- Welsh Italians
Infobox Ethnic group
group = Welsh Italians
caption = Indefinatepopplace = Gower Peninsula, Swansea, West Wales and some parts of East Wales
langs = English, Welsh, Italian
rels = Christian: Mostly Roman Catholic
related =Italians Italian Welsh are citizens of
Wales whose ancestry wholly or partly originates inItaly . Most Italian immigration to Wales took place in the19th century [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/migration/pages/italy.shtml BBC - Wales History - Migration - Italy ] ] and is still happening but to a much lesser degree. The most densely Italian populated areas ofWales are theGower andSwansea , where there is a locally famous Italianice cream parlour calledJoe's Ice Cream which was started up by an Italian immigrant calledLuigi Cascarini [http://joes.webmediaworks.co.uk/our-story.php Joe's Ice Cream - Our Story - Everything else is just ice cream! ] ] . Other less densely Italian populated areas of Wales are theSouth Wales coalfield andWest Wales .Famous Italian Welsh
Famous Welsh Italians include
Joe Calzaghe a worldwide famous championship boxer,Enzo Maccarinelli another worldwide Championship boxer,Luigi Cascarini the founder of Joe's Ice Cream. The footballerGiorgio Chinaglia grew up in Swansea. The actorVictor Spinetti is of Italian-Welsh ancestry. Furthermore, the chefAngela Hartnett claims Italian ancestry through her Welsh-born mother.Robert Sidoli and his brotherPeter Sidoli , bothrugby union players.History of Italian immigrants to Wales
Italian immigration to
Wales started as far back as theIndustrial Revolution when the population of Wales was only just 587,128 in 1801, most Italian immigration toWales has taken place in 19th century and still is today. The population ofWales grew from 587,128 in 1801 to 1,162,139 in 1851 partly because of immigration and partly thedemographic transition .Most Italian immigrants probably migrated to
Wales from Southern Italy, looking for a better quality of life inGreat Britain . In the 20th century many catholic Italians started plying their trade in the business by opening many Bracchi (Italian Cafes) around the Gower, Swansea and some parts of theSouth Wales Valleys , however this had a knock on effect on theProtestant Non-conformist Welsh population of the valleys and many disputes about cafes opening on aSunday took place.The Welsh population increased even further to 2,420,921 by 1911, mostly because of Irish, English and Scottish immigration.
Pre- Industrial Revolution settlement
So far,
demographic records from the19th century in Wales suggest that there could be 100,000 to 150,000 Welsh Italians living in Wales, however Welsh genetics suggest that some of the originalmesolithic Welsh population isMediterranean descended [http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/content_objectid=13502852_method=full_siteid=50082_headline=-Genetics-make-Welsh-distinct-name_page.html] . In 2003 Prof. Steve Jones fromAberystwyth studied Welsh malegenetics andpopulation genetics and then compared them to English male genetics and he discovered that the Welsh maleY chromosome was very similar to that of theBasques of Northern Spain [http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/content_objectid=13502852_method=full_siteid=50082_headline=-Genetics-make-Welsh-distinct-name_page.html] which suggests that at a time before the invasion and settlement of theRomans in Wales the originalCelts who settled into Wales inprehistory were Nomadic tribesmen originally from Northern Spain, throughFrance and across throughCornwall and into Wales, primarily setting up small Celtic villages inSouth Wales .ee also
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Italian Briton External links
* [http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/south-wales-news/cynon-valley/2008/05/08/performance-will-reinforce-historic-links-91466-20867637/ A South Wales male voice choir visit Bardi]
* [http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/02/02/italian-ice-cream-and-exotic-dishes-a-big-hit-91466-20427222/ Wales Online feature on Italian immigration to Wales]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7256997.stm BBC Wales feature on Italian immigration to Wales]References
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