Ciao! Have you ever asked yourself what does “Italian” mean in Italian? What does “Italian” mean in Italian language and culture? What do Italian people think about being Italian? It is a huge concept! Today we’ll try to explain what it means from their point of view.
As you’ll have realised by now, I’m Italian. You could maybe ask me: “Are you proud of it?”
Most of the time I answer “yes”.
Why do I say so?
We will try to understand what I mean.
I live in Apulia, in Southern Italy. I have lived in different countries, such as in Germany and in Spain for several months. I’ve really enjoyed living there, but something was missing. A feeling. An atmosphere. A touching breeze in the air.
When I came back, I started to see my country in a different way. I really started enjoying what I’ve always had here, because nowhere else could I have found it.
So, what does it mean, Italian in Italian?
Italy is a wonderful country. Physically speaking Italy has every kind of landscape: mountain ranges, plains, rivers, and beautiful seas. You can find art, history, music, languages, and beautiful people. The interesting part is that we have different types of art, history, music, languages, and people.
Maybe we have an answer: We can say “La bellezza della diversità” (“the beauty of diversity”). It is a concept that is hard to understand for the Italians themselves, especially in this specifically historic time, in which we are trying to accept differences.
Let’s try to give some examples.
Suppose you want to visit a city, maybe Venice. You plan the trip, you book a flight and a room in a hotel or an apartment, and you’re ready to visit Italy. It is not enough!
You will visit Venice! In my opinion it is a marvellous city, but you can’t say that you have seen Italy by seeing just one city. I tell you this because if you see another city during the same journey, you will see the difference immediately.
Let’s take this example: you plan to visit Venice and Rome during the same trip. You will immediately have a different impression. The first impression you could have relates to the lifestyle. Venice is smooth and quiet; Rome is chaos and revelry.
Both cities are incredibly fascinating, in different ways.
Not to mention southern Italy. It’s a very different country. With a different history, with different traditions.
*Check out our article “The TOP 10 Italian phrases for tourists”.
https://italianlesson.it/en/italian-curiosities/top-10-italian-phrases-for-tourists/
Here is a brief historical summary
Italy was divided into three different kingdoms for centuries until 1861, just 160 years ago. That’s why we still think in different ways, we have different languages and different histories, for better or worse. Sometimes it is difficult for someone who lives in the south to understand the lifestyle of someone who lives in the north, and vice versa.
It has been a source of discord between the two factions, even a very serious one.
At one time a political party even proposed splitting the north and the south to create two independent nations.
I suggest you take a long car journey from the north to the south of Italy, and you will see with your own eyes what Italian means in Italian.
Look at the following video to experience a short virtual journey over Italy.
Check out some videos about Italy:
https://www.youtube.com/user/touropia/search?query=italy
See you soon!