Turks in Italy
Encyclopedia
Turks in Italy are Italian
citizens of Turkish
origin. The term Turk
or Turkish used in Italy
may apply to immigrants or the descendants of immigrants born in the Ottoman Empire
before 1923, in the Republic of Turkey since then, or in neighbouring countries once part of the Ottoman Empire
that still have a population whose language is Turkish or who claims a Turkish identity or cultural heritage, in contrast to the many other peoples from present-day Turkey and the former Ottoman Empire, who identify with their own communities.
During the 15th century, the Ottoman Empire
was expanding mightily in southeastern Europe. It completed the absorption of the Byzantine Empire
in 1453 under Sultan Mehmet II by conquering Constantinople
and Galata
. It seized Genoa's last bastions in the Black Sea
in 1475 and Venice's Greek colony of Euboea
in 1479. Turkish troops invaded the Friuli
region in northeastern Italy in 1479 and again in 1499–1503. The Apulian harbor town of Otranto
, located about 100 kilometers southeast of Brindisi, was seized in 1480, but the Turks were routed there in 1481 when Mehmet died and a war for his succession broke out. Cem
, pretender to the Ottoman throne, was defeated despite being supported by the pope; he fled with his family to the Kingdom of Naples, where his male descendants were bestowed with the title of Principe de Sayd by the Pope in 1492. They lived in Naples until the 17th century and in Sicily until 1668 before relocating to Malta
.
served as a one-building-ghetto
for Venice's Ottoman Turkish
population (thus "dei Turchi"). The fondaco then served as a combination home, warehouse
, and market
for the Turkish traders. When the Venetian Republic was conquered and abolished by Napoleon Boneparte in 1797, the Turkish traders continued to live in the palazzo until 1838.
Today, the majority of Turks live in Rome
, Milan
and Venice
.
which had over 1,000 Turks included; 6,202 Turks in Lombardia (mainly in Como
and Milano), 3,834 in Emilia Romagna (mainly in Modena
and Reggio Emilia
), 1,483 in Liguria
(mainly in Imperia
) and 1,064 in Toscana.
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...
citizens of Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
origin. The term Turk
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
or Turkish used in Italy
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...
may apply to immigrants or the descendants of immigrants born in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
before 1923, in the Republic of Turkey since then, or in neighbouring countries once part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
that still have a population whose language is Turkish or who claims a Turkish identity or cultural heritage, in contrast to the many other peoples from present-day Turkey and the former Ottoman Empire, who identify with their own communities.
History
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
was expanding mightily in southeastern Europe. It completed the absorption of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
in 1453 under Sultan Mehmet II by conquering Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and Galata
Galata
Galata or Galatae is a neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district on the European side of Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old Constantinople. The Golden Horn is crossed by...
. It seized Genoa's last bastions in the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
in 1475 and Venice's Greek colony of Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
in 1479. Turkish troops invaded the Friuli
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
region in northeastern Italy in 1479 and again in 1499–1503. The Apulian harbor town of Otranto
Otranto
Otranto is a town and comune in the province of Lecce , in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses.It is located on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, to which the city gives its name, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and Italy with Albania...
, located about 100 kilometers southeast of Brindisi, was seized in 1480, but the Turks were routed there in 1481 when Mehmet died and a war for his succession broke out. Cem
Cem
Prince Cem , December 22, 1459 – February 25, 1495) was a pretender to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century. He was a son of Mehmed II the Conqueror and younger brother of Sultan Bayezid II. He was banished to Europe, first under the protection of the Knights Hospitaller of St...
, pretender to the Ottoman throne, was defeated despite being supported by the pope; he fled with his family to the Kingdom of Naples, where his male descendants were bestowed with the title of Principe de Sayd by the Pope in 1492. They lived in Naples until the 17th century and in Sicily until 1668 before relocating to Malta
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...
.
Demographic history
From the early 17th century through to 1838, the Fondaco dei TurchiFondaco dei Turchi
The Fondaco dei Turchi is a Veneto-Byzantine style palazzo on the Grand Canal of Venice, northeast Italy.-Early history:...
served as a one-building-ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
for Venice's Ottoman Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
population (thus "dei Turchi"). The fondaco then served as a combination home, warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
, and market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
for the Turkish traders. When the Venetian Republic was conquered and abolished by Napoleon Boneparte in 1797, the Turkish traders continued to live in the palazzo until 1838.
Today, the majority of Turks live in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
.
| Year | Males | Females | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 4,171 | 3,012 | 7,183 | |
| 2003 | 5,553 | 3,577 | 9,130 | |
| 2004 | 6,826 | 4,251 | 11,077 | |
| 2005 | 7,471 | 4,888 | 12,359 | |
| 2006 | 8,040 | 5,492 | 13,532 | |
| 2007 | 8,631 | 5,931 | 14,562 | |
| 2008 | 9,549 | 6,676 | 16,225 | |
| 2009 | 10,367 | 7,284 | 17,651 | |
| (Source: Istituto Nazionale di Statistica Istituto Nazionale di Statistica Istituto Nazionale di Statistica is the Italian national statistical institute.-History:Istat was created in 1926 to collect and organize essential data about the nation. Administering the census is one of its activities... (ISTAT)) |
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Turkish settlement
As of 2008, regions of ItalyRegions of Italy
The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....
which had over 1,000 Turks included; 6,202 Turks in Lombardia (mainly in Como
Como
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....
and Milano), 3,834 in Emilia Romagna (mainly in Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
and Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
), 1,483 in 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:...
(mainly in Imperia
Imperia
Imperia may be:* Imperia , an Italian city* Province of Imperia, the Italian province of the above city of Imperia* IMPERIA, a vodka produced by Russian Standard* Imperia , a statue in Constance, Germany...
) and 1,064 in Toscana.
| Rank | Geographical area Geography of Italy Italy is located in southern Europe and comprises the long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula, the land between the peninsula and the Alps, and a number of islands including Sicily and Sardinia . Its total area is , of which is land and... | Turkish population (2009) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North-West | 9,239 | ||
| 2 | North-East | 5,562 | ||
| 3 | Central Central Italy Central Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency... |
2,168 | ||
| 4 | South | 595 | ||
| 5 | Islands | 87 | ||
| Total |  Italy |
17,651 | ||
| (Source: Istituto Nazionale di Statistica Istituto Nazionale di Statistica Istituto Nazionale di Statistica is the Italian national statistical institute.-History:Istat was created in 1926 to collect and organize essential data about the nation. Administering the census is one of its activities... (ISTAT)) |
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Notable people
- Canan Anderson
- CemCemPrince Cem , December 22, 1459 – February 25, 1495) was a pretender to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century. He was a son of Mehmed II the Conqueror and younger brother of Sultan Bayezid II. He was banished to Europe, first under the protection of the Knights Hospitaller of St...
- Leyla GencerLeyla GencerLeyla Gencer, or Ayşe Leyla Çeyrekgil was a world-renowned Turkish operatic soprano.Known as "La Diva Turca" and "La Regina" in the opera world, Gencer was a notable bel canto soprano who spent most of her career in Italy, from the early 1950s through the mid-1980s, and had a repertoire...
- Mehmet GünsurMehmet GünsurMehmet Günsür is a Turkish actor.-Biography:Günsür worked first as a barman and then as a model before becoming an actor. He graduated from Italian High School. Since his debut, he has acted in Turkish, Italian, and some American films...
- Ferzan ÖzpetekFerzan ÖzpetekFerzan Özpetek is an Italian-Turkish film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy.- Biography :Ferzan Ozpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. When he was a young student in 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History at Sapienza University of Rome...
- Hugo PrattHugo PrattHugo Eugenio Pratt was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as Corto Maltese...
See also
- Convention between Italy and Turkey, 1932Convention between Italy and Turkey, 1932The Convention between Italy and Turkey, signed in Ankara on January 4, 1932, by the Italian Plenipotentiary, Ambassador Pompeo Aloisi, and the Turkish foreign minister Tevfik Rüştü Aras, settled a dispute that had arisen in the aftermath of the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, about the sovereignty...
- SüpermenlerSüpermenlerSüpermenler is a Turkish-Italian action film which was heavily inspired by the superhero, Superman. Filmed in 1979, it stars Cüneyt Arkın, a popular name in Turkish action films...
- EdonisEdonisThe Edonis is a car created by Italian automobile manufacturer B Engineering.It is based on the Bugatti EB110 Super Sport but has been extensively re-engineered. About the only thing retained from the original Bugatti is the carbon-fiber chassis. Both the exterior and interior of the car have...
- Turks in Moena
- Turks in Malta
- Turks in EuropeTurks in EuropeThe Turks in Europe refers to Turkish people living in Europe. According to a 2011 academic estimate, there is approximately 9 million Turks living in Europe, excluding those who live in Turkey....
- Il turco in ItaliaIl turco in ItaliaIl turco in Italia is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The Italian-language libretto was written by Felice Romani...