Italian Language Overview

Italian (italiano) is a Romance language of the Italic branch. Official in Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, Ticino (Switzerland), Istria (Croatia/Slovenia), parts of Graubünden (Switzerland). Recognized second language in Malta. ~64 million speakers (2020), ~59.7‑63.5 million native. 21st most‑spoken native language; 12th by total speakers. Descended from Vulgar Latin; standardized on Tuscan dialects in 14th century.