Romanians in Italy ( Romanian: ''românii din Italia'';

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: ''romeni in Italia'' or ''rumeni in Italia'') became a significant population after 1999, due to a large wave of

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

known in Romania as ''Fenomenul migrației către UE'' (the phenomenon of migration toward the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

). A large part of Romanian emigrants went to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, whose national languages are

Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

like Romanian. They were followed by another wave beginning in 2002, when Romanian citizens obtained the right to move to any

Schengen Zone The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

country without a visa. In 2007 Romania joined the European Union, further increasing the economic and political ties between the countries. , there were 1,073,196 Romanian citizens living in Italy, the largest Romanian immigrant population in any country as well as the largest immigrant group within Italy. Between 2008 and 2020, 98,499 Romanians acquired Italian citizenship. Banzi og Caldarini

Demographics

Romanians in Italy live in the following

regions of Italy The regions of Italy () are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italy, Italian Republic, constituting its second Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, #Autonomous regio ...

(as of 2022): *

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

18,1% *

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

15,8% *

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

12,3% *

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

11,7% *

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

8,8% *

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

6,8% *

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

4,2% *

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

3,1% *

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

2,7% *

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

2,4% *

Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...

2,4% *

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

2,2% *

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

2,1% *

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

2,0% *

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

2,0% * Trentino-Alto Adige 1,3% *

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

1,0% *

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

0,7% *

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

0,3% *

Valle d'Aosta The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

0,2%

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

are by far the cities hosting the largest communities of Romanians in Italy; in 2016, there were over 90,000 Romanians in Rome, and over 50,000 Romanians in Turin. The next city with a significant population of Romanians is

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, with over 14,000 Romanians. About 60% of Romanians in Italy come from the Romanian region of

Western Moldavia Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...

Population

Religion

In the years 2011 and 2012 the ISTAT made a survey regarding the religious affiliation among the immigrants in Italy, the religion of the Romanian people in Italy were as follows: * Orthodox Christians: 79.0% *

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

: 13.9% *

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

: 2.2% *

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

: 0.1% * Non religious: 2.7% * Other religions: 2.2% In 2023, the vice president of the local council of

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

, the Romanian-born Claudiu Stănășel, announced that he started the proceedings for the Romanians to be recognized as an official national minority of Italy.

Notable people

: ''This list includes people of Romanian origin born in Italy or people born in Romania but mainly active in Italy.'' * Dinu Adameșteanu (1913–2004), archaeologist * Alexandra Agiurgiuculese (b. 2001), rhythmic gymnast * Chris Avram (1931–1989), actor * Ramona Bădescu (b. 1968), actress and television host *

Paolo Bonolis Paolo Bonolis (; born 14 June 1961) is an Italian television host. He made his debut in 1981 on ''3, 2, 1... contatto!'', a programme for children that aired on Italian national broadcaster RAI, Rai. Biography In 1982, he moved to Italia 1 wh ...

(b. 1961), television host *

Cristian Chivu Cristian Eugen Chivu (; born 26 October 1980) is a Romanian professional football coach and former player who is the current head coach of Serie A club Inter Milan. A defender, he began his career with hometown club CSM Reșița before moving ...

(b. 1980), football player * Fritz Dennerlein (1936–1992), freestyle swimmer * Iosif Drăgan (1917–2008), businessman and historian *

Nicolao Dumitru Nicolao Manuel Dumitru Cardoso (born 12 October 1991) is an Italian professional Association football, footballer who plays for Liga 1 (Indonesia), Liga 1 club PSS Sleman, on loan from Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C., Johor Da ...

(b. 1991), football player *

Loredana Errore Loredana Errore (born 27 October 1984) is a Romanian-born Italian singer-songwriter. After participating in various singing competitions, she officially debuted in 2009 at the ninth edition of the Italian talent show ''Amici di Maria De Filippi' ...

(b. 1984), singer-songwriter * Mădălina Ghenea (b. 1987), actress and model * Alessandro Haber (b. 1947), actor, film director and singer * Claudia Koll (b. 1965), actress and missionary * Veronica Lazăr (1938–2014), actress * Marius Mitrea (b. 1982), rugby union referee * Ana Caterina Morariu (b. 1980), actress * Gabriele Oriali (b. 1952), football player * Cristina Pîrv (b. 1972), volleyball player * Bogdan Rath (b. 1972), water polo player *

Andreea Stefanescu Andreea Ştefănescu (born 13 December 1993 in Iaşi) is a Romanian-born Italian rhythmic gymnast. Biography She was part of the 2010 and 2011 Italian team that competed at the World Championships that won the Group All-around gold medal. Her ...

(b. 1993), rhythmic gymnast *

Adrian Stoica Adrian Stoica is a Romanian-born dog trainer in Italy who is best known for winning America's Got Talent (season 18), season 18 of ''America's Got Talent'' along with his dog, Hurricane in 2023. Background Adrian Stoica Adrian Stoica was born in ...

, dog trainer * Cristian Stoica (b. 1976), rugby union footballer * Linda Valori (b. 1978), singer * Roman Vlad (1919–2013), composer and pianist *

Virginia Zeani Virginia Zeani (born Virginia Zehan; 21 October 1925 – 20 March 2023) was a Romanian-born opera singer who sang leading soprano roles in the opera houses of Europe and North America. As a singer, she was known for her dramatic intensity and ...

(1925–2023), soprano

References

External links

La comunità romena in Italia
website {{Immigration to Italy Italy–Romania relations *