🇮🇹 Famous Italians — and Italian-connected people — in Britain
Italy has had an influence on the British Isles from the times of the Romans and people from Roman Italy/Empire with Britain being part of the Roman Empire for more than three centuries. In fact…we walk past Italian history every day and probably don’t know it.
🏛️ Roman Britain — AD 43–410
Emperor Claudius — AD 43
The emperor who launched the Roman invasion of Britain. His conquest fundamentally changed Britain’s towns, roads, administration and infrastructure. Claudius himself was born in Lyon, so he wasn’t Italian in the modern sense — but Rome was the centre of the political system that transformed Britain.
Gnaeus Julius Agricola — c. AD 40–93
One of the most important Roman governors of Britain. He governed Britain from around AD 77/78 to 83/84 and expanded Roman control into what is now Scotland.
Septimius Severus — AD 208–211
The emperor actually came to Britain and based himself at York during his northern campaigns. He died at York in AD 211. Again, he was born in North Africa rather than Italy — a useful reminder that the Roman world was already multinational.
Constantine the Great — AD 306
One of the most fascinating connections: Constantine was proclaimed emperor at York in AD 306.
🇮🇹 Medieval & Renaissance Britain
The Cosmati craftsmen — 13th century
Italian craftsmen came to England to create spectacular decorative marble and mosaic work.
The most famous surviving example is the Cosmati pavement in Westminster Abbey, laid in 1268 by Italian craftsmen. King Charles II specifically highlighted this Italian-British connection in his 2025 address to the Italian Parliament. So…an Italian-made floor sits underneath the British monarchy’s coronation ceremo
🇮🇹 Italian bankers — medieval London
Italian merchants and bankers became established in London centuries before the great migration of the 1800s.
Lombard Street is a literal reminder of this history: its name derives from the Lombard merchants and banking interests associated with the area.
🎨 18th century — Italians become fashionable in Britain
Canaletto — 1697–1768
Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto, came from Venice.
He spent much of 1746–1755 in England, painting London, the Thames, Eton and fashionable locations such as Ranelagh Gardens. The National Gallery says he dominated London’s market for view paintings during his stay. He gave Britain a visual record of itself through Italian eyes.
🇮🇹 The Risorgimento arrives in London
Giuseppe Mazzini — 1805–1872
Mazzini spent years in exile in London and became an important figure within London’s Italian community.
In 1841, he opened a free school in Clerkenwell for Italian children.
Giuseppe Garibaldi — 1807–1882
The ultimate famous Italian in Britain? Garibaldi visited Britain several times, most famously in 1864 and was greeted by important political figures as well as Charles Dickens and Mazzini.
His popularity was enormous. When he came to London, huge crowds turned out to see him. The Royal Family notes that around half a million people came to greet him, and his popularity was so great that Britain even got a Garibaldi biscuit named after him – maybe not a great biscuit but it certainly brought the name to most households.
And there’s an extraordinary Britaliani angle:
The man who helped unite Italy became a British celebrity.
He was greeted by political leaders and met figures including Charles Dickens and Mazzini.
Camillo Cavour
Cavour also spent time in Britain, as did several figures involved in Italian unification. The Royal Family specifically notes the connections between Cavour, Mazzini, Garibaldi and Britain. Seems like Italian Revolutionary figures were well liked.
📚 Antonio Panizzi — 1797–1879
Antonio Panizzi was an Italian political refugee who became one of the most important figures in the history of the British Museum Library. He was Keeper of Printed Books and later Principal Librarian, and he was instrumental in the creation of the famous Round Reading Room.
The British Museum describes the collection as growing dramatically under his leadership — from around 150,000 books in 1827 to 520,000 by 1856.
So…an Italian refugee helped build one of Britain’s most fanous temples of knowledge.
🎨 Dante Gabriel Rossetti — 1828–1882
Now you get into the really interesting British-Italian identity territory.
Rossetti was born in London, but his father, Gabriele Rossetti, was an Italian exile who came to Britain in 1824 and later became professor of Italian at King’s College London.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti became a major English poet and painter and one of the central figures of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. His Italian heritage was deeply embedded in his work — particularly his fascination with Dante and medieval Italian poetry.
Many british born Italians can appreciate “Born in the UK. Italian Family. Bothare part of who I am.”
📡 Guglielmo Marconi — 1874–1937
Then comes one of the biggest names of all.
Marconi moved to Britain in 1896, in his early twenties, and Britain became a crucial environment for the development and demonstration of his wireless technology.
His work ultimately helped establish practical wireless communication and earned him the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics.
The British government itself describes his relationship with Britain as an important part of the story of Italian innovation and British-Italian exchange.
And there’s a brilliant location connection:
Marconi’s wireless experiments took place in the UK and in 1901 sent the first wireless transatlantic signal from his telegraph station in Poldhu, Cornwall, transmitting across the Atlantic Ocean to Newfoundland.