Diplomatic relations between

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

were established on January 17, 1992 following Croatia's independence from SFR Yugoslavia. Croatia has an embassy in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, general consulates in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

, and consulates in Bari,

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, and

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. Italy has an embassy in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, general consulate in Rijeka, Vice Consulate in

Buje Buje ( it, Buie) is a town situated in Istria, Croatia's westernmost peninsula. Buje was known as the "sentinel of Istria" for its hilltop site located inland from the Adriatic Sea. History Buje has a rich history; traces of life in the regio ...

, Pula and

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

, as well as Italian Cultural Institute and Foreign Trade Institute in

. Both countries are full members of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

Population

There are around 19,500 people of Italian descent living in Croatia. There are also around 6,000

Molise Croats Molise Croats ( hr, Moliški Hrvati) or Molise Slavs ( it, Slavo-molisani, Slavi del Molise) are a Croat community in the Molise province of Campobasso of Italy, which constitutes the majority in the three villages of Acquaviva Collecroce (''Kr ...

in Italy. In addition, there are around 21,000 registered immigrant Croatian workers in Italy. Historically, the

Dalmatian Italians Dalmatian Italians are the historical Italian national minority living in the region of Dalmatia, now part of Croatia and Montenegro. Since the middle of the 19th century, the community, counting according to some sources nearly 20% of all Da ...

constituted a significant population of Dalmatia.

Economy

Italy is the most important Croatian foreign trade partner in which Croatia exports about 14% of its total annual merchandise.

History and relations today

Although stormy at best when parts of Croatia were under direct Italian control during the second world war and Mussolini had a policy of forcible Italianization, followed by Tito's Communist partisans forcing the Italian population out of Istria and the Dalmatian Coast (350,000 Italians forced to leave their native lands after the Yugoslav invasion), today the relations between the two countries might be described as good. Along with sharing a historically strong adherence to the Roman Catholic religion, they have various cultural similarities, with Croatia considered the most "Italian" of all the

Slavic countries Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

. Italian is a fairly popular foreign language in Croatia, with 15% of Croatians able to speak it well enough to have a conversation, according to Eurobarometer.

Fishing

A problem arose with the fishing zones in the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

. Italy denied the right of Croatia to proclaim its

Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone The Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone ( hr, Zaštićeni ekološko-ribolovni pojas, ZERP) is a protected fishing area over Croatia's exclusive economic zone. The ZERP was initiated by the Croatian Peasant Party, then a member of Croatia ...

before January 1, 2008, because that would have broken an earlier agreement with Italy and Slovenia. At the same time Italy, without breaking the agreement, has proclaimed its own zone.

References

External links

Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration: list of bilateral treaties with Italy Croatian embassy in Rome (in Croatian and Italian only) Italian embassy in Zagreb
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