166-506: Conti is an Italian surname. As of 2014, 63.5% of all known bearers of the surname Conti were residents of Italy (frequency 1:756), 11.8% of the United States (1:24,071), 9.2% of Brazil (1:17,439), 6.3% of Argentina (1:5,300), 2.5% of France (1:21,201) and 1.3% of the Philippines (1:58,961). In Italy , the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:756) in
332-525: A coup d'état on October 7, 1970, but a few hundred Italian settlers returned to Libya in the 2000s (decade). Somalia had some 50,000 Italian Somali settlers during World War II, constituting about 5% of the total population in Italian Somaliland . The Italians resided in most major cities in the central and southern parts of the territory, with around 10,000 living in the capital Mogadishu . Other major areas of settlement included Jowhar , which
498-694: A worldwide famous cuisine . Due to comparatively late national unification, and the historical autonomy of the regions that comprise the Italian peninsula, many traditions and customs of the Italians can be identified by their regions of origin. Despite the political and social isolation of these regions, Italy's contributions to the cultural and historical heritage of the Western world remain immense. Famous elements of Italian culture are its opera and music, its iconic gastronomy and food, which are commonly regarded as amongst
664-566: A Napoleonic sister republic of Revolutionary France , took place, on the basis of the events following the French Revolution (1789–1799) which, among its ideals, advocated the national self-determination . This event is celebrated by the Tricolour Day . The Italian national colours appeared for the first time on a tricolour cockade in 1789, anticipating by seven years the first green, white and red Italian military war flag , which
830-448: A divide between Northern and Southern Italy called Southern question . Between 1860 and World War I, 9 million Italians left permanently of a total of 16 million who emigrated, most travelling to North or South America. The numbers may have even been higher; 14 million from 1876 to 1914, according to another study. Annual emigration averaged almost 220,000 in the period 1876 to 1900, and almost 650,000 from 1901 through 1915. Prior to 1900
996-648: A few dozen Italians remained in Odesa, most of whom no longer knew their own language. Over time they merged with the local population, losing the ethnic connotations of origin. They disappeared completely by World War II . The Italians of Crimea are a small ethnic minority residing in Crimea. Italians have populated some areas of Crimea since the time of the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Venice. In 1783, 25,000 Italians immigrated to Crimea, which had been recently annexed by
1162-462: A few months—in which to work and earn money in order to build a better future in Italy. This phenomenon took place the most in the 1970s, a period that was marked by the return to their homeland of many Italian emigrants. The Italian state signed an emigration pact with Germany in 1955 which guaranteed mutual commitment in the matter of migratory movements and which led almost three million Italians to cross
1328-525: A few small settlements. The first Italian to be registered as residing in the area corresponding to the current U.S. was Pietro Cesare Alberti , commonly regarded as the first Italian American , a Venetian seaman who, in 1635, settled in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam , what would eventually become New York City . Enrico Tonti , together with the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle , explored
1494-574: A fraction of the white Zimbabwean population, Italo-Zimbabweans are well represented in the hospitality , real estate , tourism and food and beverage industries. The majority live in Harare, with over 9,000 in 2012, (less than one percent of the city's population), while over 30,000 live abroad mostly in the UK , South Africa , Canada , Italy and Australia . The first Italian presence in Morocco dates back to
1660-726: A free government. All men must be equal to each other in natural law". Italian Americans served in the American Revolutionary War both as soldiers and officers. Francesco Vigo aided the colonial forces of George Rogers Clark by serving as one of the foremost financiers of the Revolution in the frontier Northwest. Later, he was a co-founder of Vincennes University in Indiana. During the Spanish conquest of what would be present-day Argentine territory, an Italian Leonardo Gribeo , from
1826-954: A half million are in Switzerland , as well as in France , the entire population of San Marino . In addition, there are also clusters of Italian speakers in the former Yugoslavia , primarily in Istria , located between in modern Croatia and Slovenia (see: Istrian Italians ), and Dalmatia , located in present-day Croatia and Montenegro (see: Dalmatian Italians ). Due to the wide-ranging diaspora following Italian unification in 1861, World War I and World War II , (with over 5 million Italian citizens that live outside of Italy) over 80 million people abroad claim full or partial Italian ancestry. This includes about 60% of Argentina 's population ( Italian Argentines ), 1/3 of Uruguayans ( Italian Uruguayans ), 15% of Brazilians ( Italian Brazilians ,
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#17328453894061992-675: A key role in ushering the Age of Discovery and the European colonization of the Americas. The most notable among them were: Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo [kriˈstɔːforo koˈlombo] ), colonist in the name of Spain, who is credited with discovering the New World and the opening of the Americas for conquest and settlement by Europeans; John Cabot (Italian: Giovanni Caboto [dʒoˈvanni kaˈbɔːto] ), sailing for England, who
2158-571: A lesser extent in the Middle East ( Italians in the United Arab Emirates ). Italians have influenced and contributed to fields like arts and music , science , technology , fashion , cinema , cuisine , restaurants , sports , jurisprudence , banking and business . Furthermore, Italian people are generally known for their attachment to their locale, expressed in the form of either regionalism or municipalism . Hypotheses for
2324-598: A part of the monument dedicated to King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy , and in memory of that, the inscription of the plaque on the two burning braziers perpetually at the Altare della Patria next to the tomb of the Italian Unknown Soldier , reads "Gli italiani all'estero alla Madre Patria" ("Italians abroad to the Motherland"). The allegorical meaning of the flames that burn perpetually is linked to their symbolism, which
2490-776: A population from the Greek island of Corfu (Kerkyra) with ethnic and linguistic ties to the Republic of Venice. The origins of the Corfiot Italian community can be found in the expansion of the Italian States toward the Balkans during and after the Crusades . In the 12th century, the Kingdom of Naples sent some Italian families to Corfu to rule the island. From the Fourth Crusade of 1204 onwards,
2656-609: A racing circuit outside Tripoli (it lasted until 1940). Italian farmers cultivated lands that had returned to native desert for many centuries, and improved Italian Libya's agriculture to international standards (even with the creation of new farm villages). Libya had some 150,000 Italians settlers when Italy entered World War II in 1940, constituting about 18% of the total population in Italian Libya . The Italians in Libya resided (and many still do) in most major cities like Tripoli (37% of
2822-732: A result of invasions by another Germanic tribe, the Lombards . Much of the peninsula was now politically dominated by the Kingdom of the Lombards ; however, remnants of Byzantine control remained, especially in Southern Italy , where the Byzantine Empire retained control into the 11th century until the Norman conquest of Southern Italy . In addition to the Normans , Arabs conquered parts of Southern Italy in
2988-529: A safe stronghold to be detained as prisoners of war (POWs). South Africa was the perfect destination, and the first POWs arrived in Durban , in 1941. In the early 1970s, there were over 40,000 Italians in South Africa, scattered throughout the provinces but concentrated in the main cities. Some of these Italians had taken refuge in South Africa, escaping the decolonization of Rhodesia and other African states. In
3154-733: Is Marco Polo , explorer of the 13th century, who recorded his 24 years-long travels in the Book of the Marvels of the World , introducing Europeans to Central Asia and China. The country boasts several world-famous cities. Rome was the ancient capital of the Roman Empire, seat of the Pope of the Catholic Church, capital of reunified Italy and artistic, cultural and cinematographic centre of world relevance. Florence
3320-403: Is also significant that these flows no longer concern only the regions of southern Italy, but also those of the north, such as Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna . According to the available statistics, the community of Italian citizens residing abroad amounts to 4,600,000 people (2015 data). It is therefore greatly reduced, from a percentage point of view, from 9,200,000 in the early 1920s (when it
3486-441: Is an annual flow which, according to the 2012 data from the registry office of Italians residing abroad (AIRE), is around 78,000 people with an increase of about 20,000 compared to 2011, even if it is estimated that the actual number of people who have emigrated is considerably higher (between two and three times), as many compatriots cancel their residence in Italy with much delay compared to their actual departure. The phenomenon of
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#17328453894063652-525: Is centuries old, since it has its origins in classical antiquity , especially in the cult of the dead . A fire that burns eternally symbolizes that the memory, in this case of the sacrifice of the Unknown Soldier and the bond of the country of origin , is perpetually alive in Italians, even in those who are far from their country, and will never fade. Following the defeat of Italy in World War II and
3818-497: Is concentrated mainly between Europe (55.8%) and America (38.8%). Followed by Oceania (3.2%), Africa (1.3%) and Asia with 0.8%. The country with the most Italians is Argentina (648,333), followed by Germany (631,243), then Switzerland (520,713). Furthermore, 54.8% of Italian emigrants are of southern origin (over 1,400,000 from the South and almost 800,000 from the Islands ); 30.1% comes from
3984-538: Is considered the "father of the Italian flag". After the Battle of Waterloo , the reaction set in with the Congress of Vienna allowed the restoration of many of the old rulers and systems under Austrian domination. The concept of nationalism continued strong, however, and sporadic outbreaks led by such inveterate reformers as Giuseppe Mazzini occurred in several parts of the peninsula down to 1848–49. In this context, in 1847,
4150-506: Is mostly assimilated into the Lebanese Catholic community. There is a growing interest in economic relationships between Italy and Lebanon (like with the "Vinifest 2011"). Italians of Odesa are mentioned for the first time in documents of the 13th century. The influx of Italians in southern Ukraine grew particularly with the foundation of Odesa, which took place in 1794. In 1797 there were about 800 Italians in Odesa, equal to 10% of
4316-576: Is reduced to a few hundred, according to Italian Levantine writer Giovanni Scognamillo. Italians in Lebanon (or Italian Lebanese) are a community in Lebanon. Between the 12th and 15th centuries, the Italian Republic of Genoa had some Genoese colonies in Beirut , Tripoli , and Byblos . In more recent times, the Italians came to Lebanon in small groups during World War I and World War II , trying to escape
4482-525: Is the large-scale emigration of Italians from Italy . There were two major Italian diasporas in Italian history . The first diaspora began around 1880, two decades after the Unification of Italy , and ended in the 1920s to the early 1940s with the rise of Fascist Italy . Poverty was the main reason for emigration, specifically the lack of land as mezzadria sharecropping flourished in Italy, especially in
4648-514: Is today Italy and France . Since the 16th century, Florence and its citizens have long enjoyed a very close relationship with France. In 1533, at the age of fourteen, Catherine de' Medici married Henry , the second son of King Francis I and Queen Claude of France. Under the gallicised version of her name, Catherine de Médici, she became Queen consort of France when Henry ascended to the throne in 1547. Later on, after Henry died, she became regent on behalf of her ten-year-old son King Charles IX and
4814-576: The Alien Contract Labor Law ) and even suspending, for some time, emigration to Brazil, where many migrants had wound up as quasi-slaves on large coffee plantations. The Commissariat also helped to set up remittances sent by emigrants from the United States back to their homeland, which turned into a constant flow of money amounting, by some accounts, to about 5% of the Italian GNP . In 1903,
4980-722: The Allies in November 1941 and they were reduced to only 38,000 by 1946. This also includes a population of mixed Italian and Eritrean descent; most Italian Eritreans still living in Eritrea are from this mixed group. Although many of the remaining Italians stayed during the decolonization process after World War II and are actually assimilated to the Eritrean society, a few are stateless today, as none of them were given citizenship unless through marriage or, more rarely, by having it conferred upon them by
5146-620: The Baroque , Neoclassicism , the Risorgimento , Fascism , and European integration . Italy also became a seat of great formal learning in 1088 with the establishment of the University of Bologna , the oldest university in continuous operation , and the first university in the sense of a higher-learning and degree-awarding institute, as the word universitas was coined at its foundation. Many other Italian universities soon followed. For example,
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5312-738: The Ethiopian Civil War in 1974. 80 original Italian colonists remain alive in 2007, and nearly 2000 mixed descendants of Italians and Ethiopians. In the 2000s, some Italian companies returned to operate in Ethiopia, and a large number of Italian technicians and managers arrived with their families, residing mainly in the metropolitan area of the capital. Conspicuous was the presence of Italian emigrants even in territories that have never been Italian colonies , such as Egypt , Tunisia , Morocco , Zimbabwe and Algeria . The first Italians in Tunisia at
5478-958: The Etruscans , the Rhaetians , the Ligurians , the Adriatic Veneti , and the Italic peoples , including the Latins , from which the Romans emerged and helped create and evolve the modern Italian identity. Foreign influences include the ancient Greeks in Magna Graecia , and the Phoenicians , who had a presence in Sicily and Sardinia , the Celts , who settled in parts of the north,
5644-559: The Germanics and the Slavs. Legally, Italian nationals are citizens of Italy , regardless of ancestry or nation of residence (in effect, however, Italian nationality is largely based on jus sanguinis ) and may be distinguished from ethnic Italians in general or from people of Italian descent without Italian citizenship and ethnic Italians living in territories adjacent to the Italian peninsula without Italian citizenship. The Latin equivalent of
5810-600: The Italian Federation of migrant workers and families . Between the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the next, the flow of Italian emigrants around the world greatly attenuated. Nevertheless, migration from certain regions never stopped, such as in Sicily. However, following the effects of the Great Recession , a continuous flow of expatriates has spread since the end of the 2010s. Although numerically lower than
5976-531: The Kingdom of Greece in 1864. The Greek government abolished all Italian schools in the Ionian islands in 1870, and as a consequence, by the 1940s there were only 400 Corfiote Italians left. The architecture of Corfu City still reflects its long Venetian heritage, with its multi-storied buildings, its spacious squares such as the popular "Spianada" and the narrow cobblestone alleys known as "Kantounia". There has always been migration, since ancient times, between what
6142-470: The Kingdom of Sicily . From the 11th century on, Italian cities began to grow rapidly in independence and importance. They became centres of political life, banking , and foreign trade. Some became wealthy, and many, including Florence , Rome , Genoa , Milan , Pisa , Siena and Venice , grew into nearly independent city-states and maritime republics . Each had its own foreign policy and political life. They all resisted, with varying degrees of success,
6308-734: The Mediterranean (such as the Republic of Venice , the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Pisa or of the inhabitants of the Crusader states ). There are two big communities of Italian Levantines: one in Istanbul and the other in İzmir . At the end of the 19th century there were nearly 6,000 Levantines of Italian roots in İzmir. They came mainly from the Genoese island of Chios . The community reached more than 15,000 members during Ataturk 's times, but now
6474-407: The Middle Ages Italian communities from the "Maritime Republics" of Italy (mainly Pisa , Genoa and Amalfi ) were present in Egypt as merchants. Since the Renaissance the Republic of Venice has always been present in the history and commerce of Egypt: there was even a Venetian Quarter in Cairo . From the time of Napoleon I , Italian Egyptians started to grow in a huge way: the size of
6640-399: The Nation through emblems , metaphors , personifications , allegories , which are shared by the entire Italian people. Some of them are official, i.e. they are recognized by the Italian state authorities, while others are part of the identity of the country without being defined by law. Traditions of Italy are sets of traditions , beliefs , values , and customs that belongs within
6806-458: The Ostrogoths . Theodoric and Odoacer ruled jointly until 493, when Theodoric murdered Odoacer. Theodoric continued to rule Italy with an army of Ostrogoths and a government that was mostly Italian. After the death of Theodoric in 526, the kingdom began to grow weak. By 553, emperor Justinian I expelled the Ostrogoths, and Italy was included into the Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty . Byzantine rule in much of Italy collapsed by 572 as
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6972-449: The Ottoman Empire and captured Libya as a colony . Italians settlers were encouraged to come to Libya and did so from 1911 until the outbreak of World War II . In less than thirty years (1911–1940), the Italians in Libya built a significant amount of public works (roads, railways, buildings, ports, etc.) and the Libyan economy flourished. They even created the Tripoli Grand Prix , an international motor racing event first held in 1925 on
7138-415: The Papal States in central Italy. The Lombards remained a threat to papal power, however, until they were crushed by Charlemagne in 774. Charlemagne added the Kingdom of the Lombards to his vast realm. In recognition of Charlemagne's power, and to cement the church's alliance with him, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in 800. After Charlemagne's death in 814, his son Louis
7304-457: The Paris Treaties of 1947 , Istria , Kvarner and most of Julian March , with the cities of Pola , Fiume and Zara , passed from Italy to Yugoslavia , causing the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus , which led to the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 of local ethnic Italians ( Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians ), towards Italy, and in smaller numbers, towards the Americas , Australia and South Africa . The Italian emigration of
7470-428: The Praetorian prefecture of Italy ( praefectura praetoria Italiae ), and was subdivided into two dioceses. Diocesis Italia annonaria (Italy of the annona , governed from Milan) and Diocesis Italia Suburbicaria (Italy "under the government of the urbs ", i.e. governed from Rome). Christianity became the Roman state religion in AD 380, under Emperor Theodosius I . The last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus ,
7636-416: The Renaissance many Italian bankers, architects and artists moved to Germany and successfully integrated in the German society. The first Italians came to Poland in the Middle Ages, however, substantial migration of Italians to Poland began in the 16th century (see Poland section below). Italians in the United States before 1880 included a number of explorers, starting with Christopher Columbus , and
7802-404: The Rif , included in Spanish Morocco , was minimal, except in Tangier , an international city, where there was an important community, as evidenced by the presence of the Italian School. A further increase of Italian immigrants in Morocco was recorded after World War I , reaching 12,000 people, who were employed among the workers and as farmers, unskilled workers, bricklayers and operators. In
7968-833: The Russian Empire . In 1830 and in 1870, two distinct migrations arrived in Kerch from the cities of Trani , Bisceglie and Molfetta . These migrants were peasants and sailors, attracted by the job opportunities in the local Crimean seaports and by the possibility to cultivate the nearly unexploited and fertile Crimean lands. After the October Revolution , many Italians were considered foreigners and were seen as an enemy. They therefore faced much repression. Between 1936 and 1938, during Stalin's Great Purge , many Italians were accused of espionage and were arrested, tortured, deported or executed. The few survivors were allowed to return to Kerch under Nikita Khrushchev 's regency. Some families dispersed in other territories of Soviet Union, mainly in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan . The descendants of
8134-437: The Río de la Plata Basin predates the birth of Argentina. Small groups of Italians began to emigrate to the present-day Argentine territory already in the second half of the 17th century. There were already Italians in Buenos Aires during the May Revolution , which started the Argentine War of Independence . In particular, Manuel Belgrano , Manuel Alberti and Juan José Castelli , all three of Italian descent, were part of
8300-402: The Schola Medica Salernitana , in southern Italy, was the first medical school in Europe. These great centres of learning presaged the Rinascimento : the European Renaissance began in Italy and was fueled throughout Europe by Italian painters, sculptors, architects, scientists, literature masters and music composers. Italy continued its leading cultural role through the Baroque period and into
8466-403: The Uffizi Gallery . The Catholic Church openly condemned the Mafia, and two churches were bombed and an anti-Mafia priest shot dead in Rome. Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were named as heroes of the last 60 years in 13 November 2006 issue of Time . Italy is considered one of the birthplaces of Western civilization and a cultural superpower . Italian culture is the culture of
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#17328453894068632-841: The culture of Italian people. These traditions have influenced life in Italy for centuries, and are still practiced in modern times. Italian traditions are directly connected to Italy's ancestors, which says even more about Italian history . Folklore of Italy refers to the folklore and urban legends of Italy . Within the Italian territory, various peoples have followed one another over time, each of which has left its mark on current culture. Some tales also come from Christianization , especially those concerning demons , which are sometimes recognized by Christian demonology . Italian folklore also includes Italian folk dance , Italian folk music and folk heroes . Italian diaspora The Italian diaspora ( Italian : emigrazione italiana , pronounced [emiɡratˈtsjoːne itaˈljaːna] )
8798-428: The early Middle Ages , particularly architects, craftsmen and traders. During the late Middle Ages and early modern times many Italians came to Germany for business, and relations between the two countries prospered. The political borders were also somewhat intertwined under the German princes' attempts to extend control over all the Holy Roman Empire , which extended from northern Germany down to Northern Italy. During
8964-537: The four great powers after the victory of the Allies . In the decades following unification, Italy began creating colonies in Africa , and under Benito Mussolini 's fascist regime conquered Ethiopia , founding the Italian Empire in 1936. The population of Italy grew to 45 million in 1940 and the economy, which had been based upon agriculture until that time, started its industrial development, mainly in northern Italy. World War II soon severely damaged Italy and destroyed its colonial power. Between 1945 and 1948,
9130-516: The northern regions (almost 600,000 from the Northeast and 580,000 from the Northwest ); finally, 15% (588,717) comes from the central regions . Central-southern emigrants are the overwhelming majority in Europe (62.1%) and Oceania (65%). In Asia and Africa, however, half of the Italians come from the North. The region with the most emigrants is Sicily (646,993), followed by Campania (411,512), Lazio (346,067), Calabria (343,010), Apulia (309,964) and Lombardy (291,476). The province with
9296-426: The term Italian had been in use for natives of the geographical region since antiquity. The majority of Italian nationals are native speakers of the country's official language, Italian, a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin , or a variety thereof, that is regional Italian . However, many of them also speak a regional or minority language native to Italy,
9462-542: The " Maxi Trial ", and of the new anti-mafia measures launched by the government. In 1992, two major dynamite attacks killed the judges Giovanni Falcone (23 May in the Capaci bombing ) and Paolo Borsellino (19 July in the Via D'Amelio bombing ). One year later (May–July 1993), tourist spots were attacked, such as the Via dei Georgofili in Florence, Via Palestro in Milan, and the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in Rome, leaving 10 dead and 93 injured and causing severe damage to cultural heritage such as
9628-424: The 14th century, and led to an unparalleled flourishing of the arts, literature, music, and science. However, the city-states were often troubled by violent disagreements among their citizens. The most famous division was between the Guelphs and Ghibellines . The Guelphs supported supreme rule by the pope, and the Ghibellines favoured the emperor. City-states often took sides and waged war against each other. During
9794-449: The 1870s, Odesa's Italian population grew steadily. From the following decade this growth stopped, and the decline of the Italian community in Odesa began. The reason was mainly one, namely the gradual integration into the Slavic population of Odesa, i.e. Russians and Ukrainians. Surnames began to be Russianized and Ukrainianized . The revolution of 1917 sent many of them to Italy, or to other cities in Europe. In Soviet times , only
9960-474: The 1950s and 1970s. Today there is the National Museum of Italian Emigration ( Italian : Museo Nazionale dell'Emigrazione Italiana , "MEI"), located in Genoa , Italy. The exhibition space, which is spread over three floors and 16 thematic areas, describes the phenomenon of Italian emigration from before the unification of Italy to present. The museum describes the Italian emigration through autobiographies, diaries, letters, photographs and newspaper articles of
10126-415: The 1990s, a period of crisis began for Italian South Africans and many returned to Europe; however, the majority successfully integrated into the multiracial society of contemporary South Africa. The Italian community consists of over 77,400 people (0.1–2% of South Africa's population), half of whom have Italian citizenship. Those of Venetian origin number about 5,000, mainly residing in Johannesburg , while
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#173284538940610292-425: The 9th century, establishing an Emirate of Sicily that lasted until it was also eventually overtaken by the Normans in the 11th century. The subsequent interaction between Latin, Byzantine, Arab, and Norman cultures resulted in the formation of a Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture in Southern Italy. During the 5th and 6th centuries, the popes increased their influence in both religious and political matters in Italy. It
10458-480: The AIRE registry: Although Italians did not emigrate to South Africa in large numbers, those who arrived there have nevertheless made an impact on the country. Before World War II, relatively few Italian immigrants arrived , though there were some prominent exceptions such as the Cape 's first Prime Minister John Molteno . South African Italians made big headlines during World War II, when Italians were captured in Italian East Africa , they needed to be sent to
10624-672: The Commissariat also set the available ports of embarkation as Palermo , Naples and Genoa , excluding the port of Venice , which had previously also been used. Although the physical perils involved with transatlantic ship traffic during World War I disrupted emigration from all parts of Europe, including Italy, the condition of various national economies in the immediate post-war period was so bad that immigration picked up almost immediately. Foreign newspapers ran scare stories similar to those published 40 years earlier (when, for example, on December 18, 1880, The New York Times ran an editorial, "Undesirable Emigrants", full of typical invective of
10790-441: The East Indies ...". The extreme economic difficulties of post-war Italy and the severe internal tensions within the country, which led to the rise of fascism, led 614,000 immigrants away in 1920, half of them going to the United States. When the fascists came to power in 1922, there was a gradual slowdown in the flow of emigrants from Italy. However, during the first five years of fascist rule, 1,500,000 people left Italy. By then,
10956-530: The Elder 's Origines , the first work of history composed in Latin , described Italy as the entire peninsula south of the Alps . According to Cato and several Roman authors, the Alps formed the "walls of Italy". In 264 BC, Roman Italy extended from the Arno and Rubicon rivers of the centre-north to the entire south. The northern area of Cisalpine Gaul was occupied by Rome in the 220s BC and became considered geographically and de facto part of Italy, but remained politically and de jure separated. It
11122-416: The European kings who opposed France. After the French king was overthrown and France became a republic, secret clubs favouring an Italian republic were formed throughout Italy. The armies of the French Republic began to move across Europe. In 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte led a French army into northern Italy and drove out the Austrian rulers. Once again, Italy was the scene of battle between the Habsburgs and
11288-417: The French. Wherever France conquered, Italian republics were set up, with constitutions and legal reforms. Napoleon made himself emperor in 1804, and part of northern and central Italy was unified under the name of the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as king. The rest of northern and central Italy was annexed by France. Only Sicily, where the Bourbon king had taken refuge upon the French invasion of Naples, and
11454-404: The Gibraltar, and up until 1830, Italian was spoken together with English and Spanish and used in official announcements. After Napoleonic times , many Sicilians and some Tuscans migrated to Gibraltar, but the Genoese and Ligurians remained the majority of the Italian group. Indeed, the Genoese dialect was spoken in Catalan Bay well into the 20th century, dying out in the 1970s. Today,
11620-531: The Great Lakes region. Tonti founded the first European settlement in Illinois in 1679, and in Arkansas in 1683, making him "The Father of Arkansas". With LaSalle, he co-founded New Orleans , and was governor of the Louisiana Territory for the next 20 years. His brother Alfonso Tonti , with French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac , was the co-founder of Detroit in 1701, and was its acting colonial governor for 12 years. The Taliaferro family (originally Tagliaferro ), believed to have roots in Venice ,
11786-424: The Italian Friuli. Mezzadria , a form of sharefarming where tenant families obtained a plot to work on from an owner and kept a reasonable share of the profits, was more prevalent in central Italy, and is one of the reasons that there was less emigration from that part of Italy. The south lacked entrepreneurs, and absentee landlords were common. Although owning land was the basic yardstick of wealth, farming there
11952-602: The Italian economy which, until the late 1960s, enjoyed a period of sustained economic growth commonly called the " Economic Miracle ". In 1957, Italy was a founding member of the European Economic Community (EEC), which became the European Union (EU) in 1993. Italy faced several terror attacks between 1992 and 1993 perpetrated by the Sicilian Mafia as a consequence of several life sentences pronounced during
12118-566: The Italian occupation of Ethiopia, roughly 300,000 Italians settled in the Italian East Africa (1936–1941). Over 49,000 lived in Asmara in 1939 (around 10% of the city's population), and over 38,000 resided in Addis Abeba . After independence, some Italians remained for decades after receiving full pardon by Emperor Selassie, but eventually nearly 22,000 Italo-Ethiopians left the country due to
12284-697: The Italians and is incredibly diverse spanning the entirety of the Italian peninsula and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily . Italy has been the starting point of phenomena of international impact such as the Roman Republic , Roman Empire , the Roman Catholic Church , the Maritime republics , Romanesque art , Scholasticism , the Renaissance , the Age of Discovery , Mannerism , the Scientific revolution ,
12450-571: The Italians of Crimea account today for 3,000 people, mainly residing in Kerch. A Genoese community has existed in Gibraltar since the 16th century and later became an important part of the population. There is much evidence of a community of emigrants from Genoa, who moved to Gibraltar in the 16th century and that were more than a third of the Gibraltar population in the first half of the 18th century. Although labeled as "Genoese", they were not only from
12616-726: The Italians, is medieval and was used alternatively with Italicus during the early modern period . After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , which was caused by the invasion of the Ostrogoths , the Kingdom of Italy was created. After the Lombard invasions, "Italia" was retained as the name for their kingdom , and for its successor kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire , which nominally lasted until 1806, although it had de facto disintegrated due to factional politics pitting
12782-575: The May Revolution and the Primera Junta . The Italian community had already grown to such an extent that in 1836 the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia sent an ambassador, Baron Picolet d'Hermilion. The Unification of Italy broke down the feudal land system, which had survived in the south since the Middle Ages, especially where land had been the inalienable property of aristocrats, religious bodies or
12948-562: The Middle Ages to the early modern period, with its intricate canal system attracts tourists from all over the world especially during the Venetian Carnival and the Biennale . Naples , with the largest historic city centre in Europe and the oldest continuously active public opera house in the world ( Teatro di San Carlo ). Bologna is the main transport hub of the country, as well as the home of
13114-688: The Ottoman sieges of the 16th century. Corfiot Italians were mainly concentrated in the city of Corfu, which was called "Città di Corfu" by the Venetians. More than half of the population of Corfu city in the 18th century spoke the Venetian language. The re-emergence of Greek nationalism, after the Napoleonic era, contributed to the gradual disappearance of the Corfiot Italians. Corfu was ultimately incorporated into
13280-567: The Pious succeeded him. Louis divided the empire among his sons, and Frankish Italy became part of Middle Francia , extending as far south as Rome and Spoleto . This Kingdom of Italy became part of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century, while southern Italy was under the rule of the Lombard Principality of Benevento or of the Byzantine Empire , in the 12th century absorbed into
13446-508: The Renaissance, Italy became an even more attractive prize to foreign conquerors. After some city-states asked for outside help in settling disputes with their neighbours, King Charles VIII of France marched into Italy in 1494; he soon withdrew, showing that the Italian peninsula's delicate equilibrium could be taken advantage of. After the Italian Wars , Spain emerged as the dominant force in
13612-559: The Republic of Venice sent many Italian families to Corfu. These families brought the Italian language of the Middle Ages to the island. When Venice ruled Corfu and the Ionian islands , which lasted during the Renaissance and until the late 18th century, most of the Corfiote upper classes spoke Italian (or specifically Venetian in many cases), but the mass of people remained Greek ethnically, linguistically, and religiously before and after
13778-545: The Romantic period, when its dominance in painting and sculpture diminished but the Italians re-established a strong presence in music. Italian explorers and navigators in the 15th and 16th centuries left a perennial mark on human history with the modern "discovery of America", due to the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus . In addition, the name of " America " derives from the geographer Amerigo Vespucci 's first name. Also noted
13944-500: The South, and property became subdivided over generations. Especially in Southern Italy , conditions were harsh. From the 1860s to the 1950s, Italy was still a largely rural society with many small towns and cities having almost no modern industry and in which land management practices, especially in the South and the Northeast , did not easily convince farmers to stay on the land and to work
14110-552: The State. Italians of Ethiopia are immigrants who moved from Italy to Ethiopia starting in the 19th century, as well as their descendants. Most of the Italians moved to Ethiopia after the Italian conquest of Abyssinia in 1936. Italian Ethiopia was made of Harrar, Galla-Sidamo, Amhara and Scioa Governorates in summer 1936 and became a part of the Italian colony Italian East Africa , with capital Addis Abeba and with Victor Emmanuel III proclaiming himself Emperor of Ethiopia . During
14276-408: The area. In the early-1880s, epidemics of cholera also struck the city, causing many people to leave. The epidemics were the driving force behind the decision to rebuild entire sections of the city, an undertaking known as the " risanamento " (literally "making healthy again"), a pursuit that lasted until the start of World War I. During the first few years before the unification of Italy, emigration
14442-715: The associated Romanization , culminated in 88 BC, when, in the aftermath of the Social War , Rome granted its fellow Italian allies full rights in Roman society , extending Roman citizenship to all fellow Italic peoples . From its inception, Rome was a republican city-state, but four famous civil conflicts destroyed the Roman Republic : Lucius Cornelius Sulla against Gaius Marius and his son (88–82 BC), Julius Caesar against Pompey (49–45 BC), Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus against Mark Antony and Octavian (43 BC), and Mark Antony against Octavian . Octavian,
14608-424: The beginning of World War II. Their ancestry dates back from the beginning of the Italian colonization of Eritrea at the end of the 19th century, but only during 1930s they settled in large numbers. In the 1939 census of Eritrea there were more than 76,000 Eritrean Italians, most of them living in Asmara (53,000 out of the city's total of 93,000). Many Italian settlers got out of their colony after its conquest by
14774-508: The beginning of the 14th century. During the 14th and 15th centuries, some Italian city-states ranked among the most important powers of Europe. Venice, in particular, had become a major maritime power, and the city-states as a group acted as a conduit for goods from the Byzantine and Islamic empires. In this capacity, they provided great impetus to the developing Renaissance , began in Florence in
14940-527: The beginning of the 19th century were mainly traders and professionals in search of new opportunities, coming from Liguria and the other regions of northern Italy. At the end of the 19th century, Tunisia received the immigration of tens of thousands of Italians, mainly from Sicily and also Sardinia . As a consequence, in the first years of the 20th century there were more than 100,000 Italian residents in Tunisia. In 1926, there were 100,000 Italians in Tunisia, compared to 70,000 Frenchmen (unusual since Tunisia
15106-524: The border in search of work. As of 2017, there are approximately 700,000 Italians in Germany, while in Switzerland this number reaches approximately 500,000. They are mainly of Sicilian , Calabrian , Abruzzese and Apulian origin, but also Venetian and Emilian , many of whom have dual citizenship and therefore the ability to vote in both countries. In Belgium and Switzerland, the Italian communities remain
15272-587: The capital of the kingdom. Pope Pius IX , a longtime rival of Italian kings, stated he had been made a "prisoner" inside the Vatican walls and refused to cooperate with the royal administration. Only in 1929 did the Roman Pope accept the unified Italy with Rome as capital. World War I has been interpreted as completing the process of Italian unification, with the annexation of Trieste, Istria , Trentino-Alto Adige and Zara . After World War I, Italy emerged as one of
15438-456: The city of Genoa but from all of Liguria , a region in Northern Italy that was the center of the maritime Republic of Genoa. According to the 1725 census, on a total civilian population of 1,113 there were 414 Genoese, 400 Spaniards, 137 Jews, 113 Britons and 49 others (mainly Portuguese and Dutch). In the 1753 census, the Genoese were the biggest group (nearly 34%) of civilian residents in
15604-447: The city was Italian), Benghazi (31%), and Hun (3%). Their numbers decreased after 1946. France and the UK took over the spoils of war that included Italian discovery and technical expertise in the extraction and production of crude oil, superhighways, irrigation, electricity. Most of Libya's Italian residents were expelled from the country in 1970, a year after Muammar Gaddafi seized power in
15770-689: The city was far from the troubled frontiers. The seats of the Caesars became Augusta Treverorum (on the River Rhine frontier) for Constantius Chlorus and Sirmium (on the River Danube frontier) for Galerius , who also resided at Thessaloniki . Under Diocletian, Italy became the Dioecesis Italiciana , subdivided into thirteen provinces, now including Raetia . Under Constantine the Great , Italy became
15936-511: The community had reached around 55,000 just before World War II , forming the second largest immigrant community in Egypt. After World War II, like many other foreign communities in Egypt, migration back to Italy and the West reduced the size of the community greatly due to wartime internment and the rise of Nasserist nationalism against Westerners. After the war many members of the Italian community related to
16102-511: The course of over a century are present abroad. Benefit , cultural, assistance and service associations that have constituted a fundamental point of reference for emigrants. The major associative networks of various ideal inspirations are now gathered in the National Council of Emigration. One of the largest associative networks in the world, together with those of the Catholic world , is that of
16268-732: The customs duty were handled by the Riccardi , a group of bankers from Lucca in Italy. This was in return for their service as money lenders to the crown, which helped finance the Welsh Wars. When the war with France broke out, the French king confiscated the Riccardi's assets, and the bank went bankrupt. After this, the Frescobaldi of Florence took over the role as money lenders to the English crown. Large numbers of Italians have resided in Germany since
16434-529: The day against the "promiscuous immigration… [of]…the filthy, wretched, lazy, criminal dregs of the meanest sections of Italy"). An article written during the interwar period on April 17, 1921, in the same newspaper, used the headlines "Italians Coming in Great Numbers" and "Number of Immigrants Will Be Limited Only By Capacity of Liners" (there was now a limited number of ships available because of recent wartime losses) and that potential immigrants were thronging
16600-531: The defeated Italian expansion in Egypt were forced to move away, starting a process of reduction and disappearance of the Italian Egyptians. After 1952 the Italian Egyptians were reduced – from the nearly 60,000 of 1940 – to just a few thousands. Most Italian Egyptians returned to Italy during the 1950s and 1960s, although a few Italians continue to live in Alexandria and Cairo. Officially the Italians in Egypt at
16766-427: The descendants of the Genoese community of Gibraltar consider themselves Gibraltarians and most of them promote the autonomy of Gibraltar. Genoese heritage is evident throughout Gibraltar but especially in the architecture of the town's older buildings which are influenced by traditional Genoese housing styles featuring internal courtyards (also known as "patios"). Corfiot Italians (or "Corfiote Italians") are
16932-669: The eastern Mediterranean coast (the Levant, particularly in present-day Lebanon and Israel ) since the period of the Crusades and the Byzantine empire. A small group came from Crimea and the Genoese colonies in the Black Sea , after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. The majority of the Italian Levantine in modern Turkey are descendants of traders and colonists from the maritime republics of
17098-544: The efforts of noblemen, emperors, and larger foreign powers to control them. The emergence of identifiable Italian dialects from Vulgar Latin , and as such the possibility of a specifically "Italian" ethnic identity, has no clear-cut date, but began in roughly the 12th century. Modern standard Italian derives from the written vernacular of Tuscan writers of the 12th century. The recognition of Italian vernaculars as literary languages in their own right began with De vulgari eloquentia , an essay written by Dante Alighieri at
17264-444: The empire against the ascendant city republics in the 13th century. The Italian peninsula was divided into a multitude of tribal or ethnic territory prior to the Roman conquest of Italy in the 3rd century BC. After a series of wars between Greeks and Etruscans , the Latins , with Rome as their capital, gained the ascendancy by 272 BC, and completed the conquest of the Italian peninsula by 218 BC. This period of unification
17430-470: The end of 2007 were 3,374 (1,980 families). The oldest area of Italian settlement in Zimbabwe was established as Sinoia - today's Chinhoyi - in 1906, as a group settlement scheme by a wealthy Italian lieutenant , Margherito Guidotti, who encouraged several Italian families to settle in the area. The name Sinoria derives from Tjinoyi, a Lozwi/Rozwi Chief who is believed to have been a son of Lukuluba who
17596-514: The etymology of the Latin name "Italia" are numerous. One is that it was borrowed via Greek from the Oscan Víteliú 'land of calves' ( cf. Lat vitulus "calf", Umb vitlo "calf"). Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus , mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides . According to Antiochus of Syracuse ,
17762-460: The existence of which predates the national language. Although there is disagreement on the total number, according to UNESCO , there are approximately 30 languages native to Italy , although many are often misleadingly referred to as "Italian dialects ". Since 2017, in addition to the approximately 55 million Italians in Italy (91% of the Italian national population), Italian-speaking autonomous groups are found in neighboring nations; about
17928-626: The expansion of the Roman Republic , the name was used by Greeks to indicate the land between the Strait of Messina and the line connecting the Gulf of Salerno and Gulf of Taranto , corresponding roughly to the current region of Calabria . The Greeks gradually came to apply the name "Italia" to a larger region In addition to the "Greek Italy" in the south, historians have suggested the existence of an "Etruscan Italy" covering variable areas of central Italy. The borders of Roman Italy are better established. Cato
18094-493: The final victor (31 BC), was accorded the title of Augustus by the Senate and thereby became the first Roman Emperor. Augustus created for the first time an administrative region called Italia with inhabitants called "Italicus populus", stretching from the Alps to Sicily : for this reason historians like Emilio Gentile called him Father of Italians . In the 1st century BC, Italia
18260-455: The first public performance of the song Il Canto degli Italiani , the Italian national anthem since 1946, took place. Il Canto degli Italiani , written by Goffredo Mameli set to music by Michele Novaro , is also known as the Inno di Mameli , after the author of the lyrics, or Fratelli d'Italia , from its opening line . The unification of Italy was brought to a successful conclusion under
18426-466: The following regions: In Argentina , the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:5,300) in the following provinces: Italians Italians ( Italian : italiani , pronounced [itaˈljaːni] ) are an ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region . Italians share a common culture , history , ancestry and language . Their predecessors differ regionally, but generally include native populations such as
18592-519: The guidance of Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour , prime minister of Piedmont. Cavour managed to unite most of Italy under the headship of Victor Emmanuel II of the house of Savoy, and on 17 March 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed with Victor Emmanuel II as king. Giuseppe Garibaldi , the popular republican hero of Italy, contributed much to this achievement with the Expedition of the Thousand and to
18758-456: The island of Sardinia, which had been ceded to the Alpine House of Savoy in 1720 and had remained under their rule ever since, were not under French control. French domination lasted less than 20 years, and it differed from previous foreign control of the Italian peninsula. In spite of heavy taxation and frequent harshness, the French introduced representative assemblies and new laws that were
18924-450: The king. The breakdown of feudalism and the ensuing redistribution of land, however, did not necessarily lead to small farmers in the south winding up with land they could own, work, and profit from. Many remained landless, and plots grew smaller and smaller and so less and less productive, as land was subdivided amongst heirs. The transition was not smooth for the south (the " Mezzogiorno "). The path to unification and modernization created
19090-616: The largest Italian community outside Italy), more than 18 million Italian Americans , and people in other parts of Europe (e.g. Italians in Germany , Italians in France and Italians in the United Kingdom ), the American Continent (such as Italian Venezuelans , Italian Canadians , Italian Colombians and Italians in Paraguay , among others), Australasia ( Italian Australians and Italian New Zealanders ), and to
19256-412: The majority of Italian immigrants were from northern and central Italy. Two-thirds of the migrants who left Italy between 1870 and 1914 were men with traditional skills. Peasants were half of all migrants before 1896. As the number of Italian emigrants abroad increased, so did their remittances , which encouraged further emigration, even in the face of factors that might logically be thought to decrease
19422-640: The modern era, Napoleon Bonaparte , French emperor and general, was ethnically Italian of Corsican origin, whose family was of Genoese and Tuscan ancestry. After the conquest of Anglo-Saxon England in 1066, the first recorded Italian communities in England began from the merchants and sailors living in Southampton . The famous " Lombard Street " in London took its name from the small but powerful community from northern Italy, living there as bankers and merchants after
19588-401: The most emigrants is Rome (263,210), followed by Agrigento (138,517), Cosenza (138,152), Salerno (108,588) and Naples (104,495). In 2008, about 60,000 Italians changed citizenship; they mostly come from Northern Italy (74%) and have preferred Germany as their adopted country (12% of the total emigrants). The number of Italian citizens residing abroad according to those registered in
19754-517: The most numerous Italian regional communities are the southern ones. The official Italian registry records 28,059 Italians residing in South Africa in 2007, excluding South Africans with dual citizenship. Very numerous was the presence of Italian emigrants in African territories that were Italian colonies , namely in Eritrea , Ethiopia , Libya and Somalia . In 1911, the Kingdom of Italy waged war on
19920-514: The most numerous foreign representations, and although many return to Italy after retirement, often the children and grandchildren remain in the countries of birth, where they have now taken root. An important phenomenon of aggregation that is found in Europe, as well as in other countries and continents that have been the destination of migratory flows of Italians, is that of emigration associations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that over 10,000 associations set up by Italian emigrants over
20086-448: The most popular in the world, its cinema (with filmmakers such as Federico Fellini , Michelangelo Antonioni , Mario Monicelli , Sergio Leone , etc.), its collections of priceless works of art and its fashion (Milan and Florence are regarded as some of the few fashion capitals of the world). National symbols of Italy are the symbols that uniquely identify Italy reflecting its history and culture . They are used to represent
20252-452: The nature of the emigrants had changed; there was, for example, a marked increase in the rise of relatives outside the working age moving to be with their families, who had already left Italy. The bond of the emigrants with their mother country continued to be very strong even after their departure. Many Italian emigrants made donations to the construction of the Altare della Patria (1885–1935),
20418-423: The need to leave, such as increased salaries at home. It has been termed "persistent and path-dependent emigration flow". Friends and relatives who left first sent back money for tickets and helped relatives as they arrived. That tended to support an emigration flow since even improving conditions in the original country took time to trickle down to potential emigrants to convince them not to leave. The emigrant flow
20584-567: The number of Italians abroad rose from 3,106,251 in 2006 to 4,636,647 in 2015 and so grew by 49% in just 10 years. There are over 5 million Italian citizens living outside Italy, and c. 80 million people around the world claim full or partial Italian ancestry. Internal migration within the Italian geographical borders also occurred for similar reasons; its largest wave consisted of 4 million people moving from Southern Italy to Northern Italy (and mostly to Northern or Central Italian industrial cities like Rome or Milan, etc.), between
20750-490: The outbreak of World War I . About 10,275,000 returned to Italy (35%), and 18,761,000 permanently settled abroad (65%). A third wave, primarily affecting young people, widely called "fuga di cervelli" ( brain drain ) in the Italian media, is thought to be occurring, due to the socioeconomic problems caused by the financial crisis of the early 21st century. According to the Public Register of Italian Residents Abroad (AIRE),
20916-407: The outlines of a new Italy began to appear. Victor Emmanuel III gave up the throne on 9 May 1946, and his son, Umberto II , became king. On 2 June Italy held its first free election after 20 years of Fascist rule (the so-called Ventennio ). Italians chose a republic to replace the monarchy , which had been closely associated with Fascism . They elected a Constituent Assembly , which was formed by
21082-459: The previous two, this period mainly affects young people who are often graduates, so much so that is defined as a " brain drain ". In particular, this flow is mainly directed towards Germany, where over 35,000 Italians arrived in 2012 alone, but also towards other countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, the United States and the South American countries. This
21248-480: The quays in the cities of Genoa. This article continues: ... the foreigner who walks through a city like Naples can easily realize the problem the government is dealing with: the back streets are literally teeming with children running around the streets and on the dirty and happy sidewalks. ... The suburbs of Naples ... teem with children who, in number, can only be compared to those found in Delhi , Agra and other cities of
21414-472: The region of Sardinia , accompanied Pedro de Mendoza to the place where Buenos Aires would be founded. From Cagliari to Spain, to Río de la Plata , then to Buenos Aires, he brought an image of Saint Mary of Good Air , to which the "miracle" of having reached a good place was attributed, giving the founded city its name in Spanish: Buenos Aires ( lit. "good airs"). The presence of Italians in
21580-592: The region. Venice, Milan, and other city-states retained at least some of their former greatness during this period, as did Savoy -Piedmont, protected by the Alps and well defended by its vigorous rulers. Italian explorers and navigators from the dominant maritime republics, eager to find an alternative route to the Indies in order to bypass the Ottoman Empire , offered their services to monarchs of Atlantic countries and played
21746-637: The representatives of all the anti-fascist forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the Italian Civil War , to prepare a new democratic constitution. The Assembly approved the new Italian constitution in 1947, which came into force on 1 January 1948. Under the Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947 , Istria , Kvarner , most of the Julian March as well as the Dalmatian city of Zara
21912-424: The same for all parts of the country. For the first time since the days of ancient Rome, Italians of different regions used the same money and served in the same army. Many Italians began to see the possibility of a united Italy free of foreign control. During the Napoleonic era , in 1797, the first official adoption of the Italian tricolour as a national flag by a sovereign Italian state, the Cispadane Republic ,
22078-417: The second half of the 20th century, on the other hand, was mostly to European nations experiencing economic growth. From the 1940s onwards, Italian emigration flow headed mainly to Switzerland and Belgium , while from the following decade, France and Germany were added among the top destinations. These countries were considered by many, at the time of departure, as a temporary destination—often only for
22244-408: The sense of depopulation; it has been characteristically permanent". The very large number of emigrants from Friuli-Venezia Giulia , a region with a population of only 509,000 in 1870 until 1914 is due to the fact that many of those counted among the 1.407 million emigrants actually lived in the Austrian Littoral which had a larger polyglot population of Croats, Friulians, Italians and Slovenes than in
22410-441: The service of France, renowned as the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and New Brunswick in 1524. The French Revolution and Napoleon influenced Italy more deeply than they affected any other outside country of Europe. The French Revolution began in 1789 and immediately found supporters among the Italian people. The local Italian rulers, sensing danger in their own country, drew closer to
22576-438: The so-called "new emigration" caused by the serious economic crisis also affects all of southern Europe such as countries like Spain, Portugal and Greece (as well as Ireland and France) which record similar, if not greater, emigration trends. It is widely believed that the places where there are no structural changes in economic and social policies are those most subject to the increase in this emigration flow. Regarding Italy, it
22742-401: The soil. Another factor was related to the overpopulation of Italy as a result of the improvements in socioeconomic conditions after Unification . That created a demographic boom and forced the new generations to emigrate en masse in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, mostly to the Americas . The new migration of capital created millions of unskilled jobs around the world and
22908-462: The subsequent incorporation of the Papal States under the Italian monarch. Cavour handed Savoy and Nice over to France at the Treaty of Turin , a decision that was the consequence of the Plombières Agreement , on 24 March 1860, an event that caused the Niçard exodus , which was the emigration of a quarter of the Niçard Italians to Italy, and the Niçard Vespers . Italian troops occupied Rome in 1870, and in July 1871, this formally became
23074-439: The term Italy was used by the Greeks to initially refer only to the southern portion of the Bruttium peninsula corresponding to the modern province of Reggio and part of the provinces of Catanzaro and Vibo Valentia in Southern Italy . Nevertheless, by his time the larger concept of Oenotria and "Italy" had become synonymous and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. According to Strabo 's Geographica , before
23240-408: The time that dealt with the theme of Italian emigration. Oh and just a quick note the biggest amount of immigrants in a time period were in 1880 - 1924 over 4 Million plus Italians immigrants came to the USA Italian Levantines are people living mainly in Turkey , who are descendants from Genoese and Venetian colonists in the Levant during the Middle Ages Italian Levantines have roots even in
23406-464: The times of the Italian maritime republics , when many merchants of the Republic of Venice and of the Republic of Genoa settled on the Maghreb coast. This presence lasted until the 19th century. he Italian community had a notable development in French Morocco ; already in the 1913 census about 3,500 Italians were registered, almost all concentrated in Casablanca , and mostly employed as excavators and construction workers. The Italian presence in
23572-429: The total population. For more than a century the Italians of Odesa greatly influenced the culture, art, industry, society, architecture, politics and economy of the city. Among the works created by the Italians of Odesa there were the Potemkin Stairs and the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theater . At the beginning of the 19th century the Italian language became the second official language in Odesa, after Russian. Until
23738-407: The wars at that time in Europe. Some of the first Italians who choose Lebanon as a place to settle and find refuge were Italian soldiers from the Italo-Turkish War from 1911 to 1912. Most of the Italians chose to settle in Beirut because of its European style of life. Few Italians left Lebanon for France after independence. The Italian community in Lebanon is very small (about 4,300 people) and it
23904-433: The whole Italian geographical region . All its inhabitants were considered Italic and Roman . The Latin term Italicus was used to describe "a man of Italy" as opposed to a provincial . For example, Pliny the Elder notably wrote in a letter Italicus es an provincialis ? meaning "are you an Italian or a provincial?". The adjective italianus , from which are derived the Italian (and also French and English) name of
24070-484: The year 1000 . The rebuilding of Westminster Abbey showed significant Italian artistic influence in the construction of the so-called ' Cosmati ' Pavement completed in 1245 and a unique example of the style unknown outside of Italy, the work of highly skilled team of Italian craftsmen led by a Roman named Ordoricus. In 1303, Edward I negotiated an agreement with the Lombard merchant community that secured custom duties and certain rights and privileges. The revenues from
24236-543: Was a French protectorate ). In the 1946 census, the Italians in Tunisia were 84,935, but in 1959 (3 years after many Italian settlers left to Italy or France after independence from France) there were only 51,702, and in 1969 there were less than 10,000. As of 2005, there are only 900, mainly concentrated in the metropolitan area of Tunis . Another 2,000 Italians, according to the Italian Embassy in Tunis, are "temporary" residents, working as professionals and technicians for Italian companies in different areas of Tunisia. During
24402-460: Was about one fifth of the entire Italian population). The "Report of Italians in the World 2011" produced by the Migrantes Foundation, which is part of the CEI , specified that: Italians residing abroad as of 31 December 2010 were 4,115,235 (47.8% are women). The Italian emigrant community continues to increase both for new departures, and for internal growth (enlargement of families or people who acquire citizenship by descent). Italian emigration
24568-446: Was adopted by the Lombard Legion in 1796. The first red, white and green national flag of a sovereign Italian state was adopted on 7 January 1797, when the Fourteenth Parliament of the Cispadane Republic (1797), on the proposal of deputy Giuseppe Compagnoni , decreed "to make universal the ... standard or flag of three colours, green, white, and red ...": For having proposed the green, white and red tricolour flag, Giuseppe Compagnoni
24734-407: Was annexed by Yugoslavia causing the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus , which led to the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 of local ethnic Italians ( Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians ), the others being ethnic Slovenians, ethnic Croatians, and ethnic Istro-Romanians , choosing to maintain Italian citizenship . In 1949 Italy became a member of NATO . The Marshall Plan helped to revive
24900-457: Was created, granting licenses to carriers, enforcing fixed ticket costs, keeping order at ports of embarkation, providing health inspection for those leaving, setting up hostels and care facilities and arranging agreements with receiving countries to help care for those arriving. The Commissariat tried to take care of emigrants before they left and after they arrived, such as dealing with the American laws that discriminated against alien workers (like
25066-403: Was deposed in 476 by a Germanic foederati general in Italy, Odoacer . His defeat marked the end of the Western Roman Empire , and the end of the political unification of Italy until the establishment of the modern Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Odoacer ruled well for 13 years after gaining control of Italy in 476. Then he was attacked and defeated by Theodoric , the king of another Germanic tribe,
25232-446: Was followed by one of conquest in the Mediterranean, beginning with the First Punic War against Carthage . In the course of the century-long struggle against Carthage, the Romans conquered Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Finally, in 146 BC, at the conclusion of the Third Punic War , with Carthage completely destroyed and its inhabitants enslaved, Rome became the dominant power in the Mediterranean. The process of Italian unification, and
25398-462: Was founded by the Italian prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi . Italian used to be a major language, but its influence significantly diminished following independence. It is now most frequently heard among older generations. Former Italian communities also once thrived in the Horn of Africa , with about 50,000 Italian settlers living in Eritrea in 1935. The Italian Eritrean population grew from 4,000 during World War I, to nearly 100,000 at
25564-406: Was granted sweeping powers. After Charles died in 1574, Catherine played a key role in the reign of her third son, Henry III . Other notable examples of Italians that played a major role in the history of France include Cardinal Mazarin , born in Pescina was a cardinal, diplomat and politician, who served as the chief minister of France from 1642 until his death in 1661. As for the personalities of
25730-545: Was introduced by the fascist government of the 1920s and 1930s. The Italian diaspora did not affect all regions of the nation equally. In the second phase of emigration (1900 to World War I), slightly less than half of emigrants were from the south and most of them were from rural areas, as they were driven off the land by inefficient land management, lawlessness and sickness ( pellagra and cholera ). Robert Foerster, in Italian Emigration of our Times (1919) says, "[Emigration has been]… well nigh expulsion; it has been exodus, in
25896-429: Was legally merged into the administrative unit of Italy in 42 BC by the triumvir Octavian as a ratification of Julius Caesar 's unpublished acts ( Acta Caesaris ). Under Emperor Diocletian the Roman region called "Italia" was further enlarged with the addition in 292 AD of the three big islands of the western Mediterranean Sea : Sicily (with the Maltese archipelago ), Sardinia and Corsica , coinciding with
26062-427: Was not particularly controlled by the state. Emigrants were often in the hands of emigration agents whose job was to make money for themselves by moving emigrants. Such labor agents and recruiters were called padroni , translating to patron or boss. Abuses led to the first migration law in Italy, passed in 1888, to bring the many emigration agencies under state control. On 31 January 1901, the Commissariat of Emigration
26228-412: Was one of the First Families to settle Virginia . In 1773–1785, Filippo Mazzei , a physician and promoter of liberty, was a close friend and confidant of Thomas Jefferson . He published a pamphlet containing the phrase, which Jefferson incorporated essentially intact into the Declaration of Independence : "All men are by nature equally free and independent. Such equality is necessary in order to create
26394-554: Was responsible for the simultaneous mass migration of Italians searching for "bread and work" ( Italian : pane e lavoro , pronounced [ˈpaːne e llaˈvoːro] ). The second diaspora started after the end of World War II and concluded roughly in the 1970s. Between 1880 and 1980, about 15,000,000 Italians left the country permanently. By 1980, it was estimated that about 25,000,000 Italians were residing outside Italy. Between 1861 and 1985, 29,036,000 Italians emigrated to other countries; of whom 16,000,000 (55%) arrived before
26560-428: Was socially despised. People invested not in agricultural equipment, but in such things as low-risk state bonds. The rule that emigration from cities was negligible has an important exception, in Naples . The city went from being the capital of its own kingdom in 1860 to being just another large city in Italy. The loss of bureaucratical jobs and the subsequently declining financial situation led to high unemployment in
26726-403: Was stemmed only by dramatic events, such as the outbreak of World War I, which greatly disrupted the flow of people trying to leave Europe, and the restrictions on immigration that were put in place by receiving countries. Examples of such restrictions in the United States were the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the Immigration Act of 1924 . Restrictive legislation to limit emigration from Italy
26892-549: Was still a collection of territories with different political statuses. Some cities, called municipia , had some independence from Rome, while others, the coloniae , were founded by the Romans themselves. Around 7 BC, Augustus divided Italy into eleven regiones . During the Crisis of the Third Century , the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasions, military anarchy and civil wars, and hyperinflation. In 284, emperor Diocletian restored political stability. The importance of Rome declined, because
27058-433: Was the first European to set foot in "New Found Land" and explore parts of the North American continent in 1497; Amerigo Vespucci , sailing for Portugal, who first demonstrated in about 1501 that the New World (in particular Brazil) was not Asia as initially conjectured, but a fourth continent previously unknown to people of the Old World (the name of " America " derives from his first name ); and Giovanni da Verrazzano , at
27224-434: Was the heart of the Renaissance , a period of great achievements in the arts at the end of the Middle Ages. Other important cities include Turin , which used to be the capital of Italy, and is now one of the world's great centers of automobile engineering. Milan is the industrial and financial capital of Italy and one of the world's fashion capitals . Venice , former capital of a major financial and maritime power from
27390-448: Was the third son of Emperor Netjasike. The Kalanga (Lozwi/Rozwi name) was changed to Sinoia by the white settlers and later Chinhoyi by the Zezuru. Along with other Zimbabweans, a disproportionate number of people of Italian descent now reside abroad, many of whom hold dual Italian or British citizenship. Regardless of the country's economic challenges, there is still a sizable Italian population in Zimbabwe. Though never comprising more than
27556-432: Was usually the popes who led attempts to protect Italy from invasion or to soften foreign rule. For about 200 years the popes opposed attempts by the Lombards, who had captured most of Italy, to take over Rome as well. The popes finally defeated the Lombards with the aid of two Frankish kings, Pepin the Short and Charlemagne . Using land won for them by Pepin in 756, the popes established political rule in what were called
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