Blog #2 Who are Italians?

Roman or Italian identity influences an outsider’s perspective by the way they dress. I think that they are very fashionable and trendy; they make and eat amazing pizza, pasta and gelato every day. I also feel that the Romans and/or Italians often use hand motions while they are talking and consume more alcohol than water; which is a characteristic that I have observed while in Rome. Again, these are just my personal observations which are mainly derived from the media; especially movies. In addition, generally when I think of an Italian, he/she should be the person who has a strong pride for their country, speaks Italian as a first language (mother tongue) and has an Italian passport or citizenship no matter the skin color or what ethnicity they come from. Moreover, historical, social, cultural, and physical conditions shaped the Italian’s identity (Grillo & Pratt). So how Italians would describe themselves? In contemporary Italy, the identity of an Italian is debatable and pretty ambiguous because they have been experiencing a mass immigration for the last fifteen to twenty years - there are an increasing number of immigrants from Eastern Europe, Northern Africa, China and Philippines who have come to Italy. Following that, it seems that Italians themselves have had a struggle to find and/or are in a slow progress of getting an exact characterization of their own identity. Therefore I would say that at least for now, there is no concrete or specific definition for an Italian.

For past three weeks that I have lived in Roma, I have noticed that lots of Italians do not speak English at all or barely speak English except the younger generation. Probably it is from a preconceived notion that their country, culture, language and food are the best and they feel superior among others; therefore, they have a lack of awareness as well as understanding of learning other’s cultures and languages. They may feel their superiority because people in Roma or Italia, were told from their childhood about the legend/myth of how the city of Roma has built – briefly the story of Romulus and Remus is that both brothers had built their own cities in different parts of the hill and when Remus visited Romulus and made fun of his wall by jumping over it and saying how easily it could be breached. Romulus was so annoyed that he killed Remus and said that he would kill anyone who mocked his city or tried to break through the walls of Roma (Margaret Brucia’s lecture; Myths of Rome). Even though this story is neither based on fact nor can it be said to be truth, people in Italy see this myth as their own history of identification which makes them feel proud of being who they are and what they are. In addition, this mindset has influenced the “native Italian” causing them to see immigrants with a negative point view, impression or bias and create a border between immigrants and themselves. Again until now the majority of the older generation does not accept the people who look different from themselves, speak different language, and eat different food – Immigrants, Roma, and second generation. Furthermore, I would say that such a strong pride of their identity, their culture hasn’t been changed and was able to be preserved until nowadays.

As I have mentioned it before, the identity is shaped by social, cultural, and physical forces. From what I have observed, the social forces which build Roman or Italian identity are language and locations where sub communities live within Italy. For example, how groups of immigrants, Roma, and “true Italian” – so called, compacted in certain areas and settled down in Italy and create their own community within host community just like Piazza Vittorio where lots of Chinese and Bangladesh people are living and running their businesses. Another example is that how Roma people live in a certain area which is called as campland. Again, the language is one of the key elements to create strong sense of belonging as an Italian. Next, what people wear, eat and believe seem to me as cultural forces that shape their uniqueness. In Italy, people just eat their foods which are mainly pasta, pizza, and bread. They do not accept other’s food because they believe that their foods are the best! Again, whenever I walk in campo dei Fiori, I can simply tell who are Italian and who are not by how and what they wear. Just like how I can pick up who is who, dress acts as an important element to shape their identity. In addition, Italy is considered as the holy land of the catholic community where churches play important role. By that, I see people here that are very conservative and determined that people try to stick to what they have been taught, believed, and seen. Therefore, they have pretty negative perspectives on ‘new’ and prefer ‘old’. Lastly, as physical forces, cobble stones; architectures; and the physical appearance of people in Italy adorn their distinctiveness. Most of the buildings in Italy, especially in Roma, are very old and which gives me an impression that they are trying to tell the history of them. Also high ceiling with paintings, cobble stones on every streets, ornaments on every building… those are just shaping the identity of Italy itself. Again, we cannot ignore that how important physical appearance is to define the identity of Italy.

I think that a person, who was born in here, spent his childhood in Italy, speaks perfect Italian and who has citizenship is considered as an Italian. However, Italian perspectives on people who belong to them are different from what I think. Native Italians admit or recognize people who have the same “blood” with them and who have lived in Italy throughout the generations as an Italian. People who do not apply to these categories which Italian think that’s the “real Italian” then they become an outsider or considered as “Others” just by looking different and spent less time in Italy no matter if they have citizenship, born and lived their entire life in Italy, and speak fluent Italian without an accent. From what I have learned and from the people who I’ve met here, I think that immigrants, second generation, and Roma people are not accepted by “real Italians” and are treated differently. I remembered when we had a guest speaker from G2 (seconde generazioni), Ezequiel said that even though he was born here, went to school in Italy, and speaks fluent Italian, when people see his last name, suddenly he is treated as an “other” and people are surprised that his Italian is perfect! Furthermore, although technically Roma people are citizens of Italy, they are treated differently as “Others” by the government and the country. Also they had been segregated and the government has made and put them in certain areas with a fence which is similar to concentration camps from back in the day. For the immigrants in Italy, the real and perceived status of them is marginal and different. Italians did not want immigrants but they are useful as “Others” and actually they are helping Italy’s underground economy so nowadays it seems the Italian government is accepting more immigrants working for their country but that does not mean Italians will admit immigrants as part of their culture nor community. In addition, after the unification, Italy was divided into North and South. Even within in their country, Northern people, who are considered as “higher class”, do not think Southern people belong to them but as different people who have a different language, appearance, and political system.

In sum, immigration is a relatively recent problem raised up in Italy and as more and more immigrants are coming to Italy and therefore ethnic groups of people are getting more diverse and wider, people (native Italians and immigrants) are confusing or starting to question their identity. I would say Italy now is in a period of transition to multiculturalism and becoming a land of heterogeneous mixed immigrants and the “true identity” of Italy is changing day by day.

Ciao