Italian Costa Rican

Italian Costa Rican
Total population
2300 citizens[1] and 300,000 descendants
Regions with significant populations
Coto Brus Canton · San José
Languages
Costa Rican Spanish · Italian
Religion
Roman Catholicism

Italian Costa Ricans are citizens of Costa Rica who are of Italian ancestry. Most of them reside in San Vito, the capital city of the Coto Brus Canton

Migration History

In 1888, the railroad brought in laborers from Italy as an alternative workforce.[2] The terrible work conditions spurred the Italians to leave the railroad project and many remained in Costa Rica. They settled in a government-sponsored colony known as San Vito, in the Southern Pacific region of Costa Rica.

In 1952, there was an influx of Italian immigrants, mainly farmers, who arrived in San Vito armed with tractors and other farm machinery, and began to farm the land intensively and to raise cattle. An Italian organization for agricultural colonization purchased 10,000 hectares of land from the government of Costa Rica.[3]

Culture

There is an Italian cultural center in San Vito as well as several Italian restaurants. The Italian language is usually spoken only by the older citizens of San Vito.

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ Inec — Sección de Estadística. INEC.
  2. ↑ "Costa Rica's Culture & People - The Italians", Costa Rica Travel Guide
  3. ↑ "San Vito Costa Rica Vacations and Luxury Travel Packages", travelwizard.com.