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THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
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Ramón de Luna since 1955. Doña Minucha began her radio shows in 1954 and was declared a Distinguished
Daughter by the Santiago City Council in 1983.
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Elena Annunziata Campagna was another prominent woman from Santiago who placed great importance
on her Italian roots. The daughter of Arístides Amadeo Campagna and María Mercedes Abréu Penzo, she was
born in Santiago on January 14, 1921. She was married on July 15, 1939 in Santiago to Pedro Pablo Read, son
of Carlos Alberto Read and Ozema Herrera. A member of the Santiago Provincial Committee of the National
Civic Union in 1961, she was appointed governor of the province of Santiago by the Triumvirate by decree 61
of October 9, 1963. She was later appointed Dominican ambassador to Italy and permanent representative of
the Dominican Republic before the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) by Pres-
ident Antonio Guzmán in 1981. In 1983, she was ratified as ambassador to Italy and designated as concurrent
Dominican ambassador to Egypt, based in Rome. For her diplomatic service, she was awarded the Order of
Merit of the Italian Republic in the rank of Knight of the Grand Cross.
It should also be noted that the first Italian à la carte food establishment in the city of Santiago, the Ris-
torante Ostería, was opened in 1982 by an Italian-Dominican, Nicola Giuseppe Pugliese Zouain (Nicolino)
(1931-2011), who was born in Vibonati, Salerno, the son of Vincenzo Pugliese Giffoni and María Antonia
Zouain Diaz. Pugliese Zouain served as Italian consular representative for the northern region of the country
from 1971 and honorary vice consul of Italy in Santiago between 1978 and 2003. He was also owner of the
decoration and gifts store Kakey. In recognition of his service to his native land, he was awarded the Order of
Merit of the Italian Republic in the degrees of Knight (1978), Officer (1985) and Commander (2003).
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In the particular case of Santiago, it should be noted that the networks forged through family, friends, and
common place of origin after the arrival of the first immigrants in the 1870s reflect a considerable involvement
of residents from southern Italy, specifically populations near the important port of Naples. As noted earlier,
this was due to the collapse of the agricultural sector, which forced the unemployed peasant population to
leave the country by the tens and hundreds of thousands each year.
Through further study of the situation of the Italian community in Santiago, we have discovered a very
interesting detail: although the places of origin pertain almost entirely to southern Italy, they also correspond
to the western slope of the Apennines facing the Tyrrhenian basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Cities located on
the Adriatic side of the Mediterranean are not represented among the population of Santiago.
The rural community of Santa Domenica Talao, in Calabria, topped the list of places of origin with the
highest number of representatives (Anzelotti, Bloise, Campagna, Capobianco, Caputo, Cino, Cozza, Cucurul-
lo, Divanna, Ferzola, Finizola, Grisolía, Leogaldo, Leone, Longo, Marino, Perrone, Pezzotti, Riggio, Russo,
Sabatino, Sassone, Schiffino, Sollazzo and Senise), followed by Naples (Petito), Vibonati (Pugliese), Mara-
tea (Cantisano), Campanello (Generazzo) and Serra Pedace (Leonetti). The presence of northerners was less
prominent, with places such as Fucecchio (Oreste Menicucci), Livorno (Hugo Pardi), Genoa (Vittorio Mer-
lano), Barga (Pilade and Pedro Stefani), and Santa Margarita Ligure (Carlos Lorenzo Pellerano and Esteban
Piola Frugone) represented.
Family networks and kinship and friendship channels created by some of the early immigrants served
as a determining factor for the large presence of Italians from Santa Domenica Talao. Upon examination of
the surnames, we discover that, in effect, multiple links exist, both in terms of paternal and maternal lineage.
Thus, we find patronymic combinations such as Bloise Depuglia, Russo Depuglia, Bloise Pugliese, Pezzotti
Bloise, Longo Campagna, Campagna Divanna, Campagna Pezzotti, Campagna Schiffino, Riggio Schiffino,
Schiffino Cosentino, Anzelotti Cosentino, Cucurullo Senise, and Senise Schiffino. This repetition of surnames
suggests that the inhabitants of Santa Domenica Talao comprised a closely knit group that was inwardly
drawn, characteristics abandoned by those who lived in Santiago, with few exceptions.
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Settlement by the Italians in this city occurred at a slow pace. In 1893, there were 30 (28 males and two
females)
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residents of Italian origin. In 1904, when the population reached 10,935, 536 were of foreign origin.
Of these, 33 were Italian men. Although the number of females is not specified, it is noteworthy that in ten