Antonio Bassano

Compared to countries, such as, America, Canada, Australia and Argentina, there has not been a great deal of Italian immigration to England.  That being said, there have been pockets for centuries.  I’m going to discount the Romans, as that is an entirely different topic.  It’s also important to remember that Italy was not united until the mid 1800’s, so migration prior to that was from various city states or smaller regions.  I lived in the UK for 2 years, however I never really looked into the Italian population or their role.  Interestingly, while researching my daughter’s family ( she’s adopted ).  I found that her 12th great grandfather was Antonio Bassano, one of five brothers, who was a musician to the court of Henry VIII.

The first recorded communities in England sprang from merchants and sailors coming into Southampton after 1066.  Lombard street in London takes it’s name from those coming from Lombardy.  Westminster Abbey shows a great deal of Italian influence, specifically the Cosmati Pavement completed in 1245.  Around the same time two Italian bank houses, the Riccardi’s and Frescobaldi’s were money lenders to the English crown.

From the 15th to 18th centuries there was a small community of Italians, mainly merchants, bankers and artists.  Also, Italian protestants, found the UK to be a safe haven.  Giovanni Cabato was the famous explorer that sailed to Canada.  

From the 1820’s to 1850’s there were about 4000 immigrants from Italy.  Those from Como were skilled in making precision instruments, and those from Lucca made plaster figurines.  People from Parma were mainly organ grinders ( I don’t think any of us like that stereotype ), immigrants from Naples made and sold ice cream.

At the start of WWII there was an established Italian community in Great Britain, but Mussolini siding with Hitler had a devastating impact.  Much like in America, Italians were interned, ( something I never knew ), and riots broke out on June 11 1940.  Thousands of Italian men from the ages of 17 to 60 were arrested.  After the war, there was minimal immigration until the 1970’s when it basically stopped.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  

 Antonio Bassano was a 16th-century Italianmusician. 

Bassano, born in Bassano del Grappa, Italy, was one of six sons of Jeronimo Bassano(Anthony, Jacomo, Alvise, Jasper, John and Baptista) who moved from Venice to England to the household of Henry VIIIto serve the court, probably in 1540. Of his ten children, the five sons (Mark Anthony, Arthur, Edward, Andrea and Jeronimo) all served as musicians to the court of Henry VIII, and a daughter (Lucreece Bassano) married Nicholas Lanier the Elder, grandfather of the artist-musician Nicholas Lanier.

The historian A.L. Rowsein his correspondence to The Timesin 1973 claimed that the Bassanos were Jewish[1]and Dr. David Lasocki of Indiana Universityclaimed in his 1995 book that the family were converted Jews.[2]However, Giulio M. Ongaro in his “New Documents on the Bassano Family” in Early Music[3]and Alessio Ruffatti (who did research in the archives of Bassano del Grappaassisted by Professor Pier Cesare Ioly Zorattini both argued that the Bassanos who moved to England were not of Jewish origin .[4]

Besides being wind players in the King’s band, the Bassanos were also instrument makers.[5]

Anthony was recorded as a foreigner, formerly Queen Elizabeth’smusician, resident in the London parish of St Olaveand All Hallows Staining, in 1607. He was married with five children, all born in England.[6]

References

• “Revealed At Last, Shakespeare’s Dark Lady.“, The TimesJanuary 29, 1973: 12.

• David Lasocki; Roger Prior: The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1665, Aldershot, Hampshire: Scolar Press (1995)

• Ongaro, Giulio M. (August 1992). “New Documents on the Bassano Family”. Early Music. 20(3): 409–13. doi:10.1093/earlyj/XX.3.409.

• Ruffatti, Alessio. “Italian Musicians at the Tudor Court–Were They Really Jews?” Jewish Historical Studies35 (1996-1998): 1-14., Jewish Historical Society of England

• Roger Prior, “Jewish Musicians at the Tudor Court”, Musical Quarterly, Vol 69 number 2 (Spring 1983), pp. 253-265.

1. Strype, John, Annals of the Reformation, vol. 4 (1824), 571.

• The Bassanos, Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531–1665,by David Lasocki and Roger Prior, published by Scholar Press

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