Italians. Why we are a people, a nation, and an ethnic group

The argument (repeated periodically) that Italians do not exist as a people, nation, or ethnic group—and are merely a nineteenth-century invention or a “mixed-race” people—is false. Anthropological and linguistic history, on the other hand, shows that a distinct Italian people, with a common language and culture stretching from the Alps to Sicily, has existed since at least the year 1000. Regional and dialectal differences do not negate this identity but rather define it. Successive invasions demonstrate that, from the Late Middle Ages onward, the assimilation of large numbers of immigrants has become increasingly difficult, as identities are well-established and communities tend to preserve their original nationality.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Periodically, the media brings to the forefront the issue of the alleged “non-existence” of Italians as a nation, people, and ethnic group.
  Proponents of this thesis use it as a justification for the indiscriminate acceptance of immigrants and even for ethnic replacement, claiming that Italians are by nature “mixed-race” or an “invention” of nineteenth-century nationalism, and that they therefore do not deserve to have their distinct identity protected.
• The anthropological and linguistic history of the Italian Peninsula, however, demonstrates that the Italian people do exist and possess specific and evident characteristics, both ethnological and cultural.
• In fact, at least since the year 1000, there has been an “Italian people” who recognize themselves as such, are recognized as such, and possess a national language and a unified culture stretching from the Alps to Sicily.
• The history of invasions of our territory, on the other hand, shows that as the centuries progressed—beginning in the Late Middle Ages—the fusion of indigenous peoples and masses of immigrants became increasingly difficult, until it eventually became impossible.
• The regional and parochial differences among Italians do not negate their common identity but rather distinguish it. Strong civic identities and dialects are hallmarks of Italianness.