 Belgian poster posted in Italy to encourage Italian immigration to Belgium | |
| Total population | |
| c. 255,000 (by birth)[1] c. 450,000 (by ancestry)[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Wallonia andBrussels | |
| Languages | |
| Walloon French · Belgian Dutch · Sicilian • Italian andItalian dialects | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholic | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Italians,Italian Britons,Italian Finns,Italian French,Italian Germans,Italian Romanians,Italian Spaniards,Italian Swedes,Italian Swiss,Corfiot Italians,Genoese in Gibraltar,Italians of Crimea,Italians of Odesa |
Italian Belgians (Italian:italo-belgi;French:italo-belges;Dutch:Italiaanse Belgen) areBelgian citizens ofItalian descent. The term may also refer to someone who has immigrated to Belgium fromItaly.
The first Italians in Belgium were some Tuscan merchants and bankers of theRenaissance, and subsequently a few dozen artisans and exiles until the 18th century.
In the early 19th century, a small community of Italians began to emerge, almost all of them from the north, in the main cities ofWallonia and inBrussels. These Italians, even if a few hundred, made their influence felt in the revolts for the independence of Belgium in 1830.[3]
In 1910, only 4,490 Italians lived in Belgium. They only became a large group starting in the 1920s, when many came to work as laborers in the mining and steel industries of Wallonia.[4] These industries then had a great need for manpower that could not be covered by the internal market. From 1922 the Belgian mines began to recruit workers in Italy; others have come to the country of their own accord. Thus the Italian community grew to about 30,000 people.[4] However, Italians were not the largest group of guest workers at the time. During theinterwar period, the most numerous foreigners were Eastern Europeans. It also faded in theyears of fascism until it was made up of a few dozenanti-fascist exiles.
AfterWorld War II, Belgium faced a shortage of coal. This deficiency could have had consequences for its reconstruction and for the entire industrial sector.[5] In response to the labor shortage for the coal mines, the Belgian government called on foreign workers. Since the manpower potential of Eastern Europe was no longer available, due to the division of Europe into two blocks (theEastern Bloc and theWestern Bloc), the Italians were called to work in the mines.
On 23 June 1946, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Belgium and Italy, which was in a difficult social situation caused by the defeat in World War II. The agreement provided for the arrival of 50,000 Italians in exchange for the export to Italy of "200 kg of coal per miner per day."[5] However, the need for Italian immigrants increased considerably.[5]
In the years of the conclusion of the various bilateral agreements between Italy and Belgium, such as the protocol of 23 June 1946 and the protocol of 11 December 1957, the Italian immigrants heading to the Belgian coal mines numbered around 24,000 in 1946 and 46,000 in 1948. Apart from a period of decline in the 1950s, in 1961 Italians represented 44.2% of the foreign population in Belgium, reaching 200,000 people.[6]
Between 1946 and 1948, 75,000 Italians arrived in Belgium to work in the Belgian coal mines.[5] This number of Italians on Belgian territory continued to increase, despite the difficult living conditions and mining disasters, such as that of theMarcinelle mining disaster on 8 August 1956, where 262 workers, mostly Italians, died. As a consequence of these events, Italy suspended immigration to Belgium and began immigration by quota.[7] Belgian industry then began hiring workers mainly inSpain,Greece,Morocco andTurkey.[8]
After the 1970s, when almost 300,000 Italians registered in Belgium, emigration decreased and there are currently around 290,000 Italian citizens. It should also be noted that in recent decades, with the creation and development of theEuropean Union andNATO, which have their headquarters in Brussels, many Italian officials and employees, as well as employees of the institutional related industries (freelance professionals, lobbyists, non- government) have moved there to live with their respective families (albeit temporarily). Furthermore, there is a new migratory flow from Italy also in the tertiary sector, especially the advanced one.[9]
Unlike other migrant workers, like theMoroccans orTurks, the Italian community in Belgium is very well integrated into Belgian society. The Italo-Belgians occupy roles of the utmost importance; theQueen of BelgiumPaola Ruffo di Calabria or the former Prime MinisterElio Di Rupo are examples.
According to official statistics from AIRE (Register of Italians residing abroad), in 2012 there were approximately 255,000 Italian citizens residing in Belgium (including Belgians with dual citizenship).[1] According to data from the Italian consular registers, it appears that almost 50,000 Italians in Belgium (i.e. more than 25%) come fromSicily, followed byApulia (9.5%),Abruzzo (7%),Campania (6.5%) andVeneto (6%).[10]
There are about 450,000 (about 4% of the total Belgian population) people of Italian origin in Belgium.[2] The community of Belgians of Italian descent is said to be 85% concentrated inWallonia and inBrussels. More precisely, 65% of Belgians of Italian descent live in Wallonia, 20% in Brussels and 15% in theFlemish Region.[11]
The Italian community would be the most numerous in Belgium, together with the Moroccan one, and also the oldest.[12] The Italian community in Belgium is integrated into Belgian society. The sectors mainly occupied by Italians residing inFlanders are commerce, transport, accommodation and catering.[11] In Brussels, Italians are more attracted to the administrative, social and health sector,[11] while in Wallonia they turn more to industry and construction.[11]
In Belgium there are numerous institutions to protect Italian-Belgians, both for pensions and for social assistance. Twelve Italian schools,[13] concentrated in Brussels and in Wallonia (such as the consular school office ofCharleroi), are dedicated to teaching theItalian language together with institutions such as theDante Alighieri Society.[14]
The Italian press is very widespread. These are the main publications:[15]
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