| Official Name: | Nueva Italia |
| Pushpin Map: | Paraguay |
| Mapsize: | 200px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Paraguay |
| Subdivision Type1: | Department |
| Subdivision Name1: | Central |
| Population As Of: | 2008 |
| Population Total: | 3 367 |
| Coordinates: | -25.62°N -57.5°W |
| Elevation M: | 130 |
| Blank Name: | Climate |
Nueva Italia (Spanish for New Italy) is a town in the Central Department of Paraguay.
Nueva Italia was created in 1904 by the Paraguay government in order to establish some colonists from Italy and their 18 families in a farming area 40 km south of the capital Asunción. In addition to Italians, a community of German and Ukrainian emigrants also moved to Nueva Italia. The first manager-administrator of this Colonia Nueva Italia (as was officially named) was the Italian count Enrico Statella.[1] After WW1 many Italians returned to Italy or moved to the capital Asuncion, but the settlement -after an initial crisis- survived & remained as a small agricultural center. Mura,[2] Musto and Carolini were some of the Italian families that remained and perfectly integrated with the local Paraguayan population. In the 1930s the colony was a success and grew in importance as a farming city for the Greater Asunción area[3] In 1956 was created the Distrito Nueva Italia,[4] that in the 2010s have nearly 20,000 inhabitants. The main activities are farming and husbandry.[5] Recently is being developed some tourism, thanks to new roads toward the capital and other surroundings[6] The city is located to the north of the "Distrito Nueva Italia" and has a perfect square shape, because of the original urban planning promoted by count Enrico Statella.[7]
The "Central department" of Paraguay (with the "Greater Asuncion" metropolitan area) is divided in 19 districts. The one located in the most southern section is Nueva Italia:
| District | km2 | Population (2002) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 122 | 44.566 | ||
| 83 | 154.274 | ||
| 21 | 113.560 | ||
| 59 | 16.687 | ||
| 190 | 50.391 | ||
| 122 | 60.601 | ||
| 948 | 37.374 | ||
| 37 | 119.795 | ||
| 117 | 73.158 | ||
| 203 | 185.127 | ||
| 122 | 65.229 | ||
| 40 | 71.909 | ||
| Nueva Italia | 312 | 18.525 | |
| 29 | 37.795 | ||
| 41 | 204.356 | ||
| 122 | 53.166 | ||
| 888 | 22.429 | ||
| 111 | 18.530 | ||
| 53 | 25.421 |