This month I want to do a research about the "Italians of Crimea". Here it is what I found:
The Italians of Crimea (Russian: Итальянцы Крыма; Ukrainian: Італійці Криму) are an ethnic minority residing in the eponymous peninsula, with the largest concentration in the city of Kerch.
At the beginning of the 19th century, actual Italian emigration to the Crimea came from various Italian regions (mainly Liguria, Campania, Apulia), with immigrants settling mainly in the coastal cities of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, as well as in Odesa, Mykolaiv, Sevastopol, Mariupol, Berdiansk and Taganrog. But the first Italians settled there since Roman times.
Indeed as a result of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the Crusaders seized Constantinople. This led to the formation of the Latin Empire in the Byzantine lands. This is what brought the Italians to the shores of the Black Sea. Italian trading posts, founded by Genoa, Venice, and Pisa, arose in the Black Sea and Azov Sea regions.
One of the first trading posts was Porto Pisano (near modern Taganrog, located one hundred miles to the east of Crimea), founded by Pisa in the first half of the 13th century.
But the first Italian settlements in Southern Russia were located on the territory of modern Crimea: the most famous cities that have preserved the memory of the Italians' presence in the remains of fortresses, architectural structures, and, undoubtedly, enchanting legends, are Feodosia (Caffa); Sudak (Soldaia); Novy Svet (Paradiso).
Map of Crimea during the Renaissance, showing the Genoa colonies
CAFFA
In the late 13th century, the Genoese settled in Caffa (called also Kaffa), modern-day Feodosia, which became the largest port and trading center of the Black Sea region. The founding of Caffa is associated with the following legend:
"Merchants from the Italian city of Genoa took a liking to a strip of coastline at the site of the former ancient Greek colony of Theodosia. But Crimea already belonged to the Tatars, and the Genoese were forced to negotiate with them. The Tatars did not object to the Latins' desire to establish a trading post on the shores of Taurida. They agreed on the following: the Genoese would cover a bull's hide, spread on the ground, with several layers of gold coins. That was the payment. As for the territory the Genoese were hoping for, they could cut the hide into strips, tie them together, and whatever area this rope encompassed would be their possession.
The Genoese agreed and paid the money. Then they invited skilled leather craftsmen. They cut the hide into the finest threads. Tying them together, the Genoese encompassed the territory where their trading post of Caffa was later located, with a population of 70,000 people. The length of the powerful defensive wall around Caffa was about five kilometers in total. Caffa, in terms of fortified area and population, was second only to Constantinople at that time."
Genoese Caffa existed for two centuries and was destroyed by Mehmed II in 1475. Some of the surviving Italians went to Akkerman, with which the Genoese had old trade ties, but their stay there was short-lived and sad: they were robbed and expelled by the local Turkish authorities, after which they scattered in different directions.
Another group remained in Kaffa, and there, "due to the absence of divine services and Latin priests, and also because their wives were of the Greek, i.e., Orthodox faith, they converted to the Greek rite." And if not all, then most of them became Orthodox, like the Greeks.
A third group of Kaffa Italians, those who were not taken by the Turks to Constantinople (they were settled in a special quarter called Chieffe-mahalasi - "Kaffa quarter," which was located near the palace of Constantine the Great), immediately dispersed in different directions. Some went to Circassia, "thanks to their wives, many of whom they took from those lands." Some moved to the court of the Crimean Khan. A special place was allocated for their settlement, located near Bakhchisarai.
Approximately 100 years later (in 1578), after the Turks settled in Crimea, the presence of Italians was noted in the southwestern part of the peninsula "on the way from Inkerman to Chersonesus, between a narrow harbor and the Euxine Sea there is an isthmus called Little Chersonesus (now called Belbek)." This group of Italians was made knights and nobles, exempted from paying taxes, and only obligated to accompany the Khan on campaigns. They were usually used as ambassadors when it was necessary to send embassies to Christian lands. Around 1604, they were resettled in Fecciale, half a day's journey from the Khan's residence. In their new location, they continued to enjoy the same privileges and benefits as the Circassians, with whom they had much in common in their daily life and customs. By the first half of the 17th century, a so-called "Tatarization" of this Italian group had taken place.
Fechella is undoubtedly the town of Fod-Sala or Foti-Sala, located on the Belbek River on the highway from Bakhchisarai to Yalta, 25 km from Bakhchisarai.
When Christians were expelled from Crimea in 1780, no one was expelled from Foti-Sala.
Already at the beginning of the 19th century, Italian immigrants settled again in Feodosia (Genoese Kaffa), forming a small but quite old group of Feodosia Italians. There was also an Italian street in Feodosia, "one of the most lively and significant in the city; at that time, Italians constituted an influential and very noticeable element in Feodosia. At that time, the Italian language was as frequently heard in Feodosia as Italian signs were common on taverns." A significant part of the families were Genoese.
Maximilian Voloshin recounted that he knew old men who remembered the famous Garibaldi, who sailed as a cabin boy on the Black Sea.
In connection with the Genoese in Feodosia, it is necessary to mention Voloshin's report that many of his schoolmates later completed their education in Genoa.
Most of the Feodosia Italians were merchants, but there were also several people among them who were connected with land and agriculture.
The 1917 revolution forced many, or almost all, Italians to leave Feodosia forever.
In Soviet times, the Genoese Street reminded people of the city's Italian past. And now the ruins of the Genoese fortress are one of the biggest attractions of Feodosia.
SOLDAIA
The Genoese fortress of Soldaia surpasses all medieval fortifications preserved in the Northern Black Sea region.
According to ancient legend, the city was founded in 212 AD. Archaeological materials found indicate that the city was founded by the Iranian-speaking Alan tribes. The name Sudak (in Greek sources - Sugdea; in Western European sources - Soldaia; in Russian sources - Surozh; in Eastern sources - Sugdak) comes from the ancient Iranian word "sugda" - "pure", "holy".
From the 6th century, the city, like all of Eastern Crimea, was part of the Byzantine Empire.
From the second half of the 7th century, it was under the rule of the Khazar Khaganate - the largest state of that time in Eastern Europe. This lasted until the end of the 10th century, when Sugdea again passed to Byzantium.
From the end of the 11th century, the city came under the protectorate of the Polovtsians, and in 1217 it was captured by the Seljuk Turks.
In the early 13th century, Sugdea came under the rule of the Golden Horde as part of the Crimean ulus. It was at this time that a fierce struggle unfolded for possession of the ports on the Black Sea coast between the Italian city-states of Venice and Genoa.
In the 1970s, the Venetians settled in Soldaia, creating their own trading post. The city was bustling with life. At the same time, they founded the Paradiso trading post, located not far from Soldaia, a former ancient Greek colony, modern Novy Svet. In the first half of the 14th century, after the establishment of the Muslim religion as the state religion in the Golden Horde, the Christian population was expelled from the city, and its walls were destroyed. Taking advantage of the internecine struggle that began in the Golden Horde in 1359, the Genoese seized Sudak in 1365. From this moment, the restoration of the fortress walls, public and other buildings began. Thus, the Italian name of the city, Soldaia, and the rule of the Italians, now the Genoese, were re-established. And the city came to life again. It was through the port of Soldaia that the famous "Silk Road" passed.
At the end of the 15th century, the Genoese were overthrown, and the city became part of the Ottoman Empire, leaving behind a centuries-old memory of the Genoese presence – the best-preserved remains of the Genoese fortress in the entire Northern Black Sea region.
KERCH
The Kerch group of Italians existed before the 1840s, primarily consisting of merchants. After old Odessa, it was the most numerous.
As early as the 1840s, there was a dedicated Sardinian vice-consul in Kerch, suggesting that the group was quite large and engaged in lively trade relations. The Kerch group was systematically replenished by influxes of Italians from abroad, which continued until the 1880s. The peak years for the increase in emigrant numbers were 1863-1865 and 1869. Russia's recognition of the young Italian kingdom in 1862 significantly facilitated travel.
Until the 1860s, the majority of Italians arriving in Kerch were Sardinian subjects, most of whom were Genoese. Among them, a significant number of merchants engaged in foreign trade, mostly on a small scale, stood out. In the 1960s, primarily Italians from southern Italy flocked to Kerch. Among this wave were sailors and small-scale farmers: winegrowers, gardeners, and vegetable growers. These people, especially the last three groups, defined the character of the Kerch settlement, which was primarily an agricultural settlement.
The Kerch Italians were the oldest and only significant agricultural Italian group in Russia.
The largest number of Italians—Russian subjects (and later Soviet citizens)—were among the sailors, since the old law did not allow foreigners to work even in the commercial navy.
The more deeply the Italians became involved in local economic life, the greater the need to learn Russian. Mixed marriages became more frequent, although they were almost nonexistent among farmers and sailors. Their working and living conditions also brought them into contact with Russian schools. As a result, the Italians quickly became more closely related to the Russians. Even before 1960, many Italians from Kerch joined Russian merchant guilds. A number of Kerch Italians enrolled as bourgeois, and their sons entered Russian government service.
Instruction in the native language was nonexistent in the pre-revolutionary years. It was acquired at home and through interaction with fellow countrymen.
In 1917-1918, the opposite phenomenon was observed – an exodus of Italians from Kerch, which occurred in three directions. First, inland to the north; second, further eastward movement, a very weak trend; and third, a return to their homeland. This last process affected only those Italians who remained Italian citizens.
Regarding the situation with the native language after 1917, the following can be said. The older and middle generations spoke their native dialect, especially when only members of their respective groups participated in the conversation. The presence of the younger generation often meant that conversations shifted from Italian to Russian. The older generation could communicate, albeit with difficulty, in the common Italian language, especially those born in Italy or serving their military service there; their Russian was poor. The middle generation didn't speak common Italian. The younger generation often didn't even know their own dialect, speaking almost exclusively in Russian, which they were fluent in.
Denationalization played a much less prominent role in everyday life. Small details in dress, gestures, posture, and eating habits reminded us of Italian traditions. Songs and fairy tales brought from Italy had not yet been forgotten in this environment.
The Italians who remained after 1917 settled quite firmly in their places, and this applies to both Soviet and Italian citizens. In 1929, the Kerch colony, according to rough estimates by local residents, numbered about 1,000 people of both sexes, adults and children.
......to be continued.....
