The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

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age, and, most importantly, a vision of the future, have created some of the most important companies in the

country, which employ thousands of people and which are part of the backbone of the Dominican economy.

The current board of directors of the Dominican-Italian Chamber of Commerce makes use of the appre-

ciable contribution of the Italian Ambassador Andrea Canepari, who from the beginning of his mandate has

been guided by the aim of highlighting the importance the Dominican-Italian Chamber of Commerce plays in

promoting the “Made in Italy” brand in the Dominican Republic where, according to the National Survey of

Immigrants 2012, some 12,000

Italian nationals legally reside.

Of great interest is the history of the Marranzini family. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a group

of siblings and cousins of the Chairman of the Dominican-Italian Chamber of Commerce arrived in the Do-

minican Republic from the small Italian town of Santa Lucia di Serino, a municipality (

comune

in Italian) in the

province of Avellino in the Campania region.

Liberato Marranzini married Concetta D’Amore, and they arrived at the end of the nineteenth century

with their children Constantino, Pascual, and Mariucha.

Grandfather Constantino married Amelia Jorge, daughter of a Lebanese-Dominican living in the province

of Azua, in the Dominican Republic. Constantino and José del Carmen were the children of this marriage.

Constantino Marranzini D’Amore devoted himself to commerce, gaining a foothold in the southern part

of the country, acting many times as a banker, and organizing the commercial sector in San Juan de la Magua-

na, where he founded and served as the first chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Production.

The children of Constantino and María Altagracia are Celso, Constantino, Alfredo, and Andrés. Despite

the limited descendants of Constantino and Amelia Jorge, the Marranzini Pérez family has grown to include

14 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.

This large family has been involved in numerous professions, including the legal industry, with Andrés in

the Marranzini Law Offices; in architecture, with Alfredo specializing in the restoration of monuments at Cen-

tro Studi per il Restauro dei Monumenti e dei Centri Storici in Florence, Italy; in medicine, with Constantino

(deceased); in chemicals and plastics, with Celso often using Italian technology, and in the social, business, and

government areas as Secretary of State and executive vice president of the Dominican State Electric Compa-

nies. The grandchildren have been involved in areas as diverse as law, insurance, banking, and gastronomy.

Of equal interest is the story of another board member, Angelo Viro. In 1988, Viro founded CerArte,

a distributor of coating and covering materials for floors and walls. In order to expand its line of products

and services, a store was opened in 1999 with the name CerArte Accesorios, offering the public an extensive

portfolio of ceramic and porcelain products, as well as a wide variety of natural stones, tiling, appliances, and

plumbing fixtures.

Full Board of Directors

of the Dominican-

Italian Chamber of

Commerce, from left

to right: First Vice

President Felipe Vicini,

Board Member Jeanne

Marion Landais,

Board Member Juan

Antonio Bisono, Board

Member Carlos Ros,

Secretary of the Board

Angelo Viro, Third

Vice President Miguel

Barletta, Secretary-

General Francesco

Alfieri, Board Member

Massimiliano Wax,

Honorary President S.

E. Andrea Canepari,

President Celso

Marranzini, Second

Vice President H.E.

Frank Rainieri, Board

Member Giuseppe

Bonarelli, Board

Member Diego

Fernandez, Board

Member Manuel

Pellerano, Board

Member Salvador

Figueroa, Board

Member Roberto

Herrera.

Chamber of Commerce