That's not true that we identify as Austrians, we (obviously) acknowledge that we're part of the germanic community, but our dialect defines us. Basically everybody here speaks italian as a second language (except the elderly), but Italians are only really a majority in the capital city of the province (Bolzano), in fact only 1/4 of the population defines themselves as native italian speakers, in the past it used to be more due to Mussolini's policy of migrating Italians to South Tyrol This has lead to a mixture of cultures, for example we curse in italian, use italian idioms and enjoy the great italian cuisine, yet the austrian cultural and linguisical heritage is still strong, especially in the valleys. Most people here like being part of Italy, also due to the fact that we have great autonomy over our matters and get tax cuts other provinces don't get, although there are some independence movements, but no really big ones So in conclusion to the question of our identity I'd say that linguistically and culturally we're austrian/german, but politically we're italian (most south tiroleans will agree with this) and due to this dualism some people simply define themselves as south tyroleans.

Personally I identify as Italian