Istro-romanians

Istro-Romanians

Istro-Romanians / Istrorumeni (ethnonym: Rumeni and occasionally also Rumâri and Rumêri; are called Ćići and "Vlahi" (Istrian Vlachs) by the local Croatian and Slovenian population, Istro-Romanians by linguists) are a small ethnic group living in northeastern Istria, currently spanning over a small area of Croatia mostly in a region called Ćićarija (Croatian) or Čičarija (Slovene) (historical name: Ciceria) and in a region west of Mt. Učka (Monte Maggiore). The 2001 Croatian census lists only 48 Romanian language speakers remaining in Istria county. There were 170 acknowledged speakers of the Istro-Romanian language in 1998 in Croatia, including 27 children. In 2010, the Croatian Constitution granted Romanians ("Rumunji") status as one of 22 national minorities.