Italian Communities in Portugal from the 16th to the 21st Century
The construction of Lisbon's Church of Our Lady of Loreto in the early 16th century marks the beginning of the presence of the so-called Italian "nation" in Portugal. This community brought together people from various city-states and republics of the Italian Peninsula. As Nunziatella Alessandrini explains, the Italian community was highly diverse, but its settlement in Portugal is closely tied to royal privileges granted to "Italian" merchants (and others of different nationalities). These merchants primarily came to engage in trade linked to Atlantic and Eastern expansion. During the Iberian Union, the largest commercial contracts were in the hands of the Genoese, the historian notes, drawing a parallel to the 21st century..
Nunziatella Alessandrini is a senior researcher at CHAM. With a master's and a PhD in Early Modern History (Uni. Aberta), her work focuses on artistic, commercial, economic, and political relations between Portugal and Italy, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as on foreign communities, migration flows, miscegenation, and social groups. Since 2011, she has coordinated the conference series "Luso-Italian Relations in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods", in collaboration with CHAM, the Italian Cultural Institute in Lisbon, and other institutions.
The interview is conducted by Teresa Lacerda.
Coordenation
Isabel Araújo Branco (CHAM)
Organization
CHAM / NOVA FCSH
