Italian South Africans


Italian South Africans are South Africans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. They are primarily descended from Italians who emigrated to South Africa during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Language and religion

Most Italian South Africans, like other South Africans, are Christians. The majority of them are Roman Catholics although there is a Protestant minority.
All the remaining first-generation Italian South Africans speak Italian and also English or other South African languages as second language.
The Italian South Africans of the new generations are assimilated into South African society, and most of them speak mainly English as first language with a handful that speak Afrikaans and Zulu but still secondarily Italian.

Notable Italian South Africans

Sport