Italian immigrants to Wales, mainly originating from the
Apennine Mountains and in particular the town of
Bardi, established a network of
cafés,
ice cream parlours and
fish and chip shops in Wales from the 1890s onwards. In the
Rhondda Valley the cafés became known as "Bracchis" after an early café owner. The brothers
Frank and
Aldo Berni, who started in business in
Merthyr Tydfil, went on to found the
Berni Inn chain. During the
Second World War, Welsh Italians without
British citizenship were declared
enemy aliens and a number were
interned on the
Isle of Man or in
Canada. 53 Welsh Italians lost their lives in the sinking of the passenger ship in 1940. A memorial was placed in
Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral in 2010 to commemorate the tragedy. A memorial chapel is in the cemetery in Bardi. In 1911 there were 20,389 Italians in Wales. is estimated now that there are 40,000 people of Italian origin living in Wales. ==Notable people==