What stereotypes can Italy not overcome?

Antonello Frau

Chemist, bass player, human being.

Answered Feb 10

Their own, mostly.

Italy’s peculiar history is the main reason why some of the following clichés are very hard to die among Italians themselves:

Just a couple of them:

• clearly, the “our thing” label on Sicily stems from The Godfather saga. I am pretty sure never ever was a region so heavily typecast before the whole wide world’s eyes like Sicily;
• goats and Sardinia. That term is actually quite derogatory and can be understood if one thinks of…Well, sheep shagging;
• “also Italy” on Corsica. There is a very widespread idea about the “Italianity” of Corsica, a French region. Again, never ever was Corsica Italian (apart from some kind of link to Tuscany and Italian language)[1] because Italy as we know it became unified in late 19th century and Corsica had been part of France for decades by then.

I guess one just has to live with the burden of those patterns, bear them in mind and get it over with.

---

Credits in the pic.

Footnotes

[1] Wanderings in Corsica, its history and its heroes; : Gregorovius, Ferdinand, 1821-1891 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive