Italian Colombian

....The Italian influence in Colombia was important in science, culture, arts and laws. Furthermore, they created symbols like the country map, the National Himn and the Capitol.(La influencia italiana fue determinante en la ciencia, la cultura, las artes y el derecho de Colombia. Además, les dieron vida a símbolos como el mapa, el Himno Nacional y el Capitolio.)

— Armando Silva[3]

Very few Italians arrived in Colombia before the war of independence led by Simón Bolívar, although several hundred monks came from Italy primarily as priests and missionaries were present in the country and have left their mark in many lines of colonial society. Although few, these early Italians were present in almost all higher levels of Colombian society: in 1812 Juan Dionisio Gamba, the son of a merchant from Genoa was president of Colombia.

In the mid-nineteenth century, many Italians arrived from South Italy (especially from the province of Salerno, and the areas of Basilicata and Calabria), arrived on the north coast of Colombia: Barranquilla was the first center affected by this mass migration.

One of the first complete maps of Colombia, adopted today with some modifications, was prepared earlier by another Italian, Agustín Codazzi, who arrived in Bogota in 1849. The Colonel Agustin Codazzi also proposed the establishment of an agricultural colony of Italians, on model of what was done with the Colonia Tovar in Venezuela, but some factors prevented it.

Portrait of the Italian Oreste Sindici (1870). He composed the "Hymn of Colombia"

In 1885 diplomatic relations for some years between Italy and Colombia were interrupted. When a wealthy businessman in the Italian-Colombian Cauca named Ernesto Cerruti- was placed against the oligarchy and the church favoring a liberal party and local mason, Bogota authorities confiscated their property and imprisoned. This has caused a blockade of the port by the Colombian Navy and Italian emigration in Italy was partially closed until 1899.

In November 1887 to commemorate the independence of Cartagena, has been interpreted in Bogota Variety Theatre, a fervent song with lyrics (by Rafael Núñez) which was subsequently adopted by the Law 1920 as Hymn of the Republic of Colombia: his charm and melody came from someone who had arrived as first tenor in an opera company, the Italian musician Oreste Sindici (May 31, 1828 – January 12, 1904), and who lived the last years of his life in Bogotá well acclaimed by the Colombians.

Oreste Sindici was an Italian-born Colombian musician and composer, who composed the music for the Colombian national anthem in 1887. Oreste Sindici died in Bogotá on January 12, 1904 due to severe arteriosclerosis. In 1937 the Colombian government honored his memory.[4]

Some important buildings were created by Italians in the XIX century, like the famous Colón Theater of the capital. It is one of the most representative theatres of Colombia, with a neoclassic architecture: was built by the Italian architect Pietro Cantini and founded in 1892; has more than 2,400 square metres (26,000 sq ft) for 900 people. This famous Italian architect also contributed to the construction of the Capitolio Nacional of the capital.

The sculptor Cesare Sighinolfi travelled to Bogotà, Colombia in 1880, invited by his mentor Pietro Cantini to help decorate the Teatro Cristobal Colon. He made monuments to Christopher Columbus and Isabelle the Catholic (1906). In Bogota, Cesare Sighinolfi succeeded Alberto Urdaneta, as director of the "School of Fine Arts of Bogotà": teaching alongside Luigi Ramelli and Pietro Cantini. In 1896, in Bogota he completed a portrait of Rafael Reyes.

In 1908 -according to the relation of the diplomat Agnoli to the Italian Commissary for Emigration- in Colombia there were nearly one thousand Italians: 400 in Barranquilla, 120 in Bogota, less than 100 in Cartagena and Bucaramanga, while only a few dozens lived in Cucuta and other minor cities. Most of the Italians were from Veneto and Tuscany; their main activity was in commerce and restaurants/hotels but 30 Italians owned huge lands and successfully cultivated with farms.[5]

After the Second World War, Italian emigration to Colombia was directed primarily toward Bogota, Cali and Medellin. Italian immigrants in Colombia are mainly concentrated in the capital region (and secondarily in Cali & Medellin). They have Italian schools in Bogota (Institutes "Leonardo da Vinci" and "Alessandro Volta"), Medellín ("Leonardo da Vinci]]") & Barranquilla ("Galileo Galilei").

Furthermore there are some institutions promoted by the Italian government, like the "Sociedad Dante Alighieri", the "Instituto de Cultura italiana" and the "Casa de Italia" in the capital.[6]