The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Bartolomé Bancalari, president of the city council of Samaná in 1893 and member of the literary and rec-

reational society Unión Samanés in 1887, was the owner of the first motor boat that sailed the bay of Samaná

at the beginning of the twentieth century, baptized the “Rosa Consuelo.”

Domingo Sangiovanni, established in Samaná in the last decade of the 19th century together with his

wife María Rosa Grisolía and their children Bonifacio, Paulino and Vicente, began as a traveling jeweler, an

occupation that he was already engaged in by 1896. In 1904, his sons founded the Hermanos Sangiovanni

establishment, an import-export enterprise. Of these, Paulino Sangiovanni was the owner of the first Samaná

ice factory and the Colón cinema.

The Caccavelli brothers held prominent positions at the local level: Marcos Aurelio was a parish priest;

Noel was deputy consul of France and Antonio served as a merchant. His nephew Francisco María (+1952),

a native of Ajaccio, Corsica, was the owner of the Vencedora lemonade, soda and liquor factory. He was the

father of Professor María Leticia Caccavelli Clark.

Finally, José Demorizi, also a Corsican, was founding councilor of the Sánchez community in 1886, while

his son General Evaristo Nicolás Demorizi Deloup (1850-1926) was president of the Samaná city council,

deputy, governor and Secretary of State for War and the Navy during the government of President Ulises

Heureaux. Our greatest historiographer, Emilio Rodríguez Demorizi,

is one of his descendants.

In the Santiago area, among the numerous social ties that intimately bind Italy and this city, we should

acknowledge the many contributions of industrious and enterprising Italian immigrants as one of the most

positive factors to influence Dominican history of foreign origin. Several cases merit particular attention: An-

gelo Rusterucci, pastor of the church of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia,

was one of the principal overseers

in the construction of Parque Colón in 1892,

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and in that same year served as a member of the Commission

for the celebration of the IV Centenary of the Discovery of America, together with Francisco Bloise.

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The

resident Anselmo Copello, who is commemorated by a street in the La Joya sector, served as president of the

city council and director of the Recreation Center and the Compañía Anónima Tabacalera. He served as Do-

minican ambassador to Washington, D.C., and brought the first Cadillac “Super Six” model to the country in

1924.

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Aquiles Zorda

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was also a noteworthy figure, exceling as a poet, actor, and painter. Oreste Menicucci

Chiardini (1876-1950), a native of Fucecchio, Tuscany, contributed to Santiago’s architecture with his works in

granite and his prefabricated facades.

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Aurelio and Salvador Cucurullo—the latter being the most visionary

foreigner to come to the country after Eugenio María de Hostos, according to Félix Evaristo Mejía

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—natives

of Santa Domenica Talao, were esteemed educators. Their compatriot, Dr. Vicente Grisolía, was one of the

most outstanding surgeons to have practiced in this city. Another man from the same town, Vicente Anzelotti

Cosentino, was one of the founders of the Chamber of Commerce and Production in 1914.

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Enrique Sas-

Hotel Venecia, by

Gaetano Pellice.

The Faith in the

Future Society in

Puerto Plata, where

Isidoro Rainieri’s Hotel

del Comercio was

previously located.