Serbs in Italy (Italian: Serbi in Italia; Serbian: Срби у Италији / Srbi u Italiji) or Italian Serbs (Serbian: Италијански Срби / Italijanski Srbi), number around 46,958 in the territory of Italy.
According to Graziadio Isaia Ascoli, the 19th century writer Giovanni de Rubertis considered the Schiavoni (Slavs) or Dalmati (Dalmatians) of Molise in Italy to be Serbs that were brought there by Skanderbeg during his Italian expedition in 1460-1462 along with the Albanians.
In 1497 Italian court poet Rogeri de Pacienza di Nardo wrote about a group of Serbian refugees who left the Despotate of Đurađ Branković to settle in the village of Gioia del Colle near Bari, Italy. He describes how they sang and danced the kolo (dance) in honour of the Queen of Naples, Isabella del Balzo. The names of the singers that Pacienza wrote down are common Serbian names.
In 1782 the first Serbian school opened in Trieste, and in the 19th century the Serbian Orthodox "Saint Spyridon church" in Trieste was built near the Ponte Rosso square.
Some 40,000 Serbs live in northern Italy. In Arzignano there are thousands of Serbs from all over former Yugoslavia. In Trieste, 10,000-15,000 Serbs live in the city.
7004469580000000000♠46,958 (2013 census), "Foreign citizens" from Serbia (excl. Kosovo) There are several community organizations of Serbs in Italy. The Association of Serbs of Italy was established in April 2015 by the combined organizations meeting in Trieste.
SportspeopleGiovanni Raicevich was a famous Italian wrestler in the early 20th century.Siniša Mihajlović (born 1969), retired footballer (played for Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Internationale), current manager (for AC Milan), lives in Italy since 1992Dejan Stanković (born 1978), retired footballer (played for Lazio and Internationale), current assistant coach (for Udinese), lives in Italy since 1998Dušan Basta (born 1984), active footballer, plays for Lazio, lives in Italy since 2008Miloš Malivojević (born 1993), active footballer born in Scandiano, Reggio EmiliaMarino Nicolich (born 1910), late footballer born in Monfalcone, whose name was italianized in "Marino Nicoli" by the Italian Fascist government.Dragan Travica (born 1986), volleyball player born in Croatia, son of the Serbian coach Ljubomir Travica; plays for the Italian national teamLjubomir Travica (born 1954), volleyball coach and retired player; has residence in Italy since he played for Modena in 1983. He is the father of Dragan TravicaMarko Stanojevic (born 1979), rugby union player born in Birmingham to a Serbian father and an Italian mother. He played for the Italian national team.TV and cinemaNina Seničar (born 1985), model and actress, lives in Italy since 2006Sasha Montenegro (born 1945), actress born in Bari as Aleksandra Acimović PopovićIvan Rassimov (1938–2003), late actor born in Trieste to Serbian parents as Ivan Djerasimović; brother of Rada Rassimov.Rada Rassimov (born 1941), actress born in Trieste to Serbian parents as Rada Djerasimović; sister of Ivan Rassimov.SingersSara Jovanović (born 1993), Serbian singer born in Rome that represented Serbia at Eurovision Song Contest 2008ArtistsMarcello Dudovich was born in 1878 and died in 1962. He was one of the most acclaimed commercial artists of art, prints and posters during his time.NobilityDarinka Kvekić, wife of Danilo I, Prince of Montenegro
