Marta Lucía Ramírez, politician and former Vice-President of Colombia 2018-2022
* Fabio Valencia Cossio, politician
* Armando Samper Gnecco, politician

### Religion

[edit]

* Tulio Botero, ecclesiastic of the Catholic Church
* Javier de Nicoló, priest and educator
* Mario Revollo Bravo, ecclesiastic of the Catholic Church

### Sports

[edit]

* Nicolás Benedetti, professional footballer
* Santiago Botero, professional cyclist
* Francisco Cassiani, professional footballer
* Geovanis Cassiani, professional footballer
* Luis Fernando Centi, professional footballer
* Norberto Peluffo, professional footballer, coach, and sports commentator
* Eddie Salcedo, professional footballer

### Others

[edit]

* Valeria Ayos Bossa, Miss Universe Colombia 2021
* Daniella Álvarez, Miss Colombia 2011
* Salvatore Mancuso, former member of the AUC

## See also

[edit]

* Colombia portal
* Italy portal

* Colombia–Italy relations
* List of Italian explorers
* List of Italian inventors
* Italians
* White Colombians
* White Latin Americans

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Fondazione Migrantes (2019). "Rapporto Italiani nel Mondo" (PDF) (in Italian). pp. 24–25. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
2. ^ "Convenzioni Inps estere, Fedi sollecita Nuova Zelanda ma anche Cile e Filippine". www.ilmondo.tv. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
3. ^ "RTVCPlay". www.rtvcplay.co. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
4. ^ Vidal Ortega, Antonino; D'Amato Castillo, Giuseppe (2015-12-01). "Los otros, sin patria: italianos en el litoral Caribe de Colombia a comienzos del siglo XX". Caravelle. Cahiers du monde hispanique et luso-brésilien (in French) (105): 153–175\. doi:10.4000/caravelle.1822. ISSN 1147-6753.
5. ^ "Presencia italiana en Norte de Santander". Sílaba Editores (in Spanish). 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
6. ^ Patiño, Paola (2016-11-12). "Los inmigrantes que cambiaron los apellidos en Santander". www.vanguardia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-07-13.
7. ^ "Llegaron los inmigrantes italianos: sesenta novios para otras tantas caleñas". La Bernardi (in Spanish). 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
8. ^ Maturana, Yonatan Durán (2021-01-01). "Casos de inmigrantes italianos en Antioquia, 1870-1900". Studi Emigrazione.
9. ^ "Fusagasugá, el campo de concentración de Colombia para alemanes y japoneses durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-07-13.
10. ^ Rojas Velasco, Manuel José (13 July 2022). "Narrativas partidistas sobre inmigrantes: Colombia a mediados del siglo XIX" (PDF). Repositorio.uniandes.edu.co.
11. ^ "Un italiano en tierra cafetera en los años 20 (1 parte)". La Bernardi (in Spanish). 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
12. ^ "91.1A.1 Apellidos regionales de Colombia by Academia Colombiana de Genealogia - Issuu". issuu.com. Archived from the original on 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
13. ^ "Noticia sobre los fundadores de los apellidos en el Cauca Grande". 1library.co (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2022-11-08.
14. ^ A game of mirrors: the changing face of ethno-racial constructs and language in the Americas. Thomas M. Stephens. University Press of America, 2003. ISBN 0-7618-2638-6, ISBN 978-0-7618-2638-5. Retrieved on 2010-10-14.
15. ^ "Los italianos (The Italians)". Revista Semana - www.semana.com (in Spanish). Publicaciones Semana S.A. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
16. ^ "Los italianos (The Italians)". Revista Semana - www.semana.com (in Spanish). Publicaciones Semana S.A. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
17. ^ "Pasado, Presente y Futuro (Past, Present and Future)". Alcaldía de Vélez, Santander - www.velez-santander.gov.co (in Spanish). Vélez, Santander, Colombia: Gobierno de Colombia. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
18. ^ Ettore, Rossoni (2013). Origine E Storia Dei Cognomi Italiani (Origin And History Of Italian Surnames) (PDF) (in Italian). Melegnano. p. 381. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
19. ^ Álvarez Ángel, Flavio (12 October 2018). Apellidos regionales de Colombia (Regional surnames of Colombia) (in Spanish). Bogota, Colombia: Colombian Academy of Genealogy. p. 33\. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
20. ^ D'Angelo, Giuseppe (1969). Italianismos en Hispanoamérica y particularmente en Colombia (PDF) (in Spanish). Centro Virtual Cervantes. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
21. ^ "Juan Dionisio Gamba". Busca Biografías - www.buscabiografias.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2022.
22. ^ Armando Silva. "Cultura italiana en Colombia: reflexión sobre etnias y mestizajes culturales".Introduccion
23. ^ Cappelli, Vittorio (2006). "Entre "Macondo" y Barranquilla. Los italianos en la Colombia caribeña. De finales del Siglo XIX hasta la Segunda Guerra Mundial*" (PDF). Memoria & Sociedad (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
24. ^ Tomás Fernández; Elena Tamaro (2004). "Biografia de Agustín Codazzi (Biography of Agustín Codazzi)". Biografías y Vidas. La enciclopedia biográfica en línea (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
25. ^ Massimiliano Castellari; Marco Mellone. "La emigración italiana en suramérica y específicamente en Colombia". vLex.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2022.
26. ^ "Colombian National Anthem, music, lyrics and video". Colombia-SA - www.colombia-sa.com. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
27. ^ "Símbolos patrios de Colombia" (in Spanish). Presidencia de Colombia. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
28. ^ "Pietro Cantini - Italia -1847-1929". EPDLP - www.epdlp.com (in Spanish). epdlp. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
29. ^ Castro Arias, Carlos (11 June 2021). "MinCultura retiró esculturas de Isabel La Católica y Cristóbal Colón". Caracol Radio - www.caracol.com.co (in Spanish). Colombia. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
30. ^ "Escuela de Bellas Artes en Colombia". International Center for the Arts of the Americas - www.icaa.mfah.org (in Spanish). Houston, United States of America: MFAH ICAA. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
31. ^ Colombia - p.363
32. ^ Direttore (2018-02-09). "Convenzioni Inps estere, Fedi sollecita Nuova Zelanda ma anche Cile e Filippine". il mondo come io lo vedo. Archived from the original on 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
33. ^ Torres Jiménez, Camilo (6 October 2021). "Educación a la Italiana en Bogotá (Italian-style education in Bogotá)". ITBogotá - www.bogota.italiani.it (in Spanish). Bogotá, Colombia. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
34. ^ "Instituciones y Escuelas italianas en Colombia (in Italian)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
35. ^ Italian words in the Spanish Colombian language
36. ^ Solarte, Andrés (27 October 2015). "Italia - Colombia (Gastronomía Típica)". Prezi - www.prezi.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2022.
37. ^ Escamilla, Oscar (23 December 2018). "La familia une comida de Italia y Colombia". Ansa Latina - Agencia Italiana de Noticias (in Spanish). Bogotá, Colombia: ANSA. Retrieved 26 March 2022.[permanent dead link]
38. ^ Moya, Dixon (18 April 2022). "Pietrasanta y la huella de Botero". El Correo del Golfo newspaper - www.elcorreo.ae (in Spanish). Al Jazirah Al Hamra, United Arab Emirates: El Correo del Golfo. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
39. ^ "Shakira descendiente de italianos, españoles y libaneses". My Heritage (in Spanish). 23 June 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2022.

* v
* t
* e

Ancestry and ethnicity in Colombia

Indigenous|

* Achagua
* Andaquí
* Andoque
* Arhuaco
* Awa-Kwaiker
* Baniwa
* Barasana
* Bora
* Barí
* Calima
* Cauca
* Carabayo
* Carijona
* Chimila
* Chitarero
* Cocamilla
* Cofán
* Cubeo
* Emberá
* Embera-Wounaan
* Guahibo
* Guambiano
* Guane
* Guna
* Hiwi
* Hupda
* Inga
* Kamëntšá
* Kankuamo
* Kogi
* Lache
* Macuna
* Mokaná
* Muisca
* Muzo
* Nukak
* Nutabe
* Paez
* Panche
* Patángoro
* Piaroa
* Pijao
* Pira-tapuya
* Quechua
* Quimbaya
* Siona
* Siriano
* Sutagao
* Tahamí
* Tairona
* Tariana
* Tegua
* Ticuna
* Tinigua
* Tucano
* U'wa
* Wayuu
* Witoto
* Wiwa
* Yagua
* Yarigui
* Yukpa
* Zenú

Mixed|

* Mestizo
* Zambo

Non-indigenous|

| Asian|

* Arab
* Lebanese
* Syrian
* Indian
* Japanese

|

European|

* French
* German
* Mennonite
* Italian
* Polish
* Spanish
* Basque

Others|

* African (Raizal)
* Jewish
* Romani
* White

See also
Lists of Colombians
Race and ethnicity in Colombia

* v
* t
* e

Italian diaspora

Africa|

* Algeria
* Egypt
* Eritrea3
* Ethiopia3
* Libya3
* Morocco
* Somalia3
* South Africa
* Tunisia
* Zimbabwe

Americas|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Montreal
* Toronto
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Mexico
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Puerto Rico
* United States
* before 1880
* by city
* Sicilian Americans
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* India
* Japan
* Lebanon
* Turkey2
* United Arab Emirates

Europe|

* Albania3
* Belgium
* Croatia
* Istria1
* Dalmatia1
* Finland
* France
* Corsica1
* Nice1
* Savoy1
* Germany
* Greece
* Corfu2
* Dodecanese3
* Italy
* Internal migration
* Malta1
* Romania
* Slovenia
* Istria1
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Ticino1
* Grisons1
* United Kingdom
* Scotland
* Wales
* Gibraltar2
* Ukraine
* Crimea2
* Odesa2

Oceania|

* Australia
* Melbourne
* New Zealand

Exodus|

* Istrian–Dalmatian exodus
* Niçard exodus

Neighborhoods|

* Little Italy
* List of Italian-American neighborhoods

1 local ethnic Italians
2 ancient Italian migrations
3 former Italian colonies or protectorates

Portals:

* Italy
* Colombia

*[c.]: circa
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template