Italian Cubans ( it, italo-cubani; es, ítalo-cubanos) are
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n-born citizens who are fully or partially of
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 ...
descent, whose ancestors were
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = Flag of Italy, The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, ...
who emigrated to Cuba during the
Italian diaspora
, image = Map of the Italian Diaspora in the World.svg
, image_caption = Map of the Italian diaspora in the world
, population = worldwide
, popplace = Brazil, Argentina, United States, France, Colombia, Canada, ...
, or Italian-born people in Cuba. Italian emigration into Cuba was minor (a few thousand emigrates) in comparison with other waves of Italian emigration to the Americas (millions went to
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
).
History
After
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
(Italian from
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...
), accidentally found Cuba in 1492, the first Italians arrived with the Spanish
conquistadores
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, ...
. Some were sailors and soldiers of fortune but most were missionaries. In 1605 shipwrecked Italian sailors founded the city of
Mantua, Cuba
Mantua () is a municipality and town in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba.
History
It was founded in 1605 by Italian shipwrecked sailors as Mantua, Cuba. It was founded in 1719 under the name Guane del Norte. In 1866 it was established as a mu ...
in the far west of the island. These sailors came from the
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...
and
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
areas.
The
Royal Decree of Graces (Real Cédula de Gracias) which was originated 10 August 1815 by the Spanish Crown, was issued with the intention of attracting European settlers who were not of Spanish origin to populate what would be the two remaining colonies of the Spanish Empire: Puerto Rico and Cuba.

Despite their small numbers, many Italian Cubans reached high positions in Cuban society. For example,
Juan Bautista Spotorno
Juan Bautista Spotorno (1832–1917) was a president of Cuba. He was an interim president of the Republic of Cuba in arms from 1875 to 1876.
Life
Spotorno grew up in an Italian family in Trinidad, Cuba, where he was born on September 13, 183 ...
(son of a lauded Italian family resident in
Trinidad, Cuba
Trinidad () is a town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, central Cuba. Together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, because of its historical importance as a center of the sugar trade in ...
) became a Cuban patriot and the president of the "Republic in Arms" in 1876. Italians fought and some of them died for Cuba in the
first tentative for independence from Spain: in
Las Tunas died in those years the Sicilian journalist Achille Aviles and later was killed the "garibaldino" Natalio Argenta.
Only in the mid-19th century did there develop a small Italian community in Cuba: they were mostly people of culture, architects, engineers, painters and artists and their families. They were called to Cuba to work in the development of the churches, monuments and government buildings in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. . In 1884 these first Italian Cubans (who were nearly 3,000) founded the "Sociedad de Socorro Mutuo" (Society of Mutual Aid) and in 1891 the "Sociedad de Beneficiencia" to help the neediest among them. At the beginning of the 20th century socialist associations were formed but these were strongly opposed with the Catholic-aligned authorities.

Some Italian Cubans participated actively in the
Cuban War of Independence
The Cuban War of Independence (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Little War (Cuba), Little War (1879–1880). The ...
, such as
Oreste Ferrara editor of the national ''
El Heraldo de Cuba'' newspaper. Indeed, in April 1898, a group of 75 Italian volunteers sailed to Cuba with some money obtained from subscription in Italy: their leader was coronel
Francesco Federico Falco
Francesco Federico Falco (April 12, 1866 – August 11, 1944) was an Italian medical doctor, who fought for the Cuban War of Independence as coronel "commander of the Health Corp in the Liberation Army of Cuba".
Biography
Falco graduated from Me ...
, who fought bravely under general
Antonio Maceo
Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales (June 14, 1845December 7, 1896) was a Cuban general and second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence.
Fellow Cubans gave Maceo the nickname "The Bronze Titan" ( es, el Titán de ...
and was named "commander" of the Health Corp in the Liberation Army of Cuba. Falco later founded the magazine “La Cultura Latina” in la Habana, the first literary introduction of
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
in South America (it was widely popular in
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...
and
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
) and in Cuba. It was the first magazine that promoted in the Cuban society the philosophical ideals that were developed later in the
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2 ...
revolution.
In the beginning years of the 20th century many Italians living in Cuba decided to move to the United States, because of the better economic situation, while someone returned to Italy and others decided to accept the "naturalization" offered by the Cuban authorities.
Dino Pogolotti (1879–1923) was a real estate entrepreneur best known for the development in 1911 of what is still known today as the “
Barrio Pogolotti
''Barrio'' () is a Spanish word that means "quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), social, arc ...
” in Havana, Cuba
In 1931, according to the Cuban census, there were only 1,178 people with an Italian passport in Cuba and to them must be added about 15,000 people of Italian origin, many of whom were illegitimate children of an Italian father and Cuban mother Of these Italians, 80 lived in
Pinar del Río Province
Pinar del Río is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba.
Geography
The Pinar del Río province is Cuba's westernmost province and contains one of Cuba's three main mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guanig ...
, 129 in
Oriente Province
Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. Fidel and Raúl Castro were born in a ...
, 762 in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , 30 in
Matanzas Province
Matanzas () is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is also located in this province.
Among Cuban provinces, M ...
, 103 in
Las Villas Province and 74 in
Camagüey Province
Camagüey () is the largest of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Camagüey. Other towns include Florida and Nuevitas.
Geography
Camagüey is mostly low lying, with no major hills or mountain ranges passing through the province. Numerous l ...
.

In 1933 was
President of Cuba
The president of Cuba ( es, Presidente de Cuba), officially the president of the Republic of Cuba ( es, Presidente de la República de Cuba), is the head of state of Cuba. The office in its current form was established under the Constitution of ...
for a brief period of time the general
Alberto Herrera Franchi
General Alberto Herrera y Franchi (September 1, 1874 – March 18, 1954) was the interim President of Cuba from August 12 to August 13, 1933.
Biography
General Herrera was the Secretary of War & Navy during the presidency of Gerardo Machado. He ...
, whose mother was Italian.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Italy and Cuba broke off diplomatic relations and some Italian Cubans were jailed accused of sympathizing with
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until Fall of the Fascist re ...
's Italy. In 1941, nine such Italians were jailed on Isla de Pinos (now called
Isla de la Juventud
Isla de la Juventud (; en, Isle of Youth) is the second-largest Cuban island (after Cuba's mainland) and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies (after mainland Cuba itself, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and Andros Islan ...
; they were: Principe Camillo Ruspoli (rancher), Doctor Attilio di Gregorio (physician), Francesco Savonelli (businessman), Felice Siervo (jeweller), Erminio Tarditi (businessman), Bruni Pasquale (shoemaker), Doctor Pasquale Fontanella (physician), Francesco Grosso (tailor) y Piero Rosbochi (businessman). All were released in November 1943.
Anselmo Alliegro (the son of an Italian, Michele Alliegro Esculpino) was nominated interim President of Cuba after the departure of General
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...
from the country in January 1959.
When
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2 ...
arose to power in 1959, some Italians -mostly marxists- went to live in Cuba in order to participate in the new "socio-political order". One of them, the poet and writer
Gian Luigi Nespoli has published many books of poetry in Cuba and has received in 1994 the poetry award dedicated to the Cuban poet
José María Heredia.
In 2008, there were over 15,000 Cubans of Italian descent, while there were around 2,340 Italian citizens, concentrated in La Habana and tourist areas such as
Varadero
Varadero (), also referred to as ''Playa Azul'' (Blue Beach), is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero Beach was rated one of the world's best beaches in TripAdvisor's Trav ...
. One of the most famous is architect
Roberto Gottardi, designer of the "Escuela de Artes Escénicas" (Scenic Arts School) in Havana.
Roberto Gottardi´s National art school - Paradise lost?
See also
* Italian Mexican
* Juan Bautista Spotorno
Juan Bautista Spotorno (1832–1917) was a president of Cuba. He was an interim president of the Republic of Cuba in arms from 1875 to 1876.
Life
Spotorno grew up in an Italian family in Trinidad, Cuba, where he was born on September 13, 183 ...
* Orestes Ferrara
* Roberto Gottardi
* Gian Luigi Nespoli
* Francesco Federico Falco
Francesco Federico Falco (April 12, 1866 – August 11, 1944) was an Italian medical doctor, who fought for the Cuban War of Independence as coronel "commander of the Health Corp in the Liberation Army of Cuba".
Biography
Falco graduated from Me ...
Notes
References
* Ervantes-Rodriguez. ''International Migration in Cuba: Accumulation, Imperial Designs, and Transnational Social Fields''. Max Kade German-American Research Institute Series. Publisher Penn State Press, 2011
* Favero, Luigi e Tassello, Graziano. ''Cent'anni di emigrazione italiana (1861 - 1961)'' CSER. Roma, 1981
External links
Video about Mantua, Cuba
{{Portal bar, Cuba, Italy
Ethnic groups in Cuba
European Cuban
Cuban
Cuban
Articles containing video clips