Italians - Autochthonous Italian Communities Outside Italy

Autochthonous Italian Communities Outside Italy

In both the Slovenian and Croatian portions of Istria, in Dalmatia as well as in the city of Rijeka, Italian refers to autochthonous speakers of Italian and various Italo-Dalmatian languages, natives in the region since before the inception of the Venetian Republic, and also to descendants of Italians that migrated to the area in the early-to-mid-20th Century when it was a part of Italy. In the aftermath of the Istrian exodus following the Second World War, most Italian-speakers are today located in the south and west of Istria, and number about 30,000. The number of inhabitants with Italian ancestry is likely much greater but undeterminable. In the first Austrian census carried out in 1870 the number of Italians Dalmatians varied between 40,000 and 50,000 amongst the about 250,000 inhabitants of Dalmatia, or 20% of the total Dalmatian population.

In the French County of Nice, autochthonous speakers of regional languages of Italy (Ligurian and Piedmontese), are natives in the region since before annexation to France in 1860, in addition to descendants of Italians that migrated to the areas when they were part of Italian states. The number of inhabitants with Italian ancestry is generally indeterminable, and the use of French language is now ubiquitous. In addition, Corsica was a part of the Republic of Genoa until 1768 and most Corsicans spoke Corsican, a language of the Italian family. The Italian language ceased to have official status in Corsica in 1871, with the establishment of the French Third Republic.