History of the Genoese in Gibraltar
Encyclopedia
A Genoese community has existed in Gibraltar
since the 16th century and later became an important part of the population.
, who moved to Gibraltar in the 16th century and that were more than a third of the Gibraltar population in the first half of the 18th century. Although labeled as "Genoese", they were not only from the city of Genoa but from all of Liguria
, a northern Italian
region that was the center of the maritime Republic of Genoa
.
After the conquest of Gibraltar from Spain in 1704
, nearly all the original Spanish population moved away. Among those who stayed there were 30 Genoese families, most of them forming a group resident in Catalan Bay
which worked as fishermen. Their main activities in the years following the conquest of Gibraltar and its formal transfer to Great Britain were not only related to fishing, but to craftsmanship and commerce.
According to the 1725 census, on a total civilian population of 1113 there were 414 Genoese, 400 Spaniards, 137 Jews, 113 Britons and 49 others (mainly Portuguese and Dutch). In the 1753 census the Genoese were the biggest group (nearly 34%) of civilian residents in the Gibraltar and up until 1830 Italian
was spoken together with English
and Spanish
and used in official announcements.
Many Genoese in the late 18th century arrived to work for the garrison
and later went on to form the basis of Gibraltar's civilian police force
- the Genoese Guard.
After Napoleonic times
many Sicilians and some Tuscans
migrated to Gibraltar, but the Genoese and Ligurians remained the majority of the Italian group.
Indeed, the Genoese dialect
was spoken in Catalan Bay well into the 20th century, dying out in the 1970s.
Actually the descendants of the Genoese community of Gibraltar consider themselves Gibraltarians and most of them promote the autonomy of Gibraltar.
Their most renowned representatives are: Joe Bossano
(chief minister of Gibraltar for eight years), Adolfo Canepa
(chief minister in 1987) and Kaiane Aldorino
(Miss World 2009).
In the 18th century the Genoese dialect was so widely spoken in Gibraltar that Government notices were also published in Italian
(alongside English
and Spanish
). Genoese was spoken by most people in La Caleta well into the 19th century, dying out in the late decades of the 20th century (researcher Fiorenzo Toso interviewed in the 1970s old La Caleta fishermen speaking some genoese words ).
There has been some discussion that the British may have mixed up Catalans
with Genoese but it is by no means clear why they would suffer such a confusion especially since there is other evidence which demonstrates that the British were perfectly aware that the residents of La Caleta were Genoese: the orders for the siege of 1727 refer to this bay as the Genoese Cove and the numerous 18th and 19th century census record large numbers of people born in Genoa, not in Catalonia
. It is even possible a confusion between the letters of "Calata" and "Catala" in the early English pronunciation of the Bay.
During the 19th century only fishermen were permitted to live in Catalan Bay. The families who live in the village today are mainly descendants of these Genoese fishermen and are colloquially known as caleteños.
is evident throughout Gibraltar but especially in the architecture
of the town's older buildings which are influenced by traditional Genoese housing styles featuring internal courtyard
s (also known as "patios").
Until the 1980s, most Gibraltarians lived densely packed around these communal patios. A prominent feature of Gibraltar's architecture is the traditional Genoese wooden window shutter
s.
Many of the Gibraltarian cuisine
's roots also lie in Genoa. The most notable dish of Genoese origin (in spite of its Spanish name) is Gibraltar's national dish
, calentita. It is a chickpea flour
-based flatbread
similar to the Italian
farinata
.
Even the Gibraltarian panissa, a bread-like dish similar to the calentita, shares its Italian origins: it is a descendant of the Genoese dish with the same name "panissa".
Other important Gibraltarian dishes such as rosto, penne
and meat in a tomato sauce
, is also of Genoese origin.
While the upper middle class consists of Catholic, Jewish, and Hindu merchants and lawyers, the working class is made up of families of Spanish, Maltese, and Italian (mainly Sicilian
) origin.
Today, Gibraltarians with Genoese (and/or Italian) surnames make up almost 20% of the total population. This group is integrated in the Gibraltarian society and there it is no association related specifically to them. The Genoese in Gibraltar have left partially their presence even in the Llanito
, the local Gibraltarian dialect used by most of the descendants of these Ligurians, that has nearly 700 words borrowed from the Genoese dialect.
Some scholars (like Manuel Cavilla) believe that the word "Llanito" is of Italian origin, because comes from the common diminutive of the Italian name Gianni (John in English), pronouncied in the Genoese dialect "iannito".
From this research appears clearly that most of the emigration from the Italian region Liguria
was from the areas of Genoa
and Savona
, and some Sicilian surnames (like Caruana) are mistakenly believed to be Maltese
(while are from Sicilians emigrated to Malta during the Italian Renaissance
).
These are the most common Genoese surnames in Gibraltar, according to Toso's research:
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
since the 16th century and later became an important part of the population.
History
There is much evidence of a community of emigrants from GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, who moved to Gibraltar in the 16th century and that were more than a third of the Gibraltar population in the first half of the 18th century. Although labeled as "Genoese", they were not only from the city of Genoa but from all of Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
, a northern Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
region that was the center of the maritime Republic of Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
.
After the conquest of Gibraltar from Spain in 1704
Capture of Gibraltar
The Capture of Gibraltar by the Anglo-Dutch forces of the Grand Alliance occurred between 1–3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Since the beginning of the war the Allies had been looking for a harbour in the Iberian Peninsula to control the Strait of Gibraltar and facilitate...
, nearly all the original Spanish population moved away. Among those who stayed there were 30 Genoese families, most of them forming a group resident in Catalan Bay
Catalan Bay
Catalan Bay is a small bay and fishing village in Gibraltar, on the eastern side of The Rock away from the main city.-Etymology:The true origin of the name of Catalan Bay is unknown, but a couple of theories exist...
which worked as fishermen. Their main activities in the years following the conquest of Gibraltar and its formal transfer to Great Britain were not only related to fishing, but to craftsmanship and commerce.
According to the 1725 census, on a total civilian population of 1113 there were 414 Genoese, 400 Spaniards, 137 Jews, 113 Britons and 49 others (mainly Portuguese and Dutch). In the 1753 census the Genoese were the biggest group (nearly 34%) of civilian residents in the Gibraltar and up until 1830 Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
was spoken together with English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and used in official announcements.
Many Genoese in the late 18th century arrived to work for the garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
and later went on to form the basis of Gibraltar's civilian police force
Royal Gibraltar Police
The Royal Gibraltar Police is, along with the Gibraltar Customs, the principal civilian law enforcement agency in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is the oldest Police force in the Commonwealth of Nations outside the United Kingdom....
- the Genoese Guard.
After Napoleonic times
Napoleonic Era
The Napoleonic Era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory...
many Sicilians and some Tuscans
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
migrated to Gibraltar, but the Genoese and Ligurians remained the majority of the Italian group.
Indeed, the Genoese dialect
Genoese dialect
Genoese is a dialect of the Ligurian language, the one spoken in Genoa .Ligurian is listed by Ethnologue as a language in its own right, of the Romance branch, and not to be confused with the ancient Ligurian language...
was spoken in Catalan Bay well into the 20th century, dying out in the 1970s.
Their most renowned representatives are: Joe Bossano
Joe Bossano
Joseph "Joe" John Bossano is a Gibraltarian politician, and the former leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party. He was Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 25 March 1988 to 17 May 1996. He served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Gibraltar Parliament from its founding in 1978 until April...
(chief minister of Gibraltar for eight years), Adolfo Canepa
Adolfo Canepa
Adolfo John Canepa was a Gibraltarian politician. He has dedicated most of his life to politics and the development of Gibraltar, having served both as Leader of the Opposition and as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 8 December 1987 to 25 March 1988...
(chief minister in 1987) and Kaiane Aldorino
Kaiane Aldorino
Kaiane Aldorino, GMH is a Gibraltarian beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Gibraltar 2009 and Miss World the same year in Johannesburg, South Africa. She was the first Miss Gibraltar ever to reach the semifinals of the Miss World beauty pageant.-Personal life:Aldorino was born in...
(Miss World 2009).
La Caleta: a Genoese fishing village
Historically, Catalan Bay (called originally La Caleta) had been populated by Genoese fishermen who were part of a much larger settlement pattern along the eastern coast of The Rock during the 17th and 18th centuries.In the 18th century the Genoese dialect was so widely spoken in Gibraltar that Government notices were also published in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
(alongside English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
). Genoese was spoken by most people in La Caleta well into the 19th century, dying out in the late decades of the 20th century (researcher Fiorenzo Toso interviewed in the 1970s old La Caleta fishermen speaking some genoese words ).
There has been some discussion that the British may have mixed up Catalans
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
with Genoese but it is by no means clear why they would suffer such a confusion especially since there is other evidence which demonstrates that the British were perfectly aware that the residents of La Caleta were Genoese: the orders for the siege of 1727 refer to this bay as the Genoese Cove and the numerous 18th and 19th century census record large numbers of people born in Genoa, not in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. It is even possible a confusion between the letters of "Calata" and "Catala" in the early English pronunciation of the Bay.
During the 19th century only fishermen were permitted to live in Catalan Bay. The families who live in the village today are mainly descendants of these Genoese fishermen and are colloquially known as caleteños.
Architecture
Genoese heritageCultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
is evident throughout Gibraltar but especially in the architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
of the town's older buildings which are influenced by traditional Genoese housing styles featuring internal courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
s (also known as "patios").
Until the 1980s, most Gibraltarians lived densely packed around these communal patios. A prominent feature of Gibraltar's architecture is the traditional Genoese wooden window shutter
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
s.
Cuisine
Gibraltarian cuisine
Gibraltarian cuisine is the result of a long relationship between the Andalucian Spaniards and the British, as well as the many foreigners who made Gibraltar their home over the past three centuries. The culinary influences include those from Malta, Genoa, Portugal, Andalusia and Britain...
's roots also lie in Genoa. The most notable dish of Genoese origin (in spite of its Spanish name) is Gibraltar's national dish
National dish
A national dish is a dish, food or a drink that is considered to represent a particular country, nation or region.A dish can become a national dish for a variety of reasons. It can be the national dish because it is a staple daily food for the majority of the population. It can also be the national...
, calentita. It is a chickpea flour
Gram flour
Gram flour is a cereal flour made from ground chickpeas. It is also known as chickpea flour, garbanzo flour, or besan . Used in many countries, it is a staple ingredient in Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cuisines, and, in the form of a paste with water or yoghurt, a popular facial exfoliant in...
-based flatbread
Flatbread
A flatbread is a simple bread made with flour, water, and salt and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened: made without yeast or sourdough culture: although some flatbread is made with yeast, such as pita bread....
similar to the Italian
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
farinata
Farinata
Farinata, socca, or cecina is a sort of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe of chickpea flour originating in Genoa and later a typical food of the Ligurian Sea coast, from Nice to Pisa.-Names:...
.
Even the Gibraltarian panissa, a bread-like dish similar to the calentita, shares its Italian origins: it is a descendant of the Genoese dish with the same name "panissa".
Other important Gibraltarian dishes such as rosto, penne
Penne
Penne is a type of pasta with cylinder-shaped pieces. Penne is the plural form of the Italian penna, deriving from Latin penna . In Italy, penne are produced in two main variants: "penne lisce" and "penne rigate" , the latter having ridges on each penna...
and meat in a tomato sauce
Tomato sauce
A tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish...
, is also of Genoese origin.
Society
Genoese heritage is also present in the upper strata of Gibraltarian society: this class consists of a few families of Genoese origin.While the upper middle class consists of Catholic, Jewish, and Hindu merchants and lawyers, the working class is made up of families of Spanish, Maltese, and Italian (mainly Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
) origin.
Current population
The present-day descendants of the Genoese settlers in Gibraltar are fully integrated as Gibraltarians.Today, Gibraltarians with Genoese (and/or Italian) surnames make up almost 20% of the total population. This group is integrated in the Gibraltarian society and there it is no association related specifically to them. The Genoese in Gibraltar have left partially their presence even in the Llanito
Llanito
Llanito or Yanito is an Andalusian Spanish based creole spoken in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It consists of an eclectic mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English, marked by a great deal of code switching and loanwords from many other Mediterranean languages.Gibraltarians also...
, the local Gibraltarian dialect used by most of the descendants of these Ligurians, that has nearly 700 words borrowed from the Genoese dialect.
Some scholars (like Manuel Cavilla) believe that the word "Llanito" is of Italian origin, because comes from the common diminutive of the Italian name Gianni (John in English), pronouncied in the Genoese dialect "iannito".
Research on Genoese surnames in Gibraltar
Recent research by Fiorenzo Toso in 2000 about the names of Gibraltarian families of Genoese origins was: based on original research and deals with the Ligurian origin of many of the surnames currently found in Gibraltar. It points out the areas of origin of these surnames, discusses their etymology and gives their present frequency. Remarks are made on Liguria’s historical importance in this locality, and above all on the linguistic, ethnographic and cultural consequences of this influence.From this research appears clearly that most of the emigration from the Italian region Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
was from the areas of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and Savona
Savona
Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....
, and some Sicilian surnames (like Caruana) are mistakenly believed to be Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
(while are from Sicilians emigrated to Malta during the Italian Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
).
These are the most common Genoese surnames in Gibraltar, according to Toso's research:
- Parodi (Parody), Baglietto, Danino, Olivero, Robba, Montegriffo, Chipolina, Ferrari (Ferrary), Ramagge and Bossano.
Notable people
Notable Gibraltarians of Genoese descent include:- Kaiane AldorinoKaiane AldorinoKaiane Aldorino, GMH is a Gibraltarian beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Gibraltar 2009 and Miss World the same year in Johannesburg, South Africa. She was the first Miss Gibraltar ever to reach the semifinals of the Miss World beauty pageant.-Personal life:Aldorino was born in...
(Miss World 2009Miss World 2009Miss World 2009, the 59th Miss World pageant, was held on December 12, 2009 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. 112 contestants from all over the world competed for the crown, marking the biggest turnout in the pageant's history...
) - Joe BossanoJoe BossanoJoseph "Joe" John Bossano is a Gibraltarian politician, and the former leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party. He was Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 25 March 1988 to 17 May 1996. He served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Gibraltar Parliament from its founding in 1978 until April...
(Chief Minister 1988-1996) - Adolfo CanepaAdolfo CanepaAdolfo John Canepa was a Gibraltarian politician. He has dedicated most of his life to politics and the development of Gibraltar, having served both as Leader of the Opposition and as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 8 December 1987 to 25 March 1988...
(Chief Minister 1987) - Stuart CavillaStuart CavillaStuart Cavilla is a Gibraltarian bass guitarist. He plays bass guitar in the Gibraltarian Flamenco Metal band, Breed 77. Although Cavilla has not played continuously, he is one of the original members and founders of the band. He also plays palmas for the band...
(Breed 77Breed 77Breed 77 is a British band from the overseas territory of Gibraltar whose music is a fusion of alternative metal and flamenco.-Origin:Breed 77 comes from the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Old Gibraltarian school friends, Paul Isola, Danny Felice, and Stuart Cavilla met up in London and...
bassist) - John GallianoJohn GallianoJohn Charles Galliano CBE, RDI is a Gibraltan-born British fashion designer who was best known as head designer of French haute couture houses Givenchy and Christian Dior , and his own self titled fashion house.-Family:He was born in Gibraltar to a Gibraltarian father, Juan Galliano, and a...
(Fashion designer) - Paul IsolaPaul IsolaPaul Isola is a Gibraltarian musician and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist in the Flamenco metal band, Breed 77. Isola is one of the original members and founders of the band. He also plays the djembe, piano, flamenco guitar and palmas for the band...
(Breed 77 vocalist) - Peter IsolaPeter IsolaPeter Joseph Isola, OBE, GMH , was a Gibraltarian politician and lawyer. He succeeded Maurice Xiberras as leader of the Democratic Party of British Gibraltar , a political party in Gibraltar.-Early life and career:...
(politicianPolitics of GibraltarGibraltar is represented in the European Union, having been the only British overseas territory which joined the EC under the British Treaty of Accession ....
) - Krystle Robba (Miss GibraltarMiss GibraltarMiss Gibraltar is a the main annual beauty pageant of Gibraltar that selects the official representative to the Miss World pageant. The incumbent Miss Gibraltar is Michelle Gillingwater Pedersen, who was crowned on 25 June 2011 at a program held at the Alameda Open-Air Theatre.-History:The first...
2008)
See also
- History of the Jews in GibraltarHistory of the Jews in GibraltarThere has been a Jewish presence in Gibraltar for more than 650 years. There have been periods of persecution, but for the most part the Jews of Gibraltar have prospered and been one of the largest religious minorities in the city, where they have made contributions to the culture, defence, and...
- History of the Maltese in GibraltarHistory of the Maltese in GibraltarA Maltese community has existed in Gibraltar since shortly after the British conquest in 1704. Gibraltar, Malta and Cyprus were the three stepping stones whereby Great Britain controlled the Mediterranean and the vital route to the Suez Canal and thence to India...
- Gibraltarian peopleGibraltarian peopleThe Gibraltarians are a cultural group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean sea.- Origins :...
- Languages of GibraltarLanguages of GibraltarAs a British overseas territory, the sole official language of Gibraltar is English, and it is used by the Government and in schools.Most locals are bilingual, also speaking Spanish, due to Gibraltar's proximity to Spain. Most Gibraltarians converse in Llanito, their vernacular which is mostly...
- History of Genoa
- Italian diasporaItalian diasporaThe term Italian diaspora refers to the large-scale migration of Italians away from Italy in the period roughly beginning with the unification of Italy in 1861 and ending with the Italian economic miracle in the 1960s...