Italians of Odesa are mentioned for the first time in documents of the 13th century, when on the territory of the future Odesa, a city in southern
Ukraine on the
Black Sea, the anchorage of the Genoese commercial ships was placed, which was called "Ginestra", perhaps from name of the
broom plant, very common in the
steppes of the Black Sea. In 1789, during the
Russo-Turkish War,
Giuseppe De Ribas, an officer in the service of the Russian prince
Grigory Potemkin, with his troops conquered the village of Khadjibey, From 1798 the consuls of
Naples,
Sardinia and
Corsica were present in Odesa. Subsequently the consulate of Sardinia was transformed into an Italian consulate. The first Odesa policeman, who was hired in 1794, was Italian. Italians actively participated in local politics in Odesa, so much so that Italians were already present in the municipal council in office since 1797. Trade with Italy started from the ports of Naples, Genoa and Venice. Furthermore, the need to know foreign languages – including Italian – led to the teaching of Russian, Greek and Italian in the first Odesa school founded in 1800. At the beginning of the 19th century the Italian language became the second official language in Odesa, after Russian. They also manufactured their own designs for the Russian army during
World War I. Both of its factories were taken over and operated by the Soviets, until eventually being closed in 1922, after having produced 1,056 aircraft in Odesa, and 50 at a second location they had opened away, in
Simferopol, in
Crimea. The Italians of Odesa were also owners of the city's food industries, where pasta, cured meats and sweets were mainly produced. Italian actors who acted in the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theater were
Tommaso Salvini,
Ernesto Rossi and
Eleonora Duse. Over time they merged with the local population, losing the ethnic connotations of origin: As of 2025, Italians are the third largest European
expat group in the city after the French and the Germans. An honorary consulate of Italy opened in Odesa in 2023. ==See also==