From Italy to Paradise
How early Italian settlers helped shape the Boracay we know today
By Amanda Virrey
Shortly after Boracay started gaining attention as “paradise on earth,” as mentioned by German writer Jens Peters in 1979 in his Philippines Travel Guide, Italians began coming to the island in the late 70s.
In December 1978, Mario Sezian flew to the island from his hometown in Valle d’Aosta upon learning about Boracay as a paradise island with immaculate white beaches. He was captivated by the southern part of the island, particularly the remote spots like Cagban and Angol in Barangay Manocmanoc.
In the years that followed, Mario returned to the island for a month each year while overseeing his restaurant in Italy. In 1984, Mario finally closed his restaurant in Italy and moved to the island for good to open the first Italian restaurant, where Angol Plaza currently stands.
A year later, the hardworking restaurateur put up Da Mario Restaurant and Resort, which became the melting pot of Europeans at Angol Beach.
While Mario was establishing himself in Manocmanoc, another Italian was settling into island life in Barangay Balabag.
Paolo Occhionero knew nothing about Boracay before arriving from Puglia in 1982 and discovering the island during his travels around the Philippines.
In those early years, Paolo stayed at the home of the Gelito family, right across from Willy’s Rock. “There were no resorts back then, only a few cottages inhabited by locals and so this couple took me in and let me sleep in their son’s room, who at that time was studying in Manila,” said Paolo. The couple’s son was Wilbec Gelito, who later became Paolo’s close friend and business partner.
“I stayed here for a couple of years during Amihan, and then the locals told me, ‘If you really want to know Boracay, you should stay during monsoon, Habagat.’”
Paolo recalls that he, Miguel of the original Jammers, and Peter were the only foreigners staying in Balabag at the time. Each had a sailboat, then a mode of transportation around the island, “and that was one of the reasons why I stayed.”
“Everything was closed during Habagat, so you could only go to people’s houses. Boracay was such a small community. That way, we became so close. We were just young kids hanging around the beach.”
Paolo recalls how he eventually settled on the island: “I started to stay 10 months here and two months in Italy for many years, and then I made my house. Wilbec and I started True Food, an Indian restaurant, which was quite famous at that time. I purchased a small property on the beach, and then we made True Home. And then, with my friend Juan Elizalde, we started the company here, which includes Aria Cucina Italiana, Café Del Sol, Gelato, Hama, and Boracay Beach Truck.”
As word of Boracay spread, the island attracted European backpackers.
Among them were Gianni Mocellin and Luigi Barbolla, later known as Chef Luigi of Aria and founder of Lanterna Hotel Boracay in Bulabog.
“I arrived in the Philippines in 1986 during the People Power Revolution. I was in Manila, talking to a guy who spoke to me about Boracay. So, I decided to go to Tondo. There is a pier there and so I took a fishing boat and arrived at Caticlan.”
Like Paolo, Luigi was passionate about sailing. He shares, “At this time, there was no business in Boracay, just sailing. But then we were happy, because every day we explored this island, sailing to Diniwid Beach, going to Carabao Island, to Malay, and into the river of Malay.”
The 26-year-old Roman fell in love with Boracay and worked winters in Europe to sustain his island life. “I would work in restaurants in Europe, as a waiter, kitchen helper, whatever job I could find because they paid very well compared to the Philippines. With 100 Lira, I could pay for a six-month cottage rental and have enough money to enjoy. It was a wonderful time.”
Luigi continues, “We had so much freedom on White Beach. All day we played like kids: beach tennis, paraw sailing, football, and at night, we played music, guitar and drank with the local people.
With Italians, we would cook together. I would hold a Fettuccine Party and people would come with bread, pizza, eggs and flour, and I would make fettuccine.”
Luigi’s Fettuccine Parties were held in an area inhabited by tourists and long-staying Italians, then fondly known as the Italian Village. It later became his residence and the site of his restaurant, Trattoria Lanterna Italiana.
Luigi recalls the time when those fettuccine parties had to be replaced with fatherly responsibilities. “When my daughter was born in 1989, I really changed. I began working more for my daughter and my wife. I was away from ‘94 until I came back in 2011. Being around my old friends again, like Paolo, made it easy for me to stay here again.”
While it had been their deep passion for the sea that initially drew Paolo and Luigi to Boracay, their appreciation for the warmth and kindness of the local community allowed them to call the island their second home.
As Paolo highlights, “The Boracay spirit was really mixed. My friends and groups were not only Italians. It's not really the nationality, but more the spirit or the kind of things we like to do together. And that's the beauty of Boracay.”
In 2002, Marco Biggiogero was first brought to Boracay from Milan by his father, Mario Biggiogero, former owner of Luna Rossa Restaurant at Station 3.
Marco recalls, “Boracay was already developed and lively by 2002. What struck me was its character: cosmopolitan and international, yet still intimate, with far smaller crowds than today. It had found the sweet spot between development and soul.”
He later partnered with Dmitri Zhur and Marco Manzoni to develop 7Stones, and co-founded the Boracay European International School with Paolo and other stakeholders in 2008.
Ultimately, these Italians have integrated their culture into the island, carrying on a trait that Marco articulated as “the obsession with doing things beautifully and properly.”
Even though Boracay is not their original home, they have given back what they received when they first arrived: a place where they can feel at home.
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