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Italian Belgians
Italo-belgi (Italian); Italo-belges (French); Italiaanse Belgen (Dutch)
	Belgian poster posted in Italy to encourage Italian immigration to Belgium
Total population
	c. 255,000 (by birth); c. 450,000 (by ancestry)
Regions with significant populations
	Wallonia and Brussels
Languages
	Walloon French · Belgian Dutch · Sicilian • Italian and Italian 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) are Belgian citizens of Italian descent. The term may also refer to someone who has immigrated to Belgium from Italy.

History

The first Italians in Belgium were some Tuscan merchants and bankers of the Renaissance, 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 of Wallonia and in Brussels. 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 the interwar period, the most numerous foreigners were Eastern Europeans. It also faded in the years of fascism until it was made up of a few dozen anti-fascist exiles.

After World 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 (the Eastern Bloc and the Western 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]

Monument dedicated to the Italians killed during the Marcinelle mining disaster

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 the Marcinelle 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 in Spain, Greece, Morocco and Turkey.^[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 the European Union and NATO, 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]

Italian community

Unlike other migrant workers, like the Moroccans or Turks, the Italian community in Belgium is very well integrated into Belgian society. The Italo-Belgians occupy roles of the utmost importance; the Queen of Belgium Paola Ruffo di Calabria or the former Prime Minister Elio 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 from Sicily, followed by Apulia (9.5%), Abruzzo (7%), Campania (6.5%) and Veneto (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 in Wallonia and in Brussels. More precisely, 65% of Belgians of Italian descent live in Wallonia, 20% in Brussels and 15% in the Flemish 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 in Flanders 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]

Italian press and institutions

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 of Charleroi), are dedicated to teaching the Italian language together with institutions such as the Dante Alighieri Society.^[14]

The Italian press is very widespread. These are the main publications:^[15]

Azione Sociale, quarterly (Genk, since 1995);
Il Caffè, quarterly (Ghent, since 2001);
Communitas, monthly (Brussels, since 1963);
L'Eco del Belgio, bimonthly (Quaregnon, since 1987);
Emigrazione Siciliana, bimonthly (Saint-Nicolas);
L'Isola, bimonthly (Brussels, since 1999);
Italia News, monthly (Brussels);
Nuovi Orizzonti Europa - Belgio, bimonthly (Marchienne-au-Pont);
Oraitalia, monthly (Brussels, since 2006);
Qui Italia, quarterly (Brussels, since 1994).

Notable Italian Belgians

Shawn Adewoye, footballer
Salvatore Adamo, musician, singer and composer
Alessandro Albanese, footballer
Arturo Alfandari, diplomat
Alessio Allegria, footballer
Selim Amallah, footballer
Manuel Angiulli, footballer
Francesco Antonucci, footballer
Dino Attanasio, author of comics
Mario Barravecchia, singer
Claude Barzotti, singer
Walter Baseggio, footballer
Roberto Bellarosa, singer
Salvatore Bellomo, wrestler
Lucien Bianchi, racing driver
Mauro Bianchi, racing driver
Roberto Bisconti, footballer
Adrien Bongiovanni, footballer
Vince Briganti, footballer
Loris Brogno, footballer
Toni Brogno, footballer
Gianni Bruno, footballer
Massimo Bruno, footballer
Sébastien Bruzzese, footballer
Laurent Capelluto, actor
Fabio Caracciolo, footballer
Patricia Carli, singer
Francesco Carratta, footballer
Alexandro Cavagnera, footballer
Alessandro Cerigioni, footballer
Alessandro Ciranni, footballer
Alessandro Cordaro, footballer
Jérôme d'Ambrosio, racing driver
Dominique D'Onofrio, footballer
François D'Onofrio, footballer
Délizia, singer
Eva Dell'Acqua, singer and composer
Alexandre Di Gregorio, footballer
Elio Di Rupo, politician
Franco Dragone, theatre director
Princess Eléonore of Belgium
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant
Prince Emmanuel of Belgium
Isabelle Errera, art historian
Lara Fabian, singer and songwriter
Ermano Fegatilli, boxer
Fabio Ferraro, footballer
Yannick Ferrera, footballer
Corentin Fiore, footballer
Gregory Franchi, racing driver
Frédéric François, singer and composer
Paul Furlan, politician
Prince Gabriel of Belgium
Maria-Anna Galitzine, activist
Isabelle Gatti de Gamond, educationalist, feminist, and politician
Bruno Gazzotti, comic book artist
Rocco Granata, singer, songwriter, and accordionist
Jacques Grippa, politician
Marco Ingrao, footballer
Alexandre Ippolito, footballer
Junior Jack, house musician, producer and DJ
Kid Crème, house musician, producer and DJ
Sandra Kim, singer
Sofian Kiyine, footballer
Lorenzo Lai, footballer
Prince Laurent of Belgium
Vittorio Leonardo, comics artist
Andréa Librici, footballer
Sébastien Locigno, footballer
Lufy, blogger
Nicole Malinconi, writer
Stefano Marzo, footballer
Felice Mazzù, footballer
Frank Michael, singer
Anne Morelli, historian
Laura Neri, film director
Paul Okon-Engstler, footballer
Domenico Olivieri, footballer
Marco Ospitalieri, footballer
Queen Paola of Belgium
Mauro Pawlowski, singer
Philippe of Belgium
Luigi Pieroni, footballer
Nina Pinzarrone, figure skater
Sébastien Pocognoli, footballer
Luca Polizzi, footballer
Elvis Pompilio, fashion designer
Silvio Proto, footballer
Fabrizio Rongione, screenwriter, film producer and actor
Giuseppe Rossini, footballer
Georges Ruggiu, radio presenter
Killian Sardella, footballer
Andréa Schifano, footballer
Enzo Scifo, footballer
Elias Sierra, footballer
Matteo Simoni, actor
François Sterchele, footballer
Olivier Strelli, fashion designer
Marc Tarabella, politician
Barbara Tausia, choreographer and dancer
Laura Tesoro, singer and actress
Laurence Tieleman, tennis player
Antef Tsoungui, footballer
Amber Tysiak, footballer
Anthony Vaccarello, fashion designer
Luigi Vaccaro, footballer
Floriano Vanzo, footballer
Luigi Verderame, singer
Franco Zennaro, footballer
Daniele Zotti, footballer

References

^ ^a ^b "Numero iscritti suddivisi per ripartizioni estere" (in Italian). Retrieved 13 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Vreemde afkomst 01/01/2012". Npdata.be. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
^ Gli Italiani del Belgio
^ ^a ^b Italië
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Histoire de l'immigration en Belgique au regard des politiques menées" (in French). Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
^ Emigrazione 1946-1961 Archived 15 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ Tom Naegels, Nieuw België, 1944-1978. Een migratiegeschiedenis, 2021, p. 112 (In Dutch)
^ Migranten en Gastarbeiders
^ Rea, Andrea; Mazzola, Alessandro; Martiniello, Marco (2017). "La nuova immigrazione italiana in Belgio". Studi Emigrazione (in Italian). Vol. LIV, no. 207. hdl:2268/216312. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
^ Statistiche ufficiali italiane
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "70 ans d'immigration italienne... et plus !" (PDF) (in French). Retrieved 20 March 2023.
^ "Informazioni sul Belgio - Sede INCA-CGIL in Belgio" (in Italian). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^ "Le scuole italiane all'estero". Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^ Dante Alighieri di Anversa Archived 1 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ "CIM Belgio". Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2009.

Bibliography

Favero, Luigi e Tassello, Graziano. Cent'anni di emigrazione italiana (1876-1976). Cser. Roma, 1978 (in Italian).
Morelli, Anne. Gli italiani del Belgio. Storia e storie di due secoli di migrazioni. Editoriale Umbra. Foligno, 2004 (In Italian).
Campanella, Carla (2017). "Rocco leert Italiaans: Italiaanse immigranten in Vlaanderen". Brood & Rozen. 22 (2). doi:10.21825/br.v22i2.15857.
Dumoulin, Michel (1988). "Les mineurs italiens en Belgique (1945-1957): Des relations bilatérales à la dimension européenne". Relations Internationales (54): 205–216. ISSN 0335-2013. JSTOR 45344112.
Mascitelli, Germano; Morelli, Anne (2023). "L'émigration italienne vers les mines belges (1946-1950) : les motifs politiques et leur héritage". Cahiers d'histoire. Revue d'histoire critique (in French) (156): 93–110. doi:10.4000/chrhc.21219. ISSN 1271-6669.