Istrian Italians

Istrian Italians (Italian: istriani italiani; Slovene: Italijanski Istrani; Croatian: Talijanski Istrani) are an ethnic group from the Adriatic region of Istria in modern northwestern Croatia and southwestern Slovenia. Istrian Italians descend from the original Latinized population of Roman Histria, from the Venetian-speaking settlers who colonized the region during the time of the Republic of Venice, from the local Croatian people who culturally assimilated, and from colonization between the two world wars.

While nationalization processes were still underway, in 19th century Istria the west side of the peninsula had a majority of Italian language and Romance verniculars speakers, while the Croatian language was spoken by the majority in the central and eastern regions and on the islands, and Slovene in the north. Italian language was the official language in the territories of the former Venetian Republic, which encouraged many Istrians to identify as Italians, in spite of their mother tongue and ethnic origins.