The immigrant contribution to the territorial construction of a colony in Entre Ríos Giuseppe Cian's family in Argentina

Abstract

Various studies point out as a relevant aspect the pioneering condition of Entre Ríos in terms of colonization, which is remote from experiences of the first quarter of the 19th century. The Colonia Cerrito, in the argentine province of Entre Ríos, was created in 1881, driven by the prevailing ideas at the time of replacing the native population with a European population; a large contingent of immigrants came to this new colony, among which the Austro-Italics stood out. With the aim of rescuing the history and understanding the geography of a specific place, the objective of this article is to tell the story of an immigrant family and its contribution to the development of the territory, resorting to a bibliographic review on the history of the colonization of Entre Ríos, of the colonization of Cerrito itself, to historical school archives and to testimonies of descendants of the Cian family. The Cian family is representative of those who arrived in the area on the same date, those who initially maintained their cultural guidelines, their religion and language, the endogamous nature of the marriages, contributing to the development of the territory in which they had settled.