Croats of Italy
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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| cca 23,000[1][2] | |
| Languages | |
| Italian, Croatian | |
| Religion | |
| Mostly Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Italians, Croats |
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Croats form a part of the permanent population of Italy (Croatian: Hrvati u Italiji). Traditionally there is an autochthonous community in the Molise region known as the Molise Croats, but there are many other Croats living in or associated with Italy through other means. In 2010, persons with Croatian citizenship in Italy numbered 21,079,.[1]
Contents
Analysis
Croats in Italy could mean any of the following:
- Molise Croats - a long-established Croatian population in the Molise region.
- Ethnic Croats to have relocated to Italy from any region to which Croats may be autochthonous (e.g. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and other countries).
- Any person originally from the Republic of Croatia regardless of ethnicity to maintain Croatian documentation.
Molise Croats
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Molise Croats, who were the first Croats to settle in Italy, at the time of the Ottoman expansion in the Balkans, are one of the linguistic minority officially recognised by the Italian Republic.[2] They achieved protection as a minority on 5 November 1996 by an agreement signed between Croatia and Italy.[2] According to 2001 census, there were 2,801 Molise Croats, of which 813 lived in San Felice del Molise (Croatian: Štifilić; Filić), 800 in Acquaviva Collecroce (Croatian: Kruč) and 468 in Montemitro (Croatian: Mundimitar).[2] The number of Molise Croats is in decline.[2]
Associations, publications and media
In the region of Molise there is the Federation of Croatian-Molise Cultural Associations which unifies the Association "Luigi Zara", the Foundation "Agostina Piccoli", the Association "Naš život" (English: Our Life) and the Association "Naš grad" (English: Our Town).[2] The main association of all Croats of Italy is the Alliance of Croatian Associations founded in 2001; this association consists of the Croatian-Italian Association of Rome, the Croatian Union of Milano, the Croatian Union of Trieste, the Croatian Union of Venetia, the Croatian-Italian Association of Udine and the Association "Luigi Zara".[2] Also, the Club of Friends of Croatia is active in Milano.[2] A Croatian organization that has a longer history in Italy is the Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome, a Catholic college. Another Croatian Catholic organizations in Italy is the Domus Croata "Dr. Ivan Merz", an organization of Croatian pilgrims.[2]
The Foundation "Agostina Piccoli" and the Association "Naš život" are issuing the bilingual magazine "Riča živa/Parola viva" (English: Living Word), while the Alliance of Croatian Associations prints also the bilingual magazine "Insieme" (Croatian: Zajedno, English: Together).[2]
Famous Croats of Italy and Italians with Croatian ancestry
- Saša Bjelanović, Croatian footballer
- Zvonimir Boban, former Croatin footballer and pundit for Sky Italia.
- Giulio Clovio, Croatian painter
- Matthaeus Ferchius, Italian-Croatian theologian
- Gino Gardassanich, American footballer
- William Klinger, late Italian historian
- Giovanni Martinolich, late Italian chess master
- Denis Majstorovic, Italian rugby player
- Predrag Matvejević, Croatian writer
- Abdon Pamich, Italian race walker
- Nikola Radulović, Italian basketball player
- Tarek Iurcich, rapper known as Rancore, whose father is Croatian and mother Egyptian
- Max Romih, late Italian chess master
- Antonio Smareglia, late Italian opera composer born in Pula to an Italian father and a Croatian mother
- Giani Stuparich, Italian writer
- Uros Vico, Italian tennis player
- Antonio Vojak, Italian footballer
- Oliviero Vojak, Italian footballer
- Nina Morić, model
