94 / 540
93
ENDNOTES
1
“This land from the time of its discovery by Christopher Co-
lumbus, and later, with Alessandro Geraldini, the first resident
Bishop of Santo Domingo, has felt deep ties to your country.”
(Trans.)
2
Italia
, Ministero Affari Esteri/Instituto Geográfico de Agostini
(Novara, Italy: Officine Grafiche, 1988), 145.
3
Ibid.
, 146.
4
Ibid.,
145.
5
Ibid.,
68.
6
Ibid.,
147.
7
Ibid.,
69.
8
Ibid.,
49.
9
Ibid.,
49.
10
Ibid.,
52.
11
José Del Castillo, “Las inmigraciones y su aporte a la cultura
dominicana (finales del siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX,” in
Ensayos sobre cultura dominicana
, rev. ed. (Santo Domingo: Fun-
dación Cultural Dominicana / Museo del Hombre Dominicano,
1988), 184-85.
12 Ministero Affari Esteri / Instituto Geográfico de Agostini, op.
cit. p. 49. See also, Mario C. Nascimbene,
Italianos hacia América
(1876-1978)
(Buenos Aires: Museo Roca / Centro de Estudios so-
bre Inmigración, 1994).
13
Del Castillo, op. cit., 175. In general terms, the immigration to
America was fundamentally southern. Nascimbene, op. cit., 14.
14
Ministero Affari Esteri / Instituto Geográfico de Agostini, op.
cit. p. 55.
15
Ibid.,
23, 26.
16
Nicolás Pugliese Zouain, Lecture, May 5, 1998, in conjunction
with the “Italia Presente” exhibition, Casa de Arte, Santiago.
17
Nascimbene, op. cit., 27.
18
L. 1 Mat., f.28, a.562, Our Lady of the Rosary parish, Moca.
19
Juan Antonio Alix, “Décimas,” vol. 2, in “Colección Pensam-
iento Dominicano - Poesía y Teatro,” vol. 1 (Santo Domingo:
Banco de Reservas de la República Dominicana - Sociedad Do-
minicana de Bibliófilos, 2008), 371.
20
Carlos Dobal,
“Nuestra Catedral”
(Santiago: Universidad Ca-
tolica Madre y Maestra (UCMM), 1986), 137.
21
ANSR, PN: JD, a.n.105, August 5, 1902.
22
ANSR, PN: NR, a.n.1, October 21, 1863. Rossi was born to
Magnus, son of Francisco Rossi, and Maria Antonia Basaneli. He
was married in a religious ceremony on January 2, 1863 and in a
civil ceremony on January 30, 1867 to Juana de Paula Silvestre,
natural daughter of Emergirda Silvestre (sic) and native of San
Juan de la Maguana; in 1867 he was 40 years old and his wife 31
(L.1 Mat., f.87, a.86, Oficialía del Estado Civil de la Primera Cir-
cunscripción del municipio de Santiago).
23
Pierri was the son of Pedro and Juana Pierri. He died in Santia-
go at the age of 39 and was buried on February 22, 1870 (L.1 Def.,
f.4, a.25, Cathedral).
24
Victor (Vittorio) Merlano was born in Genoa as the son of
Benedetto Merlano and Anna Bregaro. He married Abelina de la
O Curiel, daughter of Manuel Maria Curiel and Maria del Ampa-
ro Inoa on April 28, 1877 (L.1 Mat., f.88, a.242, Church of Our
Lady of Altagracia). She died in Santiago on November 6, 1887
at the age of 47 (L.2 Def., f.101-102, a.592, Oficialía de la Tercera
Circunscripción del municipio de Santiago).
25
Native of Santa Margarita Ligure. Son of Santiago Piola and
Teresa Frugone. He married Cristina Valverde, daughter of José
María Valverde and María del Carmen Morel, in Santiago on No-
vember 1, 1878 (L.2 Mat., f. 247, a.621, Catedral de Santiago).
Between 1877 and 1879 Esteban Piola, his brother Manuel, and
Víctor Merlano promoted the “V. Merlano y Cía.,” a merchan-
dise and supplies store established to expand the operations of
the “Piola Hermanos” firm in Puerto Plata (ANSR, PN: SP/JD,
a.n. 22, May 14, 1877. Constitution of the company “V. Merlano
y Cía.” between Esteban and Manuel Piola and Víctor Merlano.
See also, ANSR, PN: SP, a.n.25, July 12, 1879. Act of Dissolution
of said company).
26
ANSR, PN: JD, a.n.62, July 15, 1878.
27
ANSR, PN: JD, a.n.62, July 15, 1878. Vittorio and Pilade were
born in Barga, Lucca and were the sons of Juan Bautista Stefani
and Filomena Virgani. An agricultural engineer, Pilade lived at
32 Del Sol Street in 1883. He opened on March 1, 1883 (AL, ECP,
March 4, 1883) courses in geometry and algebra; reasoned, flat
and solid arithmetic; linear geometric, architectural and industri-
al drawing; trigonometry, topography and lessons in surveying
and agronomy (AL, ECP, February 25, 1883). He also directed a
mathematics course at the El Salvador School (AL, ECP, March
4, 1883). In 1892 he was qualified as a public surveyor (AL, EDi,
August 26, 1892), being designated as the person in charge of indi-
cating the line to which the new constructions in the city should
be submitted (AHS, BM 140, August 30, 1892, a.s. July 12, 1892)
and Director of Public Works of the city council (AL, EDi, Octo-
ber 1, 1892 and AHS, BM 144, December 8, 1892, a.s. September
10, 1892 and BM 146, December 22, 1892, a.s. October 27, 1892).
He still held this position in 1893 (AL, LP, November 21, 1893).
He was the Italian Consular Agent in Santiago in 1904 (Enrique
Deschamps,
La República Dominicana - Directorio y Guía General
[Santo Domingo: Sociedad Dominicana de Bibliófilos, 1974],
187). He married Sofia Espaillat, 28, daughter of Ulysses Fran-
cisco Espaillat and Eloísa Espaillat Rodríguez on September 4,
1880 at the age of 26 (L.6 Mat., f.34, a.103, Civil Status Office of
the Third District of the Municipality of Santiago). Their children
were María Octavia, María Electa, María Adela and Juan Bautista.
He died on December 23, 1928 at the age of 74 (L.1 Def., f.65,
a.128, Oficialía del Estado Civil de la Segunda Circunscripción del
municipio de Santiago).
28
Cestaro was born in San Lorenzo Minore, Benevento, region
of Campania. Musician. He died in this city on December 28,
1881 at 28 years of age, being married to Carmela Ferreri (L.1
Def., f.39, a.592, Cathedral).
29
Buzzoni was born in Milan, in the Lombardy region. He died
in Santiago on November 8, 1883 (L.3 Def., f.169-170, a.7-139,
Oficialía de la Primera Circunscripción del municipio de Santia-
go). Because Buzzoni died without any known relatives, the Con-
stitutional Mayor’s Office put his personal effects up for sale in a
public auction (ANSR, PN: SP, a.n.70, November 13, 1883 and
AL, ECP, March 30, 1884).
30
Cardona, a peddler, was born in Naples, in the Campania re-
gion (L.3 Def., f.169-170, a.7-139, Oficialía de la Primera Circun-
scripción del municipio de Santiago).
31
Farine, peddler, was born in Benevento, Campania (L.3 Def.,
f.169-170, a.7-139, Oficialía de la Primera Circunscripción del mu-
nicipio de Santiago).
32
L.3 Def., f.169-170, a.7-139, Oficialía del Estado Civil de la
Primera Circunscripción del municipio de Santiago. Melfi lived
in Altamira before residing in Santiago in 1883. There he was a
donor for the construction of the Catholic temple in that town
(AL, ECP, June 17, 1883). He was commercially associated with
Manuel Figari, a relationship that was dissolved in 1882 (ANSR,
PN: JD, a.n.41, 1882).
THE ITALIAN PRESENCE IN THE CIBAO REGION AND IN SANTIAGO DE LOS CABALLEROS