Newport’s Italian community traces back to the late 19th century, when immigrants—largely from the Apennine highlands around Bardi—arrived seeking work in coal, steel, docks, and iron industries . By 1911, over 20,000 Italians lived in Wales, many settling around Newport, Cardiff and the South Wales valleys.
The newcomers brought something more than labour: they introduced cafés, ice‑cream parlours, and fish‑and‑chip shops. These “Bracchis,” named after early café‑owner Giacomo Bracchi, became social hubs—serving coffee, ice cream, and warmth during the Great Depression—numbering over 300 in Wales by the 1930s .
World War II disrupted life: many Italians without British citizenship were interned (on the Isle of Man or deported), and tragically 53 Welsh‑Italians died when the Arandora Star sank en route to Canada. Among them was Giovanni Tambini, who had previously run Maria’s Cafe in Commercial Street. Guido Conti, Antonio Rabaiotti, and Giovanni Stellon also lost their lives on the Arandora Star. Subsequently the women of the families left behind often kept the cafes alive.
Post‑war, Italian culture remained vibrant. Families like Sidoli, Conti, Rabaiotti,Marenghi, Tedaldi etc. sustained cafes, chip shops and other businesses through the generations.
In Llanarth Street the Conti family ran the Empire Cafe in the 1930’s. John Conti brought his wife Liliana over from Bardi to help run the business in the 1950’s and it became a very popular restaurant and bar, closing in 1986. The family also had a newsagents business in Maindee.
Ristorante Vittorio, opened in 1989, is a testament to the ongoing legacy . Today, about 40,000 people of Italian descent live in Wales, with Newport still home to notable community landmarks—including Italian restaurants, Catholic parishes, and cultural societies.
Dorina Bright (Tambini) was mayoress of Newport during the 1990s as her husband Bob Bright was mayor and later leader of the Council.
This rich heritage—rooted in entrepreneurial spirit, family, and cultural fusion—continues to flavour Newport’s social and cultural life.