Italian Peruvians


An Italian Peruvian is a Peruvian citizen of Italian descent. The phrase may refer to someone born in Peru of Italian descent or to someone who has immigrated to Peru from Italy. Among European Peruvians, Italians were the second largest group of immigrants to settle in the country.

History

Between 1532 and 1560, 50 Italians established in Lima and Callao, mostly from Liguria and Tuscany, such as Martin from Florence, Pietro Catagno, Pietro Martín from Sicily, Juan Bautista Pastene, born in Genoa in 1505 and also present since the beginning of the Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire.
Radicati di Primeglio has done an exhaustive research about Italians in Lima and he found the well-documented existence of 343 Italians in Lima between 1532 and 1650. From these 343 Italians: 124 were from Genoa, 28 from Venice, 28 from Corsica, 15 from Naples, 11 from Milan, 10 from Rome, 5 from Sicily and the rest from other Italian states. Italians from Genoa used to work in the transport of passengers and merchandises between Callao and other Viceroyalty harbors to Panama. We can mention to Captains Giustiniani y Vicenzo Pascuale, who founded many navigation and trade enterprises between Callao and Valparaiso; Giovanni di Malta, Nicolo da Bonifilio, Alvaro Pastrello, Giovanni Gaetano; Enrique Porri from Milan, Lucas de Astra from Genoa; Nicoroso y Marcos Corso, captain Alessandro Malaspina.
Research done by historian Alberto Boscolo in his work Presencia italiana en Andalucía: Siglos XIV-XVII.
revealed that during the time of Pizarro these Italians were present in Peru
Jeronimo Bacarel merchant cattleman,
Francisco de Bolonia merchant,
Francisco Rosso conquistador,
Sebastino Castro,
Pedro Catano,
Juan antonio Corso merchant,
Bartolome Ferrer mariner merchant,
Martin de Florencia conquistador,
Antonio Genoves,
Esteban Genoves conquistador,
Jacomo Genoves,
Rostran Genoves carpenter,
Simon Genoves conquistador,
Isabella Gentil,
Cesare Maneo,
Pedro Milanes conquistador,
Marco Negro,
Francisco Neri merchant,
Juan de Niza conquistador,
Jacome Pablo,
Pedro Pinelo merchant,
Diego de Pisa conquistador,
Antonio del Solar,
Alonso Toscano merchant,
Juan Toscano religious,
Pedro Toscano merchant,
Fray Francisco Martinez religious,
Italians who participated in the Rebellion of Gonzalo Pizarro
Juan Bautista mariner,
Francisco Bonifacio,
Baptista Calvo,
Other Italians
Urbano Centurione merchant,
Estebano Cintana mariner,
Antonio de Ecogua mariner,
Lorenzo Fabiano,
Tomas Farco,
Nicolas Feo,
Bernardo Genoves,
Leon Pancaldo mariner,
Bartolome Rabano boatswain,
Francisco Ragano,
Tommaso Risso nobleman,
Juan Bautista Troche
Juan Pedro de Vivaldo sailing master.
There were also marines from Venice and from the Aegean Islands, like Pedro from Heraklion] AKA Crete] and Francisco from Cyprus ; Anello Oliva, Ludovico Bertonio, Francesco Carletti, and the Prince of Santo Buono and Viceroy of Peru; Carmine Nicolao Caracciolo, born in Naples and Dr. Federico Bottoni who published a treaty about sanguineous circulation, in 1723.
During the last decades of Spanish dominion in Perú, the number of Italians in Peru grew faster than in previous centuries. The richest ones were related to the marine commerce while the rest of Italians worked at small family-run business or in larger enterprises along with their fellow Italians, as they were relatively skilled. settled in the main cities, a group of Sicilian and Genovese fishers established in Chucuito, Callao The pioneers of the Italian immigration to Peru were Antonio Dagnino, who established in Callao in 1802 and Felix Valega, who arrived, in 1806. The same ship brought to the musician Andrea Bolognesi, father of the Peruvian National Hero "Francisco Bolognesi".
The first wave of Italian immigration to Peru occurred during the period 1840–1866 : not less than 15,000 Italians arrived to Peru during this period and established mainly in the coastal cities, especially, in Lima and Callao. They came, mostly, from the northern states. Giuseppe Garibaldi arrived to Peru in 1851, as well as other Italians who participated in the Milan rebellion like Giuseppe Eboli, Steban Siccoli, Antonio Raimondi, Arrigoni, etc.
In 1872, the Sociedad de Inmigración Europea was founded in Peru. Its objective was promoting Old World immigration by covering the costs of their journeys and financially supporting them during their first settler years in Peru. Furthermore, many Italians came in search for a better future, upon the arrival they established themselves in small business.
During the second world war waves of Italian families started to immigrate to Peru; these families mainly settled in Lima.

Italian Peruvian institutions and associations

is an Italian school in Lima.