67
Renzo Seravalle Innocenti, a native of Santa Fiora, Grosseto, Tuscany, a civil engineer, and son of Ter-
enzio Seravalle (1897–1969)
143
and Giuseppina Innocenti, married Neydi Altagracia Pons Cabral. He served
as the president of the Casa de Italia. His sister Lilia Seravalle Innocenti returned to Italy with her husband
Benito Verdi.
Ciro Cascella Baldoni (1938–2011) a native of Naples, Campania and son of Antonio Cascella and María
Baldoni, married Anna Pariso Fortuna. They both established Restaurant Da Ciro at Ave. Independencia
No. 38, which serves traditional Italian food and features music played by Aris Bueza on the violin, Giovanni
Marinelli on the piano, among other entertainers.
144
Sebastiano (Nello) Cardella (1927–2005), a native of Sicily, married Zora Argentina Rodríguez
Caamaño, and owned one of the most well-known butcher shops in Santo Domingo.
Giuseppe Traverso, a native of Imperia, Liguria, married Baní native Amparo Antonia Soñé Ortiz in
1954. He opened the Italo Suiza jewelry store on Calle El Conde, which is currently known as Joyería Traver-
so and Traverso Joyas.
Angelo Carmelo Viro Emmi, a native of Catania, Sicily, the son of Orazio Viro and Maria Emmi, was
married to Dr. Rosario Mañón Mena. He arrived in Santo Domingo in 1977, and after multiple jobs he de-
cided to establish Cerarte, one of the biggest companies for the sale of flooring, paneling, façades, and bath-
rooms. He has served as president of the Dominican Rotary Club, the Italian Center of Santo Domingo, the
Dominican-Italian Chamber of Commerce, and the National Union of Entrepreneurs (UNE), among others.
Alfredo Delfino Novati, a native of Carcare, Savona, Liguria, married Piedmont native Lorenza Maz-
zone Clerico. He is the president of Consorcio Remix, a consortium dedicated to the construction of high-
ways and infrastructures and one of the most important producers of asphalt, with three plants in the tourist
areas Macao, Verón, and Cape Cana.
Luigi Martina Ferrero, married Rossina Bonin. In 1971 they founded Productos Alimenticios Nacion-
ales (PANCA), a manufacturer of sweets and candies, which included Panca gummies.
Pietro Pablo Tolari Spanu (1929–2010), a native of Iglesias, Sardinia, arrived in Santo Domingo in 1956.
He married Hilda Jacobo Fayad, a San Pedro de Macorís native of Middle Eastern background.
ITALIAN IMMIGRATION TO SANTO DOMINGO




