Although frequencies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups in the different European
populations are rather homogenous, there are a few European populations or linguistic isolates that
show different mtDNA haplogroup distributions; examples are the Saami and Ladin speakers from
the eastern Italian Alps.
MtDNA sequence diversity was analysed from subjects from two villages in Veneto. The first,
Posina, is situated in the Venetian Alps near Vicenza. The second, Barco di Pravisdomini is a village
on the plains near Venice. In spite of their common Veneto dialect, the two group populations have
not preserved a genetic homogeneity; particularly, they show differences in T and J haplogroups
frequencies. MtDNA diversity in these two groups seems to depend more on their geographic
situation.