Italian South Africans ( it, Italo-sudafricani) are South Africans who have full or partial

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

ancestry. They are primarily descended from Italians who emigrated to South Africa during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Language and religion

Most Italian South Africans, like other South Africans, are

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

. The majority of them are Roman Catholics although there is a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

minority. All the remaining first-generation Italian South Africans speak

and also English or other South African languages as second language. The Italian South Africans of the new generations are assimilated into South African society, and most of them speak mainly English as first language with a handful that speak

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

and Zulu but still secondarily Italian (and sometimes French).

Notable Italian South Africans

Sport

* Oscar Pistorius, South African sprint runner and convicted murderer * Carlo Del Fava, South African-born Italian former rugby union player * Lorenzo Masselli, South African-born Italian former rugby union player *

Giulio Giuricich Giulio Giuricich (born 5 February 1990 in Johannesburg, Gauteng) is a South African footballer, who last played as a left-back for Moroka Swallows in the Premier Soccer League. Career Giuricich left his native South Africa at the age of 18 ...

, South African footballer * Alessio Angelucci, South African baseball player * Davide Somma, South African footballer *

Dino Quattrocecere Dino Edgardo Quattrocecere (born 13 February 1973 in Virginia, Free State) is a South African figure skater. He competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17 ...

, South African figure skater * Ramon di Clemente, South African rower and Olympic medalist * Dylan Frittelli, South African golfer *

Rory Sabbatini Rory Mario Trevor Sabbatini (born 2 April 1976) is a South African-Slovak professional golfer. Sabbatini won six times on the PGA Tour between 2000 and 2011 and was runner-up in the 2007 Masters. He spent 21 weeks in the world top-10 in late-2 ...

, South African golfer * Hugh Baiocchi, South African golfer * Orazio Cremona, South African shot-putter * Giulio Zorzi, South African swimmer * Andrew Northcote, South African-born Italian cricketer (born to an Italian South African mother) * Angelo Gigli, South African-born Italian basketball player * Dario Chistolini, South African-born Italian rugby union player * Damian Crowley, South African-born Italian cricketer (born to an Italian South African mother) *

Eddie Firmani Edwin Ronald "Eddie" Firmani (; born 7 August 1933) is a former professional football player and manager. A former forward, he spent most of his career in Italy and England. Born in South Africa, he represented the Italy national team internat ...

, South African-born Italian former footballer * Marcello Fiasconaro, South African-Italian former athlete and one-time men's

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

world record holder * Jade Dernbach, South African-born English Cricketer (born to an Italian mother and South African father) * Craig Bianchi, South African former footballer * JJ Gagiano, South African-born American rugby union player * Vince Pennazza, South African-born Italian cricketer * Mike Bernardo, South African kickboxer and boxer * Zane Weir, South African-born Italian shot putter

Business

* Desmond Sacco, Chairman and Managing Director of Assore Limited * Tamara Francesconi, Businesswoman and model

Radio & TV

Amor Vittone Amor Vittone (born 16 March 1972 as Amor Ines Vittone) is a South African singer. Biography Amor Vittone was born March 16, 1972, in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. She was head girl at her high school, where she excelled both in ...

, Afrikaans singer and TV presenter (Italian father). * Debora Patta, broadcast journalist and television producer. * Tullio Moneta, Actor. * Vittorio Leonardi,South African stand-up comedian and actor. * Karin Giannone, South African-born BBC English television newsreader.

Politics

* Belinda Bozzoli * Mario Oriani-Ambrosini, constitutional lawyer and politician of the Inkatha Freedom Party. * Natasha Mazzone, South African politician and Chief Whip of the Official Opposition (since 2019) *

Elizabeth Maria Molteno Elizabeth Maria Molteno (24 September 1852 – 25 August 1927), was an early South African British activist for civil and women's rights in South Africa. Early life Elizabeth was born into an influential Cape family of Italian origin. She was ...

John Charles Molteno Sir John Charles Molteno (5 June 1814 – 1 September 1886) was a soldier, businessman, champion of responsible government and the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. Early life Born in London into a large Anglo-Italian family, Molteno ...

John Charles Molteno, Jr. John Charles Molteno Jr. (4 March 1860 – 23 March 1924) M.L.A., was a South African exporter and Member of Parliament. He was a prominent anti-imperialist of the Cape Colony, and a denouncer of British policies which led to the Anglo-Boer Wa ...

James Tennant Molteno Sir James Molteno (5 January 1865 – 16 September 1936), was an influential barrister and parliamentarian of South Africa. Rising to prominence as an unconventional anti-imperialist, he was briefly opposition leader, before becoming parliame ...

Other

* Carlo Gagiano, former Chief of the South African Air Force. * Don Mattera, anti-apartheid activist, poet and author. * Edoardo Villa, South African sculptor. *

David Ferraris __NOTOC__ David E. Ferraris (born 18 August 1963, in South Africa) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer in Hong Kong. Born into a racing family, his father, Ormond Ferraris, was a champion trainer in South African racing. He won the South Afric ...

, racehorse trainer.

References

External links

South African Chamber of Commerce

Italian embassy in Pretoria

Italian consulate in Cape Town

* ttp://www.sudafrica.it/ South African embassy in Rome {{authority control White South African people Ethnic groups in South Africa South Africans South Africans