Friulians
Friulians or Furlans are an ethnolinguistic and a diverse minority living in Italy and elsewhere. About 600,000 of them live in the historical region of Friuli and in parts of Venice. Some other thousands live in diaspora communities mainly in Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Australia and Belgium. They traditionally speak Friulan, a distinct Rhaeto-Romance language which is the second largest recognized minority language in Italy after Sardinian. Genetically, Friulians cluster with broader Europe populations although still show the greatest genetic similarity with the other Italian populations. Furlans have even served during the First World War, notably at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, where 7,000 Furlans were captured by the Italian Army. Friulians also served in the Second World War, but only a few records remain on the topic.
