Italian Lebanese

Italian Lebanese
*Italolibanesi*
Total population
4,300 (2007)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Beirut, Tripoli
Languages
Arabic, French, English, Italian
Religion
Christian: Mostly Roman Catholic; a few converts to Maronite (and even Islam)
Related ethnic groups
Italians, Lebanese

Italians in Lebanon (or Italian Lebanese) are a community in Lebanon with a history that goes back to Roman times.

1 History
2 Lebanese-Italian relations
3 Italian community in Lebanon
4 Language and religion
5 Famous Italian Lebanese
6 Notes
7 Bibliography
8 See also

History[edit]

In 64 B.C., the Roman general Pompey added both Lebanon and Syria to the Roman Republic. During and before this time, Phoenicians and Romans exchanged knowledge, habits, and customs. Indeed the veterans of two Roman legions were established in the city of "Berytus" (actual Beirut): the fifth Macedonian and the third Gallic.^[1] The city quickly became Romanized, with the descendants of those legionaries from the Italian peninsula.

Between the 12th and 15th centuries the Italian Republic of Genoa had some Genoese colonies in Beirut, Tripoli, Byblos and Jbeil.

In more recent times the Italians came to Lebanon in small groups during the World War I and World War II, trying to escape the wars at that time in Europe. Some of the first Italians who choose Lebanon as a place to settle and find a refuge were Italian soldiers from the Italo-Turkish War in 1911 to 1912. Also most of the Italians chose to settle in Beirut, because of its European style of life. Only a few Italians left Lebanon for France after independence.

Lebanese-Italian relations[edit]

Lebanon opened a legation in 1946, which was transformed into an embassy in 1955. Both countries signed a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Navigation in 1949. Both countries are members of the Union for the Mediterranean.

Italy and Lebanon are linked by an ancient friendship, which finds its roots in their common Mediterranean heritage, their antique civilizations and thousands of years of common history, intense trade relations and deep cultural and human exchanges. In the 16th century, the special relationship between Emir Fakhreddine and the Medicis family of Tuscany was instrumental in forging modern Lebanon as we know it today, which is a unique mixture of Western and Arabic cultures. Lebanon also left important traces in Italy’s history: in 1584 the Maronite College was founded in Rome, fostering contacts between clergymen, researchers and young students, which today is being continued under the framework of Inter-University cooperation. This excellent level of bilateral relations between Italy and Lebanon is reinforced today by the common views of the two countries on a number of Middle East issues, and by the growing awareness that in a globalized world the two shores of the Mediterranean sea share the same destiny.^[2]

Italian community in Lebanon[edit]

The Italian community in Lebanon is very small (about 4,300 people) and it is mostly assimilated into the Lebanese Catholic community.

The intermarriage in the Italian community is very high and most of the members are mainly half Italian via paternal or maternal side. There are some Italian families who returned to Italy after World War II together with their Lebanese born children.

There is a growing interest in economic relationships between Italy and Lebanon (like with the "Vinifest 2011"), thanks even to the remaining Italian Lebanese^[3]

Language and religion[edit]

Only a small percentage of all remaining Italian Lebanese speak some Italian, while the majority of them speak Arabic as a first language and French and/or English as second language, and are mainly Catholics. Their main organizations are the former Associazione Nazionale Pro Italiani del Libano (ANPIL) and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Beirut (IICB)^[4]

Italian Lebanese Antonella Lualdi (next to Domenico Modugno) in the poster of the 1960 movie Appuntamento a Ischia

The Italian Lebanese of the new generations are assimilated to the Lebanese society, and most of them speak only Arabic and French and English (only a few young Italian Lebanese know some basic words in Italian). In religion, most of the young generations are Roman Catholics, while only a few young girls or boys are converted to Islam mainly because of marriage and also others are descendants of Italian converts.

Famous Italian Lebanese[edit]

Andrea Paoli, representing Lebanon in Taekwondo at the 2012 Olympic Games held in London
Antonella Lualdi, international actress
Gad Lerner, journalist
Bruno Carmeni, judoka
Luca Turin, biophysicist and expert in the art of perfume and fragrance
Natashia Hovey, actress (born in Beirut, her mother is Italian Lebanese)
Paul Mazzolini, musician known as Gazebo

Notes[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

Consorti, A. Vicende dell’italianità in Levante, 1815-1915 in: Rivista Coloniale, anno XV.
Corm, Georges. Il Libano contemporaneo, storia e società. Jaca Book. Milano, 2006
Favero, Luigi e Tassello, Graziano. Cent'anni di emigrazione italiana (1876-1976). Cser. Roma, 1978.
Miller, William. The Latin Orient. Bibliobazaar LLC. London, 2009 ISBN 1-110-86390-X.
Ossian De negri, Teofilo. Storia di Genova: Mediterraneo, Europa, Atlantico. Giunti Editore. Firenze, 2003. ISBN - EAN: 9788809029323
Touma, Toufic. Paysans et institutions féodales chez les Druses et les Maronites du Liban du XVIIe siècle à 1914. Publications de l'Université Libanaise. Beyrouth, 1971.

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