Many of these Italians were sailors and inhabitants of rural regions, who ventured to emigrate to South American lands.

[5] A part of the Italian immigrants arrived in Guayaquil from Peru, fleeing the Peruvian/Chilean war.

Before World War I, a small colony of Italians existed in Ecuador; 650 in total, of whom 500 lived in Guayaquil.

[6] Starting from the 1920s, many Italians emigrated to the coasts of Ecuador; the vast majority settled in Guayaquil.

[7] In 1921, the Italians founded "La Previsora", the first financial company in Ecuador, which promoted the cultivation and marketing of Ecuadorian cocoa in the world.