Don’t fall for the hype about Spain playing Argentina.
(Or, if you’re reading this after July 19, 2026, I hope you didn’t succumb to the false advertising.)
Does 60 percent mean anything to you?
This story begins in the 1800s, when the Argentine government actively sought immigrants to populate the country and utilize the abundant agricultural land.
An obvious supply was found in Italy.
Fast forward to the next century, and the wave continued, this time also filling industrial jobs in cities like Buenos Aires.
After WWII, as Europe struggled to regain its footing, a final surge occurred, officially giving the South American country a healthy dose of Italians.
How healthy?
In modern times, as alluded to above, over 60 percent of all Argentines have Italian ancestry.
The marriage, it could be said, has been a happy one.
It has never been a struggle for Italians to learn the closely related Spanish. Along the way, the Spanish spoken in Argentina has been “Italianized”, both in terms of pronunciation and loanwords.
Religion, as you might imagine, has blended just fine, as Roman Catholics tend to have few issues with Roman Catholics.
And the food—has anyone ever complained about pizza, pasta, gelato, and Fernet?
Spain—as in the country that funded Christopher Columbus—of course knows a thing or two about Italy.
And the Spanish know that on the soccer pitch, their Mediterranean neighbor can be found disguised in sky blue and white.
3 Responses
Had no clue! Interesting
It is pretty fascinating. The roots of many of the country’s soccer legends like Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi can be traced to Italy.
Immigration has been a way of life from centuries! It has become such a big issue now! Very interesting article.