Italian Chileans (in Spanish: Italochilenos, Italian: Italo-cileni) are Chileans of full or partly Italian descent. The Chilean census, according to their first surname only, officially numbers Italian Chileans as 800.000 - 1.500.000. In Southern Chile, there were state-conducted Italian immigrants programs, though they were not as massive as the German and Croats immigrants programs. These families settled especially in Capitán Pastene, Angol, Lumaco, and Temuco, but also in Valparaiso, Concepción, Chillán, Valdivia, and Osorno. One of the notable Italian influences in Chile is, for example, the sizable number of Italian surnames of a proportion of Chilean politicians, businessmen and intellectuals, of whom a good number intermarried into the "Castilian-Basque" elites.
Italian Chileans, along with French Chileans, contributed to the development, cultivation and ownership of the world-famous Chilean wines from haciendas in the Central Valley, since the first wave of Italians arrived in colonial Chile in the early 19th century.
There are currently 5,000 Swiss citizens residing in Chile and 90,000 with Swiss descendants.
The number of Swiss in Chile is minor, despite having a relatively large number of members. This is because their linguistic and cultural characteristics are commonly confused with Germans, Italians and French. Swiss migration to Chile took place at the end of 19th century, between 1883 and 1900, particularly in the area of Araucanía, especially in Victoria and Traiguén. It is estimated that more than 8,000 thousand families received grants of land.
In the nineteenth century, opening up new lands in the New World and the economic crisis in Europe that was mobilized to the most impoverished sectors of society to migrate mainly to United States in North America, Australia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. It was organized exodus and limited duration. As economic immigration, the State assumed a regulatory role by granting or denying requests for leave. With regard to the interests of migrants into Chile, began formally in 1853, when they meet in Bern, capital of Switzerland, the first reports about experience colonization in the southern to Chile.
Renato Zanelli (April 1, 1892, Valparaiso - March 25, 1935, Santiago) was a Chilean operatic baritone and later tenor, particularly associated with heroic Italian and German roles, notably Verdi's Otello.
Born Renato Zanelli-Morales of Italian descent, he studied in Santiago with Angelo Querze, making his debut there as a baritone in 1916, as Valentin. He later sang such important baritone roles as Tonio, de Luna, and Renato.
His New York Metropolitan Opera debut came in 1919, as Amonasro. He remained there until 1923, singing most of the major Italian baritone parts.
Zanelli then left for Italy for further studies with Dante Lari and Fernando Tanara in Milan. His first appearance as a tenor occurred in 1924 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, as Raoul. He went on to sing widely in Italy and South America in roles as diverse as Pollione, Don José, Andrea Chénier, Canio, Tristan and Siegmund.
He sang his first Otello in Turin in 1926, which also was his debut role at the Royal Opera House in London. His portrayal of Otello was notable for the intensity of its dramatic utterance. He took part in the first performance, in 1930, of Pizzetti's Lo straniero at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.
Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈleksis ˈsantʃes]; born 19 December 1988), is a Chilean footballer who plays as a forward for FC Barcelona and for the Chilean national team. He is well known for his excellent dribbling ability, great speed, and his unusual strength for a fast winger.
Sánchez began his career as a youth player for Cobreloa in 2003, aged 15, for then be promoted to the first adult team, two years later. His precocious talent caught the attention of Udinese, team of the Italian Serie A, and signed the 17-year-old for US$3million in May 2006, but was immediately loaned out to Colo-Colo, and then River Plate where he was able to mature in less physically demanding confines than the Italian first division.
He joined Udinese after becoming champion of the Argentine and Chilean leagues in June 2008. Sánchez made a steady progress in his first two seasons at Udinese, and in the 2010–11 season he established himself as one of the key player's that allowed Udinese to finish fourth in Serie A. On 27 February 2011, Sánchez scored four of seven goals as his team defeated Palermo 7-0, playing only the first 52 minutes of the game. This event meant he broke the record of goals scored by a Chilean player (in a single match) in the Italian Serie A, thus beating the records set by his historic countrymen Marcelo Salas and Iván Zamorano.