Giorgio Ricci (b. 1870 in

Verica Verica (early 1st century AD) was a British client king of the Roman Empire in the years preceding the Claudian invasion of 43 AD. From his coinage, he appears to have been king of the probably Belgic Atrebates tribe and a son of Commius. T ...

) was an Italian entrepreneur known for bringing Italian immigrants to Araucanía in Chile under fraudulent conditions. Araucanía had been recently incorporated to Chile (1861-1883) when Ricci in 1904 brought over a group of Italian immigrants from

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

, promising good lands for agriculture. Once in Chile, immigrants were disappointed by the fact the lands he granted them were hilly forest not suitable for agriculture. The colony was initially called Nueva Italia, but changed in 1907 to the name Capitán Pastene. Soon however, many left for nearby towns such as

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The cit ...

and

Traiguén Traiguén () is a Chilean city and commune in the Malleco Province, Araucanía Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Traiguén spans an area of and has 19,534 inhabitants (9,734 men and 9,800 ...

or even further away into Santiago. In 1906, Ricci repeated the scheme bringing Italian immigrants in Brazil to Nueva Etruria west of

Gorbea Gorbea () or Gorbeia () is a mountain and massif in the Basque Country, Spain. It is the highest summit in Biscay and Álava, with a height of above sea level. The massif covers a wide area between the two provinces. The main summit is a round ...

. As with Capitán Pastene, immigrants were lured into lands not particularly suitable for agriculture. By 1908, very few Italians remained in Nueva Etruria. Ricci was rewarded by the Chilean state with lands for helping colonizing the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricci Giorgio 1870 births Italian emigrants to Chile Year of death missing