Some remarks on the historical foundations of Friulian ethnogenesis

Abstract

The territory of the modern Italian Republic is inhabited by a number of ethnic minorities. They are protected by the State, which recognises them as linguistic minorities. These include the Friulian-speaking community in the north-east of the country. Like all other ethnic groups, it has its own history, which has shaped its specific characteristics. After the Second World War, and especially since the late 1960s, the efforts of researchers and activists to describe and understand this process intensified. They began to identify those events that were considered particularly important in the process of Friulian ethnogenesis. The aim of this article is to subject them to critical analysis and to show possible simplifications or hypocrisies in the assumptions made to explain the phenomenon of the formation of Friulian distinctiveness.