| Total population | |
|---|---|
| cca. 1,000–2,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Molise region,Italy | |
| Languages | |
| Slavomolisano,Italian,Neapolitan (Molisan) | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (Catholicism) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Croats,Italians |
| Part ofa series on |
| Croats |
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Molise Croats (Croatian:Moliški Hrvati) orMoliseSlavs (Italian:Slavo-molisani, Slavi del Molise) are aCroat community in theMoliseprovince of Campobasso ofItaly, which constitutes the majority in the three villages ofAcquaviva Collecroce (Kruč),San Felice del Molise (Filić) andMontemitro (Mundimitar).[2] There are about 1,000 active and 2,000 passive speakers of theSlavomolisano dialect. The community originated fromDalmatian refugees fleeing from theOttoman conquests in the late 15th and 16th centuries.[2][3]
The community does not have an ethnonym of their own, but are traditionally accustomed to the termZlava andŠkjavuna ("Slavs").[4] Since 1999, the governments of Italy and Croatia recognize the community as a Croatian minority in Italy.[5] However, the people consider themselves to be Italo-Slavs or Croatian-speakingItalians, and the term "Molise Croat" is a recentexonym rather than their own name for themselves,[6] dating to the middle 19th century.[7] Historical terms for this community includeSchiavoni,Sklavuni,Skiavuni andŠćavuni ("Slavs"), and alsodemonymicde Sclavonia,de Dalmatia orpartibus Illirie.[8] In 1967 the minority has also been called "Serbo-Croats of Molise" (Serbo-croati del Molise[9]).
The communities did not use a specific ethnonym, rather tribal determinantsnaša krv (our blood),naša čeljad (our dwellers),braća naša (our brothers), while for language speakingna našo (on our way).[7] Another important aspect of identity is the tradition according which the community vaguely settled "z one ban(d)e mora" (from the other side of the sea).[10] In 1904, Josip Smodlaka recorded a testimonysu z' Dalmacije pur naši stari (from Dalmatia are our ancestors).[11]
TheAdriatic Sea since theEarly Middle Ages connected the Croatian and Italian coast.[12] The historical sources from 10-11th centuries mention Slavic incursions inCalabria, andGargano peninsula.[12]Gerhard Rohlfs in dialects from Gargano found many old Croatian lexical remains, and two toponymsPeschici (*pěskъ-) andLesina (*lěsь, forest), which indicateChakavian dialect.[13] In the 12th century are confirmed toponymsCastelluccio degli Schiavoni andSan Vito degli Schiavoni.[12] Between the 13th and 15th centuries, toponymsSlavi cum casalibus (Otranto, 1290),Castellucium de Slavis (Capitanata, 1305),casale Sclavorum (Lavorno, 1306),clerici de Schalvis (Trivento, 1328),S. Martini in Sclavis (Marsia, 13th century),S. Nikolò degli Schiavoni (Vasto, 1362).[14] In 1487 the residents ofAncona differed theSlavi, previously settled, and the newcomersMorlacchi.[11] In the 16th century,Abraham Ortelius in hisTheatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570), West of Gargano in today's province of Molise mentionedDalmatia,[15] and on Gargano also exist capePorto Croatico and coveValle Croatica.[16]
According to evidence, Molise Croats arrived in the early 16th century.[17] The documents from the episcopal archive ofTermoli indicate that Molise Croats arrived 1518 inStifilić (San Felice).[18] A stone inscription on the church inPalata, destroyed in the 1930s, readHoc Primum Dalmatiae Gentis Incoluere Castrum Ac Fundamentis Erexere Templum Anno 1531 (Residents of Dalmatia first settled the town and founded the church in 1531).[17] The mention ofCroatian BanIvan Karlović (d. 1531) and absence of any Turkish word in folk poetry additionally proves this dating,[17][19] and unity of elements in Croatian folk poetry from diverse regions at the end of 15th and 16th century.[20]
Serafino Razzi in his workCronica Vastese (1576–1577) wrote that the Slavs who came across the sea founded in Molise region settlementsSan Felice,Montemitro,Acquaviva Collecroce,Palata,Tavenna,Ripalta,San Giacomo degli Schiavoni,Montelongo,San Biase,Petacciato, Cerritello,Sant'Angelo andMontenero di Bisaccia.[7][14] Other Slavs settled in Vasto, Forcabobolani, San Silvestro,Vacri,Casacanditella,Francavilla al Mare, and inAbruzzo among others.[14] For the Slavic congregation in Rome was established Illyrian brotherhood of St. Jerome, which was confirmed byPope Nicholas V in 1452.[14] Slavs founded fifteen settlements in Molise,[21] according to Giacomo Scotti with around seven or eight thousand people,[22] of which only three (San Felice, Montemitro, Acquaviva Collecroce) today have a Slavic-speaking community.[11]
The existence of this Slaviccolony was first mentioned in the 1850s, and was unknown outside Italy until 1855 when linguistMedo Pucić fromDubrovnik journeyed to Italy and overheard a tailor inNaples speaking with his wife in a language very similar to Pucić's own.[23] The tailor then told him that he came from the village ofŽivavoda Kruč, then part of theKingdom of the Two Sicilies.[23]
The geographical origin of the Molise Croats (Slavs) has been vastly theorized.Vikentij Makušev while researching Slavic immigrants inNaples andPalermo, heard "Old-Slavonic" wordsrab,teg,kut,dom,gredem etc., and being uninformed about their common use in Chakavian speech of Dalmatia, thought that they were Bulgarians.[14][24]Risto Kovačić,[25][26] Miroslav Pantić,[26]Giovanni de Rubertis andGraziadio Isaia Ascoli,[27] considered Molise Croats to be Serbs from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbian littoral.[26][28] Josip Gelecich considered the area ofDubrovnik-Bay of Kotor.[26][24] There's almost no historical and linguistical evidence that Molise Croats originated from continental Balkans orMontenegro.[26][29]
A more specific and generally accepted area of origin is considered to have beenDalmatia. As such, Josip Aranza consideredZadar region,[30][26][24] R. T. Badurina southernIstria,[26][29] Mate Hraste the hinterland of Zadar andŠibenik,[31] while Walter Breu theNeretva valley.[32] According to linguistic features, it has been established that the area of origin wasZabiokovlje andMakarska Riviera (Josip Smodlaka, Josip Barač,Milan Rešetar, Žarko Muljačić,Dalibor Brozović,Petar Šimunović).[33][26][29]
The language of Molise Croats is considered to be important because of its archaism, preserved old folk songs and tradition.[34][35] The basic vocabulary was done by Milan Rešetar (in monography), Agostina Piccoli (along Antonio Sammartino, Snježana Marčec and Mira Menac-Mihalić) inRječnik moliškohrvatskoga govora Mundimitra (Dizionario dell' idioma croato-molisano di Montemitro), andDizionario croato molisano di Acquaviva Collecroce, the grammarGramatika moliškohrvatskoga jezika (Grammatica della lingua croato-molisana), as well workJezik i porijeklo stanovnika slavenskih naseobina u pokrajini Molise by Anita Sujoldžić,Božidar Finka, Petar Šimunović and Pavao Rudan.[36][37]
The language of Molise Croats belongs to WesternShtokavian dialect of Ikavian accent,[15] with many features and lexemes of Chakavian dialect.[15][29] The lexicon comparison points to the similarity with language ofSumartin onBrač,Sućuraj onHvar, andRačišće onKorčula,[36][29] settlements founded almost in the same time as those in Molise,[36] and together point to the similarity of several settlements in South-Western and Western Istria (seeSouthwestern Istrian dialect), formed by the population of Makarska hinterland and Western Herzegovina.[36][37]
Giacomo Scotti noted that the ethnic identity and language was only preserved in San Felice, Montemitro and Acquaviva Collecroce thanks to the geographical and transport distance of the villages from the sea.[38] Josip Smodlaka noted that during his visit in the early 1900s the residents of Palata still knew to speak in Croatian about basic terms like home and field works, but if the conversation touched more complex concepts they had to use Italian.[39]
The personal names, surnames and toponyms additionally confirm the origin of Molise Croats.[16] PreservedItalianized surnames in Acquaviva Collecroce includeJaccusso (Jakaš),Lali (Lalić),Matijacci (Matijačić),Mileti (Miletić),Mirco (Mirko),Papiccio (Papić),Pecca (Pekić, Peršić),Radi (Radić),Tomizzi (Tomičić),Veta (Iveta);[36] in San Felice includeBlasetta (Blažeta),Gliosca (Joško),Petrella (Petrela),Radata (Radetić),Zara (Zaro, Zadro);[36] in Montemitro includeBlascetta (Blažeta),Giorgetta (Jureta),Lali,Miletti,Mirco,Staniscia (Stanišić),Gorgolizza (Gurgurica, Grgurić),Sciscia (Šišić),Juricci (Jurić),Joviccio (Jović) etc.[36][40]
The surnames differ;patronymics with suffix-ović (Marovicchio,Marcovicchio,Pastrovicchio), diminutive-hypocoristic (Vucenichio,Popicchio,Milicchio), nicknames attribute (Vecera,Tosti,Poganizza,Bilac,Berhizz), ethnic-toponyms attribute (Klissa,Lisa,Zara,Rauzei,Schiavone di Corzula, Traù, Ciuppana,de Raguza), Italian lexic origin (Curic,Scaramucchio).[41]
A rich array of kinship names (includingvlah, fiancé, andvlahinja, fiancée), and many lexemes indicate that among the population of Molise Croats were genuineVlach communities.[42] It has been preserved the tradition of nicknameMrlakin (Morlak; "shepherd") and old homeland for theMirco family (Baćina lakes nearPloče in Dalmatia).[43] On the Vlach influence point formsMrlakina,Jakovina,Jureta,Radeta,Peronja,Mileta,Vučeta,Pavluša, patronyms with suffix-ica (Vučica,Grgorica,Radonjica,Budinica), name suffix-ul (Radul,Micul), and verbčičarati / kikarati.[44]
There's an abundant number of toponyms which include the ethnonymsSciavo,Schiavone,Slavo,Sclavone and their variations in South-Eastern Italy.[45] The evidence shows that Italians usually used this ethnonyms as synonyms for the name of Croats and residents of Dalmatia.[45][46] For example, in 1584 inPalcarino degli Schiavoni (Irinia) was mentioned a priestde nazione Schiavone o Dalmatico.[47]
The names of Molise settlements are Italianized Acquaviva Collecroce (Živavoda Krȕč), Montemitro (Mundìmītar), San Felice (Stifìlīć > Fìlīć).[48] Toponymy includes several semantic categories; characteristics of the ground (Brdo, Dolaz, Draga, Grba, Kraji, Livade, Polizza, Ravnizza, Vrisi), soil composition (Stina, Drvar), hydronyms (Vrila, Jesera, Jaz, Locqua, Potocco, Coritti, Fontizza), flora (Dubrava, Valle di Miscignavizza, Paprato, Topolizza), fauna (Berdo do kujne, Most do tovari), position of the object (Monte svrhu Roccile, Fonte donio, Fonte zdolu Grade), human activity (Gradina, Ulizza, Puč, Cimiter, Selo, Grad, Stasa), and property owners (Maseria Mirco, Colle di Jure).[49] The toponymy of Molise is almost identical to the toponymy of Makarska Riviera.[50]
The community is adherent toCatholicism.[51]
Upon settling in inhabited current area, Molise Croats engaged insubsistence agriculture (mostly producing grain, as well as some vine-cultivation and other kinds of agriculture) andanimal husbandry, as well as homelacemaking and the trade of resulting goods.[18] In modern times, olive and olive oil production are also cultivated. The village residents mostly work in nearby towns, like Termoli andSan Salvo.[46]
The long-term exposure to the disintegration processes and Italian foreign language surroundings, as well absence of cultural institutions, resulted in the loss of ethnic identity.[52] The ethnic identity of Molise Croats consists of a common language, shared ancestry and physical appearance, personal names and toponyms, common customs (living and dressing), as well an oral tradition of migration.[38] In 1904,Slavenska knjižnica (Biblioteca Slava) was founded in Acquaviva Collecroc; from 1968, the journalNaš jezik was released, and again between 1986–1988 asNaš život in Slavomolisano dialect.[53][54] From 2002, a journal entitledRiča živa has been released.[54] Local amateur associations preserve the tradition, folklore, and language.[54] In 1999, theAgostina Piccoli Foundation was founded, which in 2002 was officially recognized by Italy as an institution for preservation and protection of Molise Croats culture and tradition.[55]
In the late 18th century,Giuseppe Maria Galanti in his workDescrizione dello stato antico ed attuale del Contado di Molise (1781), asSchiavoni settlements considered Acquaviva Collecroce (1380 pop.), Montemitro (460), San Siase (960), San Felice (1009), Tavenna (1325), and noted that the residents of Ripalta (781) spoke equally poorly Slavic and Italian.[46]
Giovenale Vegezzi Ruscalla in his workLe Colonie Serbo–Dalmate del circondario di Lacino - provincia di Molise (1864), recorded that only three villages preservedla lingua della Dalmazia, and population was, like previously by Galanti, around 4,000 people.[46] For the residents of Tavenna noted that until 1805 they still spokeslavo-dalmato, but in the last census (probably from 1861), certain sixty elders who preserved the language did not declare forlingua dalmata because was afraid of being considered strangers.[22]
In 1867, Graziadio Isaia Ascoli considered that around 20,000 residents of Molise region were of Slavic origin.[22] This figure is considered to be unfounded.[22]
During the years, due to economic and social issues, many families migrated toNorthern Italy,Switzerland,Germany, and overseas toUnited States,Brazil,Argentina,Canada, andWestern Australia.[46][56][2] The population figures reported in the census do not necessarily show accurate data for the language speakers.[1]
| Population number according census[1] | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1936 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | |
| Acquaviva Collecroce | 1777 | 1820 | 1937 | 2212 | 2243 | 2017 | 2058 | 2172 | 2250 | 1808 | 1157 | 1017 | 897 | |
| Montemitro | 799 | 787 | 849 | 1006 | 1017 | 944 | 935 | 915 | 906 | 874 | 749 | 624 | 544 | |
| San Felice | 1460 | 1436 | 1550 | 1664 | 1681 | 1655 | 1592 | 1653 | 1727 | 1371 | 1003 | 911 | 881 | |
Croatian in three villages in the Molise region stems from settlement there by Slavs during the later Middle Ages (Ucchino, 1957).
Along with the institutional support provided by the Italian government and Croatian institutions based on bilateral agreements between the two states, the Slavic communities also received a new label for their language and a new ethnic identity – Croatian, and there have been increasing tendencies to standardize the spoken idiom on the basis of Standard Croatian. It should be stressed, however, that although they regarded their different language as a source of prestige and self-appreciation, these communities have always considered themselves to be Italians who in addition have Slavic origins and at best accept to be called Italo-Slavi, while the term "Molise Croatian" emerged recently as a general term in scientific and popular literature to describe the Croatian-speaking population living in the Molise.
I tre villaggi serbo-croati del Molise sono invece completamente isolati, quindi risentono molto dell'ambiente circostante.
In Molise alone fifteen Slavic settlements came into existence, but the majority of Slavs in cities and villages were, ...
Risto Kovačić visited Molise in 1884 and wrote a report to theSerbian Learned Society about Serbian settlements. In his report, published in 1885, he emphasized that there were nine Serbian settlements of as many as 16,000 people. In three settlements about 4,000 people still spokeSerbian, considered themselves Serbs, and kept tradition ofbadnjak as their legacy.
По господину де Рубертису, вели госп. Асколи ондје, први Срби — или како их онамо обичније зову Schiavoni или Dalmati — дошли су у Молизе заедно с Арбанасима (Албанези) што их је онамо довео Скендербег.
Tom se prilikom stanovništo toga plodnog kraja u zaledju Zadra do Šibenika selilo na sve strane. Jedan dio je odselio u Istru, jedan se odselio u pokrajinu Molise; nastanio se u nekoliko sela [...] Mišljenje Badurinino da su hrvati u južnoj Italiji doselili iz štokavskog vlaškog produčja u južnoj Istri ne može stati, jer je prirodnije da su hrvati iz Dalmacije krenuli u Italiju ravno morem preko Jadrana, nego preko Istre u kojoj bi se u tom slučaju morali neko vrijeme zaustaviti
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