Chinese people in Italy

{{Infobox ethnic group

| group = Chinese people in Italy

| population = 308,984 (2024)
0.52% of the Italian population

| popplace = 20px Lombardy, 20px Tuscany, 20px Veneto, 20px Lazio

| langs = Wenzhounese{{·}}Mandarin Chinese{{·}}Italian

| rels = Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, Christianity

| related = Overseas Chinese

}}

{{Chinese

| title = Chinese Italian

| t = {{linktext|意大利|華人}}

| s = {{linktext|意大利|华人}}

| p = Yìdàlì Huárén

| y = Yidaaihleih Wàyàn

| t2 = {{linktext|意大利|華僑}}

| s2 = {{linktext|意大利|华侨}}

| p2 = Yìdàlì Huáqiáo

| y2 = Yidaaihleih Wàkìu

}}

The community of Chinese people in Italy has grown rapidly in the past ten years. Official statistics indicate there are at least 308,984 Chinese citizens in Italy, although these figures do not account for former Chinese citizens who have acquired Italian nationality or Italian-born people of Chinese descent.National Institute of Statistics (Italy): [http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/129854 I cittadini non comunitari regolarmente soggiornanti] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113203531/http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/129854 |date=November 13, 2014 }}. Retrieved 5 January 2015.

Demographics

Prato, Tuscany has the largest concentration of Chinese people in Italy and all of Europe. It has the second largest population of Chinese people overall in Italy after Milan.{{citation|author=Donadio, Rachel|periodical=The New York Times|title=Chinese Remake the 'Made in Italy' Fashion Label|date=2010-09-12|access-date=2011-05-04|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/world/europe/13prato.html}}

=Religion=

File:Esquilino - Pu Tuo Shan 1120876.JPG Buddhist temple of the Chinese community in via Ferruccio, Esquilino, Rome.]]

{{Pie chart

|thumb = right

|caption = Religion of Chinese in Italy (2010)

|label1 = Non religious / secular

|value1 = 39.9

|color1 = Honeydew

|label2 = Chinese folk religion

|value2 = 38.4

|color2 = DarkRed

|label3 = Buddhism

|value3 = 13.7

|color3 = Gold

|label4 = Catholic Church

|value4 = 3.6

|color4 = DarkOrchid

|label5 = Protestantism

|value5 = 3.3

|color5 = DodgerBlue

|label6 = Jehovah's Witnesses

|value6 = 1.1

|color6 = Turquoise

}}

In total, approximately one quarter of the Chinese community was classified as belonging to the Chinese (folk) religion.Pierluigi Zoccatelli; Religione e religiosità fra i cinesi a Torino. "Religione cinese", identità secolare e presenze di origine cristiana. In: Luigi Berzano, Carlo Genova, Massimo Introvigne, Roberta Ricucci, Pierluigi Zoccatelli; Cinesi a Torino: la crescita di un arcipelago; Il Mulino, 2010. {{ISBN|9788815137913}}. pp. 222-223: «L'atteggiamento religioso che classifichiamo qui come "religione cinese" corrisponde a circa un quarto del campione [...]». The surveyors weren't able to determine a precise Taoist identity; only 1.1% of the surveyed people identified as such, and the analysts preferred to consider Taoism as an "affluent" of the Chinese religion.Pierluigi Zoccatelli; Religione e religiosità fra i cinesi a Torino. "Religione cinese", identità secolare e presenze di origine cristiana. In: Luigi Berzano, Carlo Genova, Massimo Introvigne, Roberta Ricucci, Pierluigi Zoccatelli; Cinesi a Torino: la crescita di un arcipelago; Il Mulino, 2010. {{ISBN|9788815137913}}. p. 223: «Non abbiamo invece trovato ragioni sufficienti per identificare una specifica identità taoista – in effetti, solo tre intervistati si sono dichiarati esplicitamente taoisti –, e preferiamo considerare il taoismo come un affluente della "religione cinese".» The survey found that 39.9% of the Chinese had a thoroughly atheist identity, not believing in any god, nor belonging to any religious organisation, nor practicing any religious activity.Pierluigi Zoccatelli; Religione e religiosità fra i cinesi a Torino. "Religione cinese", identità secolare e presenze di origine cristiana. In: Luigi Berzano, Carlo Genova, Massimo Introvigne, Roberta Ricucci, Pierluigi Zoccatelli; Cinesi a Torino: la crescita di un arcipelago; Il Mulino, 2010. {{ISBN|9788815137913}}. p. 223: «[...] a Torino il 39,9% che congiuntamente si dichiara non religioso, non crede in Dio o in un potere superiore, non crede in una vita dopo la morte, né pratica la divinazione, può essere ascritto a questa identità secolare.»

The study also analysed the Chinese Christian community, finding it comprised 8% of the total population (of which 3.6% were Catholics, 3.3% Protestants and 1.1% Jehovah's Witnesses). The Christian community was small, but larger than that of the province of origin, especially for the Catholics and the Jehovah's Witnesses, the latter being an illegal religion in China.Pierluigi Zoccatelli; Religione e religiosità fra i cinesi a Torino. "Religione cinese", identità secolare e presenze di origine cristiana. In: Luigi Berzano, Carlo Genova, Massimo Introvigne, Roberta Ricucci, Pierluigi Zoccatelli; Cinesi a Torino: la crescita di un arcipelago; Il Mulino, 2010. {{ISBN|9788815137913}}. p. 225: «Ne è emersa una presenza non certamente maggioritaria ma, come vedremo nel paragrafo successivo, forse maggiore rispetto a quella delle regioni cinesi di origine. In particolare, appare maggiore la presenza di cattolici e compaiono i Testimoni di Geova, che nella regione da cui provengono la maggioranza dei cinesi di Torino non possono operare legalmente.» Protestants were found to be basically nondenominational and largely (70%) women.Pierluigi Zoccatelli; Religione e religiosità fra i cinesi a Torino. "Religione cinese", identità secolare e presenze di origine cristiana. In: Luigi Berzano, Carlo Genova, Massimo Introvigne, Roberta Ricucci, Pierluigi Zoccatelli; Cinesi a Torino: la crescita di un arcipelago; Il Mulino, 2010. {{ISBN|9788815137913}}. p. 227

In the years 2011 and 2012 the ISTAT made a survey regarding the religious affiliation among the immigrants in Italy, the religion of the Chinese people in Italy were as follows:{{Cite web|url=http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/169710|title=Appartenenza e pratica religiosa tra i cittadini stranieri|date=2014-10-30|website=www.istat.it|language=it|access-date=2017-10-22}}

Non religious: 44.5%
Buddhists: 44.4%
Christians: 7.3%
Other religions: 3.8%

{{Pie chart

|thumb=right

|caption=Religion of Chinese in Italy (2011-2012)

|label1=Non religious

|value1=44.5

|color1=Honeydew

|label2=Buddhism

|value2=44.4

|color2=Gold

|label3=Catholic Church

|value3=5.0

|color3=DarkOrchid

|label4=Other religion

|value4=3.8

|color4=Chartreuse

|label5=Protestantism

|value5=2.3

|color5=DodgerBlue

}}

Community relations

In 2007, several dozen protesters took to the streets in Milan over alleged discrimination.{{citation|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6550725.stm|periodical=BBC News|title=Milan police in Chinatown clash|last=Willey|first=David|date=2007-04-13|access-date=2008-04-22}} The northern Italian town of Treviso also ordered Chinese-run businesses to take down their lanterns because they looked "too oriental".{{citation|periodical=Taipei Times|title=Oriental decor not allowed|date=2007-05-08|access-date=2008-04-22|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2007/05/08/2003360012}}

Cities with significant Chinese communities

Image:Viacarloalberto.JPG

Image:Prato, chinatown 01.JPG and Rome Chinatown, the biggest and most important in Italy.]]

Based on Demo ISTAT statistics.

Milan 18,918 (1.43% on total resident population)
Rome 12,013
Prato 11,882 (6.32%)
Turin 5,437
Florence 3,890 (1.05%)
Campi Bisenzio 3,018 (6.87%)
Reggio Emilia 2,925 (1.72%)
Bologna 2,654
Naples 2,456
Brescia 2,394 (1.23%)
Venice 2,163
Empoli 1,759 (3.67%)
Genoa 1,637
Forlì 1,607 (1.36%)
Padua 1,571
Fucecchio 1,502 (6.39%)

The city of Prato has the second largest Chinese immigrant population in Italy (after Milan with Italy's largest Chinatown). Legal Chinese residents in Prato on 31 December 2008 were 9,927.{{cite web |url=http://www.comune.prato.it/prato/htm/strwrld.htm |title=Prato in cifre: gli stranieri residenti a Prato – suddivisione per cittadinanza |language=it |publisher=Comune.prato.it |date=31 December 2008 |access-date=5 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224062637/http://www.comune.prato.it/prato/htm/strwrld.htm |archive-date=24 February 2011 }} Local authorities estimate the number of Chinese citizens living in Prato to be around 45,000, illegal immigrants included.{{cite web |url=http://www.intoscana.it/intoscana/informarsi/inbreve.jsp?id_categoria=1210&id_sottocategoria=1211&id=245255&language=it |title=Notizie, informazioni della regione Toscana |publisher=Intoscana.it |access-date=5 April 2011 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The majority of Chinese living in Italy are from the city of Wenzhou in the province of Zhejiang,{{cite web |author=Chang, Angela |date=24 February 2012 |title=20th Century Chinese Migration to Italy: The Chinese Diaspora Presence within European International Migration |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264706975 |access-date=11 March 2015 |work=ResearchGate}} some of them having moved from the Chinatown in Paris

In 2021 there were 33871 (2,466%) Chinese in Milan and 33649 (16,764%) in Prato.Cinesi in italia tuttitalia.it