The Italian language in Venezuela has been present since colonial times in the areas around Caracas, Maracay, Valencia, Maracaibo and the Andes mountains. The language is found in many idiomatic sentences and words of Venezuelan Spanish. There are around 200,000 Italian-speakers in the country, making it the second most spoken language in Venezuela, after Spanish. [1]
The name of Venezuela itself comes from the Italian Amerigo Vespucci, who called the area "Little Venice" in a typical Italian expression. Some Italians participated in the first European colonies in Venezuela, mainly on the island of Margarita and in Cumaná, the first European city in the Americas, but their influence on the local language was very limited.
During the Venezuelan Wars of Independence, some Italians helped Simón Bolivar against the Spanish Empire and they brought some Italian military words to Venezuelan Spanish. The military officer Agostino Codazzi created the first "Atlante" of Venezuela and - as a consequence - many geographical words in Venezuela are loanwords from Italian.
In the second half of the 20th century, more than 300,000 Italians moved to Venezuela — many in particular emigrating following World War II — leaving their linguistic imprint on the local vocabulary: "Ciao" is now a usual friendly salute in Caracas, for example. There are even expressions among local young people that mix Italian and Spanish words: "Muérete que chao" is an example. The modisms of the upper class in Caracas (called "Sifrinos") are full of Italian words and expressions.
Today, there are more than 5 million Venezuelans with some Italian roots: some young Italo-Venezuelans in Caracas use slang mixing Italian dialect and Spanish among themselves. Italians also influenced Venezuelan accent, given its slight sing-songy intonation, like Rioplatense Spanish.
Nearly all the Italians speaking the Italian language in Venezuela live in the half of the country north of the Orinoco-Apure rivers, while only a few thousands live in the Ciudad Bolivar-Ciudad Guayana and San Felipe areas of the Apure-Amazonas-Bolivar states.
In the 2000s there are nearly 50,000 Italians residing in Venezuela who speak a variety of Italian with their sons and daughters (second generation Italo-Venezuelans).
The teaching of the Italian language is starting to be better implemented among the nearly one million Venezuelans who are of Italian descent, [2] but there are only a few Italian language institutions in Venezuela, including private schools owned by the Italian community. In the metropolitan area of Caracas, the best school is the "Agustin Codazzi" (with courses from elementary to high school), [3] while there are others in the interior of Venezuela (like in Puerto La Cruz the "Colegio Angelo De Marta" and in Barquisimeto the "Colegio Agazzi" [4] ).
According to the Italian Embassy in Caracas the "...Italian language teaching is guaranteed by the presence of a consistent number of private Venezuelan schools and institutions, where Italian language courses and Italian literature are active. Other similar courses are organized and sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Associations.The Didactic Office of the General Consulate of Caracas, together with this Embassy, is negotiating an Agreement with the Venezuelan Authorities for the recognition of the Study Diplomas emitted by the Italian School (in Venezuela there is a Civil Association called "Agostino Codazzi" which offers the complete didactic cycle from elementary to high school) so that there can be access to the University system in Venezuela with an Italian high school diploma.Since 2002, the Italian Government has become the promoter for a provision which makes it mandatory to teach Italian as a second language in a consistent number of public and private schools within Venezuela..." [5]
Colonia Tovar is a cold mountain town of Venezuela, capital of the municipality Tovar in Aragua state. It is located about 65.5 km (41 mi) west of Caracas. It was founded on April 8, 1843, by a group of 390 immigrants from the then independent state of the Grand Duchy of Baden. It is characterized by the cultural imprint of its origin, so it is called "the Germany of the Caribbean". The economy depends primarily on agriculture and tourism. Colonia Tovar is known for its temperate crops and their derivatives. Since 1990 it has experienced high population growth, rising from 3,373 to 21,000 inhabitants in 2016.
José Antonio Páez Herrera was a Venezuelan leader who fought against the Spanish Crown for Simón Bolívar during the Venezuelan War of Independence. He later led Venezuela's independence from Gran Colombia.
The Venezuelan War of Independence was one of the Spanish American wars of independence of the early nineteenth century, when independence movements in South America fought a civil war for secession and against unity of the Spanish Empire, emboldened by Spain's troubles in the Napoleonic Wars.
San Fernando de Apure is a city in Apure State in Venezuela. The population of the municipality area is 165,135. The 18th century exports included heron feathers and animal hides.
The State Railways Institution is a state-run organization of Venezuela that manages the railway systems of the country. Its headquarters are located in Caracas, Venezuela.
Giovanni Battista Agostino Codazzi was an Italo-Venezuelan soldier, scientist, geographer, cartographer, and governor of Barinas (1846–1847). He made his main investigations and cartographic work in Venezuela and Colombia, thereby creating for both countries a complete set of maps and statistics after the tumultuous years following independence from the Spanish Empire.
Deportivo Miranda Fútbol Club is a Venezuelan football club based in Caracas. Formed in 1948 as "Deportivo Italia F.C.", the club after fifty years merged with "Deportivo Chacao F.C." in 1998, and was called Deportivo Italchacao for eight years. The club has won the Primera División Venezolana five times and the Copa de Venezuela three times.
The languages of Venezuela refers to the official languages and various dialects spoken in established communities within the country. In Venezuela, Castellan is the official language and is the mother tongue of the majority of Venezuelans. Although there is an established official language, there are countless languages of indigenous villages spoken throughout Venezuela, and various regions also have languages of their own.
Pompeo D'Ambrosio.
Italian Venezuelans are Venezuelan-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Venezuela during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Venezuela. Italians were among the largest groups of European immigrants to settle in the country. Approximately 5 million Venezuelans have some degree of Italian ancestry, corresponding to about 16% of the total population of Venezuela, while there were around 30,000 Italian citizens in Venezuela.
Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido, was a Venezuelan lawyer, writer, journalist, and politician who served as acting president of Venezuela. A lawyer early in his career, in 1876 he cofounded the school La Paz in Caracas. Also dedicated to journalism, he founded the publications Alianza Literaria in 1876, La Mayoría in 1879, and Monitor in 1889. Between 1879 and 1892 he held various political roles including Secretary of Interior of the Federal District, secretary general in the government of President Antonio Guzmán Blanco, and a trial judge in Caracas.
Carmelo Fernández Páez was a Venezuelan engineer, soldier, cartoonist, lithographer and watercolorist. He was born in the town of Guama, Yaracuy State, on June 30, 1809, and died in Caracas on February 9, 1887.
The United States of Venezuela was the official name of Venezuela, adopted in its 1864 constitution under the Juan Crisóstomo Falcón government. This remained the official name until 1953, when the constitution of that year renamed it the Republic of Venezuela. In 1999 under newly elected president Hugo Chávez and his modification to the Constitution, Venezuela's official name became the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Italian Colombians are Colombian-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Colombia during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Colombia. Italians have been immigrating to Colombia since the early 16th century.
Colegio Agustín Codazzi is an Italian international school in La Florida, Caracas, Venezuela.
Colegio Italo-Venezolano Angelo De Marta is an Italian private school in Puerto La Cruz (Venezuela).
Colegio Amerigo Vespucci is an Italian private school in Caracas, Venezuela.
Colegio NS de Pompei is an Italian private & religious school in Caracas (Venezuela).
Little Maracanazo was a football match played between Fluminense FC of Brazil and Deportivo Italia of Venezuela in the group stage of the 1971 Copa Libertadores. Fluminense, managed by Mário Zagallo who had just won the 1970 World Cup, were defeated 1–0.
L'italiano come lingua acquisita o riacquisita è largamente diffuso in Venezuela: recenti studi stimano circa 200.000 studenti di italiano nel Paese
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