Romanians in Italy

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Romanians in Italy became a notable presence mostly after 1999, due to a large wave of emigration known in Romania as Fenomenul către UE. 80% of the emigrants went to Spain or Italy, whose national languages are related to Romanian. They were followed by a further wave beginning in 2002, when Romanian citizens obtained the right to leave their country and go to any Schengen Zone country without having a visa. As of 1 January 2011 (2011-01-01), there were 968,576 Romanian citizens living in Italy, representing 21.2% of all foreign citizens in that country.[1] Unofficial estimates put the actual number of Romanians in Italy at well over one million people.[2]

On 4 November 2007, Italy started expelling Romanians with criminal records, after a wave of violent crimes of which swelling numbers of Romani immigrants from Romania were held responsible.[3] Roma are a large historical ethnical minority in Romania (2 million people, 10% of the population) and they make up 10% of Romanians in Italy too[citation needed]. It should also be noted that Roma in Romania have had difficult relationships with Romanians themselves since historical times.

[edit] Cities with significant Romanian communities

Romanian market in Monza in 2011

Based on Demo Istat statistics

[edit] Notable people

[edit] References

  1. ^ "La popolazione straniera residente in Italia", stranieriinitalia.it, 2011-09-22, retrieved 2011-09-23 
  2. ^ "Italy Sends Romanians Home", Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, 2007-08-11, retrieved 2008-12-21 
  3. ^ "Italy starts deporting Romanians", BBC News, 2007-11-05, retrieved 2009-12-09