Cultural Autonomies in the Italian Autonomous Region of Friulia Venezia Giulia

Italy’s autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia (hereinafter FVG or the Region) covers the tri-border area of Italy, Slovenia and Austria. Here, one can discern the presence of three minorities: the German-speaking, the Friulian and the Slovene minority groups. These three minorities can be distinguished based on their status, characteristics, structure, history and expression of collective interests. In the Italian Constitution and legislation as well as in the Region’s legislation, all three communities are identified as linguistic minorities, irrespective of their socio-political and socio-linguistic situation (Vidau 2013, 33). This term is used in Italian legislation as such a definition is the minimum possible common denominator of all legally protected types of minority groups in the Italian peninsula which comprise border-area national minorities, communities speaking regional languages and minorities that form linguistic islands or archipelagos. However, the use of this term can be also controversial, if the term is used by the majority nation in order to diminish the political significance of the presence of a minority. Consequently, the problem of minority rights is reduced to merely a problem of language, regardless of the fact that the nature of a minority is usually multifaceted and also includes the issues of political and broader social engagement. Moreover, the term national minority is used in international instruments such as the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM).

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