Italian Slovenes - Geographical Extension

Geographical Extension

The Slovene minority in Italy lives in the autonomous region Friuli – Venezia Giulia, more precisely, in the Provinces of Trieste, Gorizia and Udine. Slovene immigrants living in other parts of Italy are not considered as members of the minority. Slovenes live along the border with Slovenia. Their traditional area of settlement includes:

• the whole territory of the Province of Trieste (except for the town center of Muggia, which was until 1945 a homogeneous Istrian Italian urban settlement);
• a thin strip of territory along the border with Slovenia in the Province of Gorizia, including the town of Gorizia;
• the mountainous area of north-east Friuli in the Province of Udine, known historically as Venetian Slovenia, comprising the Natisone Valley, the upper Torre Valley, and the Resia Valley;
• the Canale Valley (Province of Udine) in the north-easternmost part of Italy, on the border with Austria and Slovenia.

Historically, the Slovene minority has been present in 32 municipalities in the region: 6 in the Province of Trieste, 6 in the Province of Gorizia and 20 in the Province of Udine. In 16 of them, they are the majority of the population. In addition to these, since the early 1920s, the Slovenes have been settling in the industrial areas of the lower Isonzo valley, in the lowland areas around Monfalcone, known as Bisiacaria, and in larger Friulian towns (such as Udine, Pordenone, Conegliano and others). The former are nowadays considered members of the Slovene autochthonous minority and thus enjoy certain collective minority rights, while the latter don’t. Municipalities with significant presence of the autochthonous Slovene minority are: In the Province of Trieste:

• Duino-Aurisina (Devin-Nabrežina)
• Monrupino (Repentabor)
• Muggia (Milje)
• San Dorligo della Valle (Dolina)
• Sgonico (Zgonik)
• Trieste (Trst)

In the Province of Gorizia:

• Cormons (Krmin)
• Doberdò del Lago (Doberdob)
• Dolegna del Collio (Dolenje)
• Gorizia (Gorica)
• Monfalcone (Tržič)
• Ronchi dei Legionari (Ronke)
• San Floriano del Collio (Števerjan)
• Savogna d'Isonzo (Sovodnje ob Soči)

In the Province of Udine:

• Attimis (Ahten)
• Cividale del Friuli (Čedad)
• Drenchia (Dreka)
• Grimacco (Grmek or Garmak)
• Lusevera (Bardo or Brdo)
• Montenars (Gorjani)
• Nimis (Neme)
• Pontebba (Tablja)
• Prepotto (Praprotno)
• Pulfero (Podbonesec)
• Resia (Rezija)
• San Leonardo (Podutana or Šent Lienart)
• San Pietro al Natisone (Špeter Slovenov or Špietar)
• Savogna (Sovodnje)
• Stregna (Srednje)
• Taipana (Tipana)
• Tarcento (Čenta)
• Tarvisio (Trbiž)
• Torreano (Tavorjana)