Abstract

The story of Enrico Piccione, who in 1900 founded a cultural magazine called «El Pensamiento Latino» in the capital city of Chile, is part of the context of Italian migration to Chile between the 19th and 20th centuries. The study faces the arrival of the writer from Taranto taking into consideration the news published in an ethnic newspaper of the time, «L'Italia Illustrata», and those present in the Italian diplomatic documentation. The story of Piccione, from the analysis of these documents, turns out to be ambiguous above all in reference to the real objectives of the writer and his permanence in Chile lasted more than fifteen years: on the one hand, in fact, the ethnic press praises his contribution to the spread of the Italian language and culture and, in general, to the strengthening of the relationship between the two countries; on the other hand, there is an unclear picture of his activities in the Andean country, which are too often pursued for personal and economic purposes.