Croats of Italy


Croats form a part of the permanent population of Italy. 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.

Analysis

Croats in Italy could mean any of the following:
, 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. They achieved protection as a minority on 5 November 1996 by an agreement signed between Croatia and Italy. According to 2001 census, there were 2,801 Molise Croats, of which 813 lived in San Felice del Molise, 800 in Acquaviva Collecroce and 468 in Montemitro. The number of Molise Croats is in decline.

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" and the Association "Naš grad". 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". Also, the Club of Friends of Croatia is active in Milano.
A Croatian organization that has a longer history in Italy is the Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome, a Catholic college. Known as the Collegium Hieronymianum Illyricorum since 1902, the college served both Croatian and Serb Catholics, before being renamed Pontificium Collegium Chroaticum Sancti Hieronymi in 1971. Another Croatian Catholic organizations in Italy is the Domus Croata "Dr. Ivan Merz", an organization of Croatian pilgrims.
The Foundation "Agostina Piccoli" and the Association "Naš život" are issuing the bilingual magazine "Riča živa/Parola viva", while the Alliance of Croatian Associations prints also the bilingual magazine "Insieme".

Famous Croats of Italy and Italians with Croatian ancestry