Italian Cubans (; ) are

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent, whose ancestors were

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

who immigrated to Cuba during the

Italian diaspora The Italian diaspora (, ) 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 Risorgimento, Unification of Italy, and ended ...

, or Italian-born people in Cuba. Italian migration to Cuba began with the conquest of the island, was minor in comparison with other waves of Italian immigration to the Americas (millions went to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

After

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

(Italian from

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

), accidentally found Cuba in 1492, the first Italians arrived with the Spanish

conquistadores Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

. Some were sailors and soldiers of fortune but most were missionaries. In 1605 shipwrecked Italian sailors founded the city of Mantua, Cuba in the far west of the island. These sailors came from the

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

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. SpotornoJBCuba

Despite their small numbers, many Italian Cubans reached high positions in Cuban society. For example, Juan Bautista Spotorno (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 ...

) 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 (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. Some Italian Cubans participated actively in the

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), also known in Cuba as the Necessary War (), 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 Litt ...

, such as Oreste Ferrara editor of the national ''

El Heraldo de Cuba ''El Heraldo de Cuba'' was a national newspaper in Cuba founded by future President of Cuba The president of Cuba (), officially the president of the Republic of Cuba (), is the head of state of Cuba. The office in its current form was estab ...

'' 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 Liberation Army, Cuban Army of Independence. Fellow Cubans gave Maceo the nickname "The Bronze Tit ...

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 an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

in South America (it was widely popular in

and

) 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 politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

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” 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 The Pinar del Río Province is one of the 15 provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba. The capital and largest city is Pinar del Río (191,081 pop. in 2022). Geography The Pinar del Río province is Cuba's westernmost p ...

, 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. The origins of Oriente lie in the 1607 di ...

, 762 in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.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, ...

, 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 lar ...

In 1933 was

President of Cuba The president of Cuba (), officially the president of the Republic of Cuba (), is the head of state of Cuba. The office in its current form was established under the Constitution of 2019. The President is the second-highest office in Cuba and ...

for a brief period of time the general Alberto Herrera Franchi, whose mother was Italian. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...

's Italy. In 1941, nine such Italians were jailed on Isla de Pinos (now called

Isla de la Juventud Isla de la Juventud (; ) 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 Island). The island was ...

; 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 played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...

from the country in January 1959. When

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 Gian Luigi Nespoli (1936–2007) was an Italian born Italian Cuban poet and writer. He was also a member of the communist party in Italy and Cuba. Biography Born in Varese, in the region of Lombardy (north of Italy), Nespoli has published in It ...

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 215,000 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 is rated one of the world's best beaches in TripAdvisor's Travel ...

. 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?

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
{{Italian diaspora Ethnic groups in Cuba European diaspora in Cuba Cuban Cuban Articles containing video clips

History

See also

Notes

References

External links