Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy, will be in São Paulo next Wednesday (17) to celebrate the 150 years of Italian immigration in Brazil. The head of state will be received at Circolo Italiano San Paolo, located in Edifício Itália, on Avenida Ipiranga.
This visit marks the first time in 25 years that an Italian president has visited the capital of São Paulo.
The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 16:15 pm and end at 17 pm, with approximately 300 guests in attendance. The president will be accompanied by his daughter, Laura Mattarella.
“The president and ambassador Alessandro Cortese will make a statement in honor of 150 years of Italian immigration in Brazil, offering a perspective on Italy’s relationship with its immigrants and new Italian-Brazilians,” he said. José Messina, current president of the Circolo Italiano.
The deep connection between Brazilians and Italians is evidenced by the tourist exchange between the two countries. According to the Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion (Embratur), more than 50 thousand Brazilians visited Italy in 2023, while 129,4 thousand Italians came to Brazil in the same period. Of this total, more than 55 thousand Italians had São Paulo as their destination.
Italian immigration to Brazil began on February 21, 1874, when 386 Italians from the regions of Trento and Veneto arrived in the state of Espírito Santo aboard the steamship La Sofia, in search of better living conditions.
Currently, according to the Italian consulate in São Paulo, the Italian community in Brazil, mostly located in the state of São Paulo, has between 15 and 20 million descendants and approximately 345 Brazilians with recognized Italian citizenship.
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