{{Short description|Ethnic group native to Italy}} {{Redirect|Italian people}} {{Redirect|People of Italy|the newspaper whose name translates to ''The People of Italy''|Il Popolo d'Italia{{!}}''Il Popolo d'Italia''}} {{Use British English|date=January 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox ethnic group | group = Italians | native_name = {{native name|it|Italiani}} | image = Map of the Italian Diaspora in the World.svg | population = '''{{Circa|140 million}}''' {{plainlist| * Italy: '''55,551,000'''<ref name="Instat">{{Cite web |title=Indicatori demografici Istat (Italian) |url=http://www.istat.it/it/files/2017/03/Indicatori-Demografici.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115161621/https://www.istat.it/it/files/2017/03/Indicatori-Demografici.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2018 |access-date=14 November 2018}}</ref> * [[Italian diaspora|Italian diaspora and ancestry]]: '''{{Circa|80 million}}'''<ref name="askanews">{{Cite web |date=4 February 2020 |title=Sono circa 80 milioni gli oriundi italiani nel mondo |url=https://www.askanews.it/esteri/2020/02/04/sono-circa-80-milioni-gli-oriundi-italiani-nel-mondo-pn_20200204_00081/ |access-date=10 November 2021 |language=it |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110182918/https://www.askanews.it/esteri/2020/02/04/sono-circa-80-milioni-gli-oriundi-italiani-nel-mondo-pn_20200204_00081/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} | regions = {{flag|Italy}}{{nbsp|6}} 55,551,000<ref name="Instat" /> | region1 = {{flag|Brazil}} | pop1 = 32–34 million (incl. ancestry) | ref1 = <ref>{{cite web |title=República Italiana |url=http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5270&Itemid=478&cod_pais=ITA&tipo=ficha_pais&lang=pt-BR |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025135656/http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5270&Itemid=478&cod_pais=ITA&tipo=ficha_pais&lang=pt-BR |archive-date=25 October 2019 |access-date=25 December 2019 |website=itamaraty.gov.br}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=Rapporto italiani nel mondo |url=http://www.progettoculturale.it/cci_new/documenti_cei/2011-03/08-23/4%20-%20Rapp%20Italiani.pdf |website=Progetto culturale |language=it |access-date=13 December 2013 |archive-date=15 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215052155/http://www.progettoculturale.it/cci_new/documenti_cei/2011-03/08-23/4%20-%20Rapp%20Italiani.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Italian-World">{{cite web |date=30 April 2004 |title=Italiani nel Mondo: diaspora italiana in cifre |trans-title=Italians in the World: Italian diaspora in figures |url=http://www.migranti.torino.it/Documenti%20%20PDF/italianial%20ster05.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227022729/http://www.migranti.torino.it/Documenti%20%20PDF/italianial%20ster05.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2008 |access-date=22 September 2012 |publisher=Migranti Torino |language=it}}</ref> | region2 = {{flag|Argentina}} | pop2 = 25 million (incl. ancestry) | ref2 = <ref name="auto"/><ref name="Matanza">{{cite web |author=Departamento de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas de la [[National University of La Matanza|Universidad Nacional de La Matanza]] |date=14 November 2011 |title=Historias de inmigrantes italianos en Argentina |url=http://infouniversidades.siu.edu.ar/noticia.php?titulo=historias_de_inmigrantes_italianos_en_argentina&id=1432#.U2cKkYHa70s |website=infouniversidades.siu.edu.ar |language=es |quote=Se estima que en la actualidad, el 90% de la población argentina tiene alguna ascendencia europea y que al menos 25 millones están relacionados con algún inmigrante de Italia. |access-date=15 November 2018 |archive-date=15 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715055112/http://argentinainvestiga.edu.ar/noticia.php?titulo=historias_de_inmigrantes_italianos_en_argentina&id=1432#.U2cKkYHa70s |url-status=live }}</ref> | region3 = {{flag|United States}} | pop3 = 16–23 million (incl. ancestry) | ref3 = <ref>{{cite web |title=Total ancestry categories tallied for people with one or more ancestry categories reported 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B04003&prodType=table |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150118121537/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B04003&prodType=table |archive-date=18 January 2015 |access-date=30 November 2012 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=27 June 2021 |title=The United States-Italy Relationship and Transatlantic Unity |url=https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-italy-relationship-and-transatlantic-unity/ |access-date=29 July 2022 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |archive-date=29 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729063135/https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-italy-relationship-and-transatlantic-unity/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Who We Are – The National Italian American Foundation |url=https://www.niaf.org/about/who-we-are/ |access-date=4 December 2022 |archive-date=4 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204104240/https://www.niaf.org/about/who-we-are/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gambino |first1=Richard |date=30 April 1972 |title=Twenty Million Italian-Americans |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/30/archives/twenty-million-italianamericans-cant-be-wrong-twenty-million.html |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=3 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103074724/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/30/archives/twenty-million-italianamericans-cant-be-wrong-twenty-million.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | region4 = {{flag|France}} | pop4 = 5–6 million (incl. ancestry) | ref4 = <ref name="circe">{{Cite web |title=Documento "Italiens" del CIRCE dell'Università Sorbona – Parigi 3 |url=http://circe.univ-paris3.fr/ITALIENS-sources.pdf |access-date=22 March 2021 |archive-date=28 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828134637/http://circe.univ-paris3.fr/ITALIENS-sources.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Italian-World"/><ref name="migrantes2019">{{cite web |title=Rapporto Italiano Nel Mondo 2019: Diaspora italiana in cifre |url=https://www.migrantes.it/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2019/10/Sintesi_RIM2019.pdf |access-date=1 January 2019 |archive-date=10 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410190451/https://www.migrantes.it/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2019/10/Sintesi_RIM2019.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="migranti">{{cite web |title=Italiani Nel Mondo: Diaspora italiana in cifre |url=http://www.migranti.torino.it/Documenti%20%20PDF/italianial%20ster05.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227022729/http://www.migranti.torino.it/Documenti%20%20PDF/italianial%20ster05.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2008 |access-date=27 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="france">{{cite book |last1=Cohen |first1=Robin |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgesurveyo00robi/page/143 |title=Cambridge Survey |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-521-44405-7 |access-date=11 May 2009}}</ref> | region5 = {{flag|Paraguay}} | pop5 = 2–2.5 million (incl. ancestry) | ref5 = <ref>{{cite web |date=2 May 2019 |title=CIUDADANÍA ITALIANA EN PARAGUAY |url=https://www.italotribu.org/ciudadania-italiana/ciudadania-italiana-en-paraguay/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241206124847/https://www.italotribu.org/ciudadania-italiana/ciudadania-italiana-en-paraguay/ |archive-date=6 December 2024 |access-date=27 September 2024}}</ref><ref name="ABC Color">{{cite web |title=Ya se puede sacar la nacionalidad italiana |url=https://www.abc.com.py/nacionales/nacionalidad-italo-paraguaya-es-un-hecho-segun-embajador-italiano-1758782.html |access-date=29 May 2020 |magazine=ABC Color |archive-date=19 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619001036/https://www.abc.com.py/nacionales/nacionalidad-italo-paraguaya-es-un-hecho-segun-embajador-italiano-1758782.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | region6 = {{flag|Colombia}} | pop6 = 2 million (incl. ancestry) | ref6 = <ref>{{cite web |author1=Direttore |date=9 February 2018 |title=Convenzioni Inps estere, Fedi sollecita Nuova Zelanda ma anche Cile e Filippine |url=http://www.ilmondo.tv/it/notizie-emigrazione/3410-convenzioni-inps-estere-fedi-sollecita-nuova-zelanda-ma-anche-cile-e-filippine.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209002829/http://www.ilmondo.tv/it/notizie-emigrazione/3410-convenzioni-inps-estere-fedi-sollecita-nuova-zelanda-ma-anche-cile-e-filippine.html |archive-date=9 February 2018 |access-date=31 March 2021 |work=il mondo come io lo vedo}}</ref> | region7 = {{flag|Peru}} | pop7 = 2 million (incl. ancestry) | ref7 = <ref name="Perú">{{cite news |date=17 July 2025 |title=Embajador de Italia en Perú: Italia y su conexión con Perú: educación, turismo y la FIL Lima 2025 |url=https://gestion.pe/mundo/internacional/italia-y-su-presente-para-con-peru-educacion-turismo-fil-y-150-anos-de-amistad-noticia/ |access-date=19 July 2025 |magazine=Gestión}}</ref> | region8 = {{flag|Venezuela}} | pop8 = 1.5–2 million (incl. ancestry) | ref8 = <ref>{{cite news |date=17 March 2011 |title=Italianos celebran en Venezuela los 150 años de la Unificación |url=https://www.eluniversal.com/2011/03/17/italianos-celebran-en-venezuela-los-150-aos-de-la-unificacion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102019/https://www.eluniversal.com/2011/03/17/italianos-celebran-en-venezuela-los-150-aos-de-la-unificacion |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=10 July 2015 |publisher=El Universal}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Notargiovanni |first1=Caterina |date=2017 |title=Por qué tantos en Venezuela están eligiendo Italia para huir de la crisis |url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-40899539 |access-date=31 March 2021 |language=es |agency=BBC |archive-date=12 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212174257/https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-40899539 |url-status=live }}</ref> | region9 = {{flag|Canada}} | pop9 = 1.5 million (incl. ancestry) | ref9 = <ref name="Italian Canadians">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=26 October 2022 |title=Ethnic or cultural origin by generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810033801 |access-date=26 October 2022 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=26 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026151326/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810033801 |url-status=live }}</ref> | region10 = {{flag|Germany}} | pop10 = c. 1.2 million | ref10 = <ref name="Cittadini2021">{{Cite web |date=16 April 2021 |title=PARTE QUINTA ALLEGATI SOCIO-STATISTICI |url=https://www.neodemos.info/2021/04/16/italiani-deuropa-quanti-sono-dove-sono-una-nuova-stima-sulla-base-dei-profili-di-facebook/ |website=neodemos.info |language=it}}</ref> | region11 = {{flag|Australia}} | pop11 = 1.1 million (incl. ancestry) | ref11 = <ref name="abs.gov.au">{{Cite web |title=Community profiles 2021 |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx |access-date=30 December 2022 |archive-date=28 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628191720/https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ABS Ancestry">{{cite web |year=2012 |title=ABS Ancestry |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features902012-2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701083307/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features902012-2013 |archive-date=1 July 2016 |access-date=12 October 2014}}</ref> | region12 = {{flag|Uruguay}} | pop12 = 1 million (incl. ancestry) | ref12 = <ref name="Italian-World" /> | region13 = {{flag|Switzerland}} | pop13 = 637,417 | ref13 = <ref name="Demoistat">{{Cite web |title=Bilancio demografico della popolazione italiana residente all'estero |url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=AIR&l=it |website=demo.istat.it |access-date=17 January 2025 |archive-date=18 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218230926/https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=AIR&l=it |url-status=live }}</ref> | region14 = {{flag|Chile}} | pop14 = 600,000 | ref14 = <ref name="Parvex, 2014">Parvex R. (2014). ''[https://journals.openedition.org/hommesmigrations/2720 Le Chili et les mouvements migratoires] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801043210/https://journals.openedition.org/hommesmigrations/2720 |date=1 August 2020 }}'', ''Hommes & migrations'', Nº 1305, 2014. doi: [https://doi.org/10.4000/hommesmigrations.2720 10.4000/hommesmigrations.2720] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927205504/https://journals.openedition.org/hommesmigrations/2720 |date=27 September 2023 }}.</ref> | region15 = {{flag|United Kingdom}} | pop15 = 481,382 | ref15 = <ref name="Cittadini2021" /> | region16 = {{flag|Belgium}} | pop16 = 451,825 | ref16 = <ref name="npdata.be">{{cite web |title=Vreemde afkomst 01/01/2012 |url=http://www.npdata.be/BuG/155-Vreemde-afkomst/Vreemde-afkomst.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908042303/http://www.npdata.be/BuG/155-Vreemde-afkomst/Vreemde-afkomst.htm |archive-date=8 September 2012 |access-date=29 March 2015 |website=Npdata.be}}</ref> | region17 = {{flag|Costa Rica}} | pop17 = 381,316 | ref17 = <ref name="Costa Rica, 5% a 10%">{{cite web |last1=Ramírez |first1=Kevin |date=11 June 2012 |title=Costa Rica e Italia: países unidos por la historia y la cultura |url=https://www.uned.ac.cr/acontecer/a-diario/gestion-universitaria/1457-costa-rica-e-italia-paises-unidos-por-la-historia-y-la-cultura |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108002909/https://www.uned.ac.cr/acontecer/a-diario/gestion-universitaria/1457-costa-rica-e-italia-paises-unidos-por-la-historia-y-la-cultura |archive-date=8 January 2017 |access-date=12 August 2022 |website=[[Distance State University]] |language=es}}</ref> | region18 = {{flag|Spain}} | pop18 = 350,981 | ref18 = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Italianos en España |url=https://extranjeros.inclusion.gob.es/ficheros/estadisticas/operaciones/con-certificado/202012/Principales_resultados_residentes.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401135234/https://extranjeros.inclusion.gob.es/ficheros/estadisticas/operaciones/con-certificado/202012/Principales_resultados_residentes.pdf |archive-date=1 April 2021 |access-date=14 February 2022}}</ref> | region19 = {{flag|Mexico}} | pop19 = 85,000 | ref19 = <ref>{{cite web |title=Episodio 10: Italianos |url=http://www.oncetv-ipn.net/losquellegaron/back_programas.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305092624/http://www.oncetv-ipn.net/losquellegaron/back_programas.html |archive-date=5 March 2016 |access-date=6 July 2015 |publisher=[[Canal Once]]}}</ref> | region20 = {{flag|South Africa}} | pop20 = 77,400 | ref20 = <ref name="Italian-World" /> | region21 = {{flag|Ecuador}} | pop21 = 56,000 | ref21 = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Le comunità italiane in Cile ed Ecuador — Lombardi nel Mondo |url=http://portale.lombardinelmondo.org/nazioni/americalatina/articoli/storiaemigrazione/leecua |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416191805/http://portale.lombardinelmondo.org/nazioni/americalatina/articoli/storiaemigrazione/leecua |archive-date=16 April 2014 |website=portale.lombardinelmondo.org}}</ref> | region22 = {{flag|Netherlands}} | pop22 = 58,506 | ref22 = <ref name="Demoistat"/> | region23 = {{flag|Austria}} | pop23 = 43,002 | ref23 = <ref name="Demoistat" /> | region24 = {{flag|Portugal}} | pop24 = 36,227 | ref24 = <ref>{{Citation |title=Relatório de Imigração, Fronteiras e Asilo |url=https://aima.gov.pt/media/pages/documents/92dd0f02ea-1726562672/rma-2023.pdf |publisher=Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras}}</ref> | region25 = {{flag|San Marino}} | pop25 = 33,400 | ref25 = <ref name="San Marino country profile">{{Cite news |date=18 May 2018 |title=San Marino country profile |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17842338 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614043133/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17842338 |archive-date=14 June 2018 |access-date=18 May 2018 |work=BBC News}}</ref> | region26 = {{flag|Luxembourg}} | pop26 = 32,810 | ref26 = <ref name="Demoistat" /> | region27 = {{flag|Ireland}} | pop27 = 25,000 | ref27 = <ref name="Demoistat" /> | region28 = {{flag|Croatia}} | pop28 = 19,636 | ref28 = <ref>{{Cite web |title=SAS Output |url=https://www.dzs.hr/Eng/censuses/Census2001/Popis/E01_02_02/E01_02_02.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515215730/https://www.dzs.hr/Eng/censuses/Census2001/Popis/E01_02_02/E01_02_02.html |archive-date=15 May 2019 |access-date=23 August 2019 |website=www.dzs.hr}}</ref> | region29 = {{flag|Albania}} | pop29 = 19,000 | ref29 = <ref>{{Cite web |date=15 May 2014 |title=Italians looking for work in Albania – 19,000, says minister |url=http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/economics/2014/05/15/italians-looking-for-work-in-albania-19000-says-minister_90ce841c-5f1e-426e-8c09-93af7bdd8cf8.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140612065312/http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/economics/2014/05/15/italians-looking-for-work-in-albania-19000-says-minister_90ce841c-5f1e-426e-8c09-93af7bdd8cf8.html |archive-date=12 June 2014 |access-date=14 June 2014 |publisher=[[ANSAmed]]}}</ref> | region30 = {{flag|Israel}} | pop30 = 18,015 | ref30 = <ref name="Demoistat" /> | region31 = {{flag|Bolivia}} | pop31 = 15,000 | ref31 = <ref name="Cittadini2021" /> | region32 = {{flag|Denmark}} | pop32 = 13,302 | ref32 = <ref>{{Cite web |date=11 August 2025 |title=National statistics of Denmark |url=https://www.statistikbanken.dk/statbank5a/default.asp?w=1829 |access-date=22 August 2025 |publisher=statistikbanken.dk}}</ref> | region33 = | pop33 = | ref33 = | region34 = {{flag|Greece}} | pop34 = 13,000 | ref34 = <ref name="Demoistat" /> | region35 = {{flag|United Arab Emirates}} | pop35 = 12,231 | ref35 = <ref name="Demoistat" /> | region36 = {{flag|Poland}} | pop36 = 10,000 | ref36 = <ref>{{Cite web |last=redazione |title=Z miesiąca na miesiąc rośnie liczba Włochów w Polsce |url=http://naszswiat.net/y-we-w-oszech/zyc-we-wloszech/nasze-sprawy/z-miesiaca-na-miesiac-rosnie-liczba-wlochow-w-polsce.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127031937/http://naszswiat.net/y-we-w-oszech/zyc-we-wloszech/nasze-sprawy/z-miesiaca-na-miesiac-rosnie-liczba-wlochow-w-polsce.html |archive-date=27 January 2020 |access-date=16 February 2022 |website=Nasz Swiat |language=pl-pl}}</ref> | region37 = {{flag|Thailand}} | pop37 = 10,000 | ref37 = <ref name="Italian Ambassador Residence">{{Cite web |date=8 February 2021 |title=House of Italy |url=https://readthecloud.co/italian-ambassador-residence-bangkok/ |access-date=2 May 2021 |website=The Cloud |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613090015/https://readthecloud.co/italian-ambassador-residence-bangkok/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | region38 = {{flag|Turkey}} | pop38 = 2,283 | ref38 = <ref>{{cite web |title=Tabiiyete Göre Yabancı Nüfus |trans-title=Foreign Population by Nationality |url=https://nip.tuik.gov.tr/?value=TabiiyetYabanciNufus |access-date=12 October 2025 |publisher=[[Turkish Statistical Institute]] |language=tr |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420004633/https://nip.tuik.gov.tr/?value=TabiiyetYabanciNufus |url-status=live }}</ref> | region39 = {{flag|Algeria}} | pop39 = 1,000 | ref39 = <ref name="Demoistat" /> }} {{Italians}}
'''Italians''' ({{langx|it|italiani}}, {{IPA|it|itaˈljaːni|pron}}) are an [[ethnic group]] and [[nation]] native to the [[Italian geographical region]].<ref name="Minahan">{{Cite book |last=Minahan |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NwvoM-ZFoAgC |title=One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups |date=2000 |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |isbn=0-313-30984-1 |page=156 |quote=The Italians are a Latin people, also known as Mediterranean people |access-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321014815/http://books.google.com/books?id=NwvoM-ZFoAgC |archive-date=21 March 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Italians share a common [[Italian culture|culture]], [[History of Italy|history]], [[Cultural heritage|ancestry]] and [[Italian language|language]]. Their ancestors, differing regionally, include the various [[ancient peoples of Italy|Italic peoples]], notably among them the [[Roman people|ancient Romans]], who helped create and evolve the Italian identity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Banti |first=Alberto Mario |year=2011 |title=Miti e simboli della rivoluzione nazionale |trans-title=Myths and Symbols of the National Revolution |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/miti-e-simboli-della-rivoluzione-nazionale_(L%27Unificazione)/ |website=[[Treccani]] |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fearon |first=James D. |date=June 2003 |title=Ethnic and Cultural Diversity by Country |url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/fearon-research/cgi-bin/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Ethnic-and-Cultural-Diversity-by-Country.pdf |journal=[[Journal of Economic Growth]] |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=195–222 |doi=10.1023/A:1024419522867 |bibcode=2003JEcGr...8..195F |issn=1381-4338 |eissn=1573-7020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113094539/https://web.stanford.edu/group/fearon-research/cgi-bin/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Ethnic-and-Cultural-Diversity-by-Country.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2018}}</ref><ref name="istat.it">{{Cite web |date=27 October 2014 |title=Italian language, dialects and other languages |url=https://www.istat.it/en/press-release/the-usage-of-italian-language-dialects-and-other-languages-in-italy-year-2012/ |website=[[Italian National Institute of Statistics|Istat]] |access-date=5 May 2025 |archive-date=20 August 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820115326/https://www.istat.it/en/press-release/the-usage-of-italian-language-dialects-and-other-languages-in-italy-year-2012/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/storiadegliitali0000giul/page/335/mode/1up?q=Roman |title=Storia degli Italiani |publisher=Editori Laterza |year=2009 |isbn=978-88-420-5455-9 |volume=2 |location=Rome, Italy |language=it |trans-title=History of the Italian People |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=23andMe Reference Populations & Regions |url=https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/212169298-23andMe-Reference-Populations-Regions |access-date=12 October 2025 |website=23andMe Customer Care |language=en-US |archive-date=14 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614072134/https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/212169298-23andMe-Reference-Populations-Regions |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sazzini |first1=Marco |last2=Abondio |first2=Paolo |last3=Sarno |first3=Stefania |last4=Gnecchi-Ruscone |first4=Guido Alberto |last5=Ragno |first5=Matteo |last6=Giuliani |first6=Cristina |last7=De Fanti |first7=Sara |last8=Ojeda-Granados |first8=Claudia |last9=Boattini |first9=Alessio |last10=Marquis |first10=Julien |last11=Valsesia |first11=Armand |last12=Carayol |first12=Jerome |last13=Raymond |first13=Frederic |last14=Pirazzini |first14=Chiara |last15=Marasco |first15=Elena |display-authors=5 |date=22 May 2020 |title=Genomic history of the Italian population recapitulates key evolutionary dynamics of both Continental and Southern Europeans |journal=BMC Biology |volume=18 |doi=10.1186/s12915-020-00778-4 |doi-access=free |article-number=51 |last16=Ferrarini |first16=Alberto |last17=Xumerle |first17=Luciano |last18=Collino |first18=Sebastiano |last19=Mari |first19=Daniela |last20=Arosio |first20=Beatrice |last21=Monti |first21=Daniela |last22=Passarino |first22=Giuseppe |last23=D'Aquila |first23=Patrizia |last24=Pettener |first24=Davide |last25=Luiselli |first25=Donata |last26=Castellani |first26=Gastone |last27=Delledonne |first27=Massimo |last28=Descombes |first28=Patrick |last29=Franceschi |first29=Claudio |last30=Garagnani |first30=Paolo |issue=1 |pmid=32438927 |pmc=7243322 |bibcode=2020BMCB...18...51S }}</ref> The Latin equivalent of the [[Name of Italy|term Italian]] had been in use for natives of the [[Italian geographical region|geographical region]] since [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]].<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], ''[[Epistulae (Pliny)|Letters]]'' 9.23.</ref><ref>[[Dante]], 5th Epistle.</ref><ref>[[Giovanni Boccaccio|Boccaccio]], [[The Decameron|Decameron]] II, 9</ref><ref>[[Catherine of Siena]], Letter 310</ref><ref>[[Galileo Galilei]], Lettera di Galileo Galilei agl'Illustrissimi e Potentiss. Signori Ordini Generali delle confederate Provincie Belgiche, 1636, in Opere di Galileo Galilei, Società tipografica de' classici italiani, 1811, p. 268</ref> Ethnic Italians (a group which includes people of Italian descent without Italian citizenship) can be distinguished from [[Italian nationality law|Italian nationals]], who are citizens of [[Italy]] regardless of ancestry or nation of residence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Criteria underlying legislation concerning citizenship |url=http://www.interno.it/mininterno/export/sites/default/it/temi/cittadinanza/Sottotema_007_English_version.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622185138/http://www.interno.it/mininterno/export/sites/default/it/temi/cittadinanza/Sottotema_007_English_version.html |archive-date=22 June 2012 |access-date=22 September 2012 |publisher=[[Ministry of Interior (Italy)|Italian Ministry of Interior]]}}</ref><ref>Ruggiero Romano, Corrado Vivanti, (1972). 'I caratteri originali'. In: Giulio Einaudi Editore (ed), Storia d'Italia Einaudi. 1st ed. Torino: Einaudi. pp.958–959.</ref>
The majority of Italian nationals are native speakers of the country's official language, Italian, a [[Romance languages|Romance language]] of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]] that evolved from the [[Vulgar Latin]]. However, some of them also speak a [[regional or minority language]] native to Italy, the existence of which predates the national language.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italy, Languages – Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/Languages |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712010349/https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/Languages |archive-date=12 July 2018 |access-date=7 November 2018 |website=britannica.com}}</ref><ref name="worldatlas">{{Cite web |title=What languages are spoken in Italy? |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-italy.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115234553/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-italy.html |archive-date=15 January 2019 |access-date=7 November 2018 |website=worldatlas.com}}</ref> (According to [[UNESCO]], there are approximately 30 [[Languages of Italy|languages native to Italy]], although many are often incorrectly referred to as "Italian [[dialects]]".)<ref name="istat">{{Cite web |date=30 October 2016 |title=The usage of Italian language, dialects and other languages in Italy |url=http://www.istat.it/en/archive/207967 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104074650/http://www.istat.it/en/archive/207967 |archive-date=4 January 2018 |access-date=3 January 2018 |website=istat.it}}</ref><ref name="istat.it" /><ref name="maiden">{{Cite book |last1=Maiden |first1=Dr. Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Dz_LyQF_eAC |title=The Dialects of Italy |last2=Parry |first2=Mair |date=7 March 2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-83436-5 |page=2 |access-date=7 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109130516/https://books.google.com/books?id=9Dz_LyQF_eAC&printsec=frontcover |archive-date=9 January 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="unesco">{{Cite web |title=UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger |url=http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218184822/http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php |archive-date=18 December 2016 |access-date=7 November 2018 |website=unesco.org |language=en}}</ref>
In addition to the approximately 55 million Italians living in Italy (91% of the Italian national population),<ref name=Instat/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Foreign citizens 2017 |url=http://demo.istat.it/str2017/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806142909/http://www.demo.istat.it/bil2016/index.html |archive-date=6 August 2017 |access-date=15 June 2018 |publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]}}</ref> Italian-speaking groups are found in neighboring nations, including [[Italians in Switzerland|Switzerland]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italian — University of Leicester |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/modern-languages/lal/languages%20at%20lal/italian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502004444/http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/modern-languages/lal/languages%20at%20lal/italian |archive-date=2 May 2014 |access-date=22 October 2015 |publisher=.le.ac.uk}}</ref> [[Italians in France|France]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Robin |author-link=Robin Cohen |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgesurveyo00robi |title=The Cambridge survey of world migration |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1995 |isbn=0-521-44405-5 |location=Cambridge |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgesurveyo00robi/page/142 142]–144 |url-access=registration}}</ref> the regions of [[Istria]] and [[Dalmatia]], and the entire population of [[San Marino]]. Due to the wide-ranging [[Italian diaspora|diaspora]] of Italians following [[Italian unification]], [[World War I]], and [[World War II]], over 5 million Italian citizens live outside of Italy<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italiani nel Mondo |url=https://www.esteri.it/mae/it/servizi/italiani-all-estero/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322155917/https://www.esteri.it/mae/it/servizi/italiani-all-estero |archive-date=22 March 2020 |access-date=11 March 2020 |publisher=esteri.it}}</ref> and over 80 million people around the world claim full or partial Italian ancestry.<ref name="italians2010">{{Cite web |title=Rapporto Italiani nel Mondo 2010 |url=http://www.progettoculturale.it/cci_new/documenti_cei/2011-03/08-23/4%20-%20Rapp%20Italiani.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525033241/http://www.progettoculturale.it/cci_new/documenti_cei/2011-03/08-23/4%20-%20Rapp%20Italiani.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=Progettoculturale.it}}</ref> The largest Italian diaspora communities are found in [[Italian Brazilians|Brazil]] (15% of [[Brazilians]]),<ref name="Brazil">{{Cite web |title=Brazil – the Country and its People |url=http://www.brazil.org.uk/resources/documents/bs-primary03.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021152752/http://www.brazil.org.uk/resources/documents/bs-primary03.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=www.brazil.org.uk}}</ref> [[Italian Argentines|Argentina]] (60% of [[Argentina|Argentinians]]),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bridger |first=Gordon A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jXNgInLwwIoC&pg=PA101 |title=Britain and the Making of Argentina |publisher=WIT Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-84564-684-4 |page=101 |quote=Some 86% identify themselves as being of European descent, of whom 60% would claim Italian links}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Marcello De Cecco |title=La Argentina y los Europeos sin Europa |url=http://www.zingerling.com.ar/obras/geneitaliana/laargentinayloserupeos.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626202432/http://www.zingerling.com.ar/obras/geneitaliana/laargentinayloserupeos.htm |archive-date=26 June 2017 |access-date=24 November 2020 |website=Zingerling |language=es}}</ref> the [[Italian Americans|United States]], and [[Italians in France|France]].
Italians have influenced and contributed to fields like [[Italian art|arts]] and [[Italian Music|music]], [[science]], [[technology]], [[Italian fashion|fashion]], [[Italian cinema|cinema]], [[Italian cuisine|cuisine]], [[restaurant]]s, [[sport]]s, [[jurisprudence]], [[bank]]ing and [[business]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barone |first=Michael |date=2 September 2010 |title=The essence of Italian culture and the challenge of the global age |url=http://www.crvp.org/book/Series04/IV-5/chapter_vi.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922063927/http://www.crvp.org/book/Series04/IV-5/chapter_vi.htm |archive-date=22 September 2012 |access-date=22 September 2012 |publisher=Council for Research in Values and philosophy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Macesich |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1OYMZ8OzMUC |title=Issues in Money and Banking |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2000 |isbn=0-275-96777-8 |location=United States |page=42 |access-date=29 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915091109/https://books.google.com/books?id=k1OYMZ8OzMUC |archive-date=15 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Italian cuisine |encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia |publisher=Britannica.com |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/718430/Italian-cuisine |access-date=24 April 2010 |date=2 January 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716014306/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/718430/Italian-cuisine |archive-date=16 July 2010 |author=Related Articles}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cocco |first=Sean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qKud9TM-Fb4C |title=Watching Vesuvius: A History of Science and Culture in Early Modern Italy |date=29 November 2012 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-92371-0 |language=en |access-date=16 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823121337/https://books.google.it/books/about/Watching_Vesuvius.html%3Fid%3DqKud9TM-Fb4C%26redir_esc%3Dy |archive-date=23 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Peter Bondanella |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HgOl4LWswLQC&q=Divine+comedy,+first+art+film&pg=PA6 |title=A History of Italian Cinema |publisher=A&C Black |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4411-6069-0 |access-date=16 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401151407/https://books.google.it/books?id=HgOl4LWswLQC&pg=PA6&dq=Divine+comedy,+first+art+film&hl=it&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjor7u99ZfeAhVPTBoKHWv6CnkQ6AEIPjAE#v=onepage&q=Divine%20comedy%2C%20first%20art%20film&f=false |archive-date=1 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, Italian people are generally known for their attachment to their locale, expressed in the form of either [[Regionalism (politics)|regionalism]] or [[parochialism|municipalism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keating |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Keating (political scientist) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6meikazgxksC |title=Regions and regionalism in Europe |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=1-84376-127-0 |location=Cheltenham |page=378 |access-date=12 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424063123/https://books.google.com/books?id=6meikazgxksC |archive-date=24 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
== Name == {{further|Name of Italy}} {{multiple image | align=left | direction = vertical | width = 230px | image1 = | caption1 = Expansion of the territory [[Name of Italy|called ''Italy'']] from [[Magna Graecia|ancient Greece]] until [[Diocletian]] | image2 = Social War AR Syd 621.1.jpg | caption2 = Silver coin minted in [[Corfinium]] during the [[Social War (91–87 BC)]], displaying the inscription ''ITALIA'' on the verge of the [[Italia turrita|personification of Italy]], represented as a goddess with [[laurel wreath]] }} {{wiktionary|Italian|italiano}} The Latin name "Italia" may have been borrowed via [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] from the [[Oscan language|Oscan]] ''Víteliú'' ("land of calves").<ref name="Manco">{{cite book |last=Manco |first=Alberto |title=Italia: disegno storico-linguistico |date=2009 |publisher=[[University of Naples "L'Orientale"]]|isbn=978-88-95044-62-0 |publication-place=[[Naples]] |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mallory |first1=J.P. |url=https://archive.org/details/EncyclopediaOfIndoEuropeanCulture/page/n59/mode/2up |title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture |last2=Adams |first2=Douglas Q. |publisher=[[Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-884964-98-5 |location=London |page=24}}</ref> Accounts by [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]],<ref>Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1B*.html 1.35] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215151343/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1B%2A.html |date=15 December 2022 }}, on LacusCurtius</ref> [[Aristotle]],<ref>Aristotle, ''Politics'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0058%3Abook%3D7%3Asection%3D1329b#note-link2 7.1329b] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910185719/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0058%3Abook%3D7%3Asection%3D1329b |date=10 September 2015 }}, on Perseus</ref> and [[Thucydides]]<ref>Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Thuc.+6.2.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0200 6.2.4] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924213434/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Thuc.+6.2.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0200 |date=24 September 2015 }}, on Perseus</ref> reference this etymology, together with the legend that Italy was named after legendary [[Italus|King Italus]]. According to [[Antiochus of Syracuse]], the Greeks initially used the term Italy to refer only to the southern portion of the [[Southern Italy|Bruttium peninsula]] (corresponding to parts of the modern provinces of [[Reggio Calabria|Reggio]], [[Catanzaro]], and [[Vibo Valentia]]); however, over time, the Greeks gradually came to apply the name "Italia" to a larger region including [[Lucania]] and [[Calabria]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Pallottino |first=Massimo |title=A History of Earliest Italy |date=1991 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-10097-2 |publication-place=Ann Arbor |page=50 |translator-last1=Ryle |translator-first1=Martin |translator-last2=Soper |translator-first2=Kate}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Brizzi |first=Giovanni |title=Roma. Potere e identità dalle origini alla nascita dell'impero cristiano |date=2012 |publisher=Pàtron Ed |isbn=978-88-555-3153-5 |publication-place=Bologna |page=94 |language=it}}</ref>
Roman historian [[Cato the Elder]] described Italy as the entire peninsula south of the [[Alps]], which he said formed the "walls of Italy".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carlà-Uhink |first=Filippo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSY-DwAAQBAJ&q=cato+italy+south+of+the+Alps&pg=PT49 |title=The "Birth" of Italy: The Institutionalization of Italy as a Region, 3rd–1st Century BCE |date=25 September 2017 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-054478-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Levene |first=D. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aLsRDAAAQBAJ&q=cato+walls+of+Italy&pg=PA108 |title=Livy on the Hannibalic War |date=17 June 2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-815295-8}}</ref> In the 260s BCE, Roman Italy extended from the [[Arno]] and [[Rubicon]] rivers to the entire south. The northern area of [[Cisalpine Gaul]] was occupied by Rome in the 220s BC and became considered geographically and ''[[de facto]]'' part of Italy,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carlà-Uhink |first=Filippo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSY-DwAAQBAJ&q=Tota+Italia+essays&pg=PT454 |title=The "Birth" of Italy: The Institutionalization of Italy as a Region, 3rd–1st Century BCE |date=25 September 2017 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-054478-7}}</ref> but remained politically and ''[[de jure]]'' separated until [[Octavian]] legally merged it into the administrative unit of Italy in 42 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=J. H. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPj_FkEeVO4C&q=beyond+the+Rubicon |title=Beyond the Rubicon: Romans and Gauls in Republican Italy |date=29 January 2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-815300-9 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="DRR">{{Cite book |last=Long |first=George |title=Decline of the Roman republic: Volume 2 |year=1866 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cassius |first=Dio |author-link=Cassius Dio |title=Historia Romana |volume=41 |at=36}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Laffi |first=Umberto |date=1992 |title=La provincia della Gallia Cisalpina |journal=Athenaeum |language=it |issue=80 |pages=5–23}}</ref><ref name="au">{{Cite web |last=Aurigemma |first=Salvatore |title=Gallia Cisalpina |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gallia-cisalpina_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021011134/http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gallia-cisalpina_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/ |archive-date=21 October 2014 |access-date=14 October 2014 |website=treccani.it |publisher=Enciclopedia Italiana |language=it}}</ref> Under Emperor [[Diocletian]], Italy was further enlarged to include the three big islands of the western [[Mediterranean Sea]]: [[Sicily]] (with the [[Maltese archipelago]]), [[Sardinia]], and [[Corsica]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italy (ancient Roman territory) |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297743/Italy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110232259/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297743/Italy |archive-date=10 November 2013 |access-date=10 November 2013 |website=britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref><ref name="Treccani">{{Cite web |title=La riorganizzazione amministrativa dell'Italia. Costantino, Roma, il Senato e gli equilibri dell'Italia romana |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/la-riorganizzazione-amministrativa-dell-italia-costantino-roma-il-senato-e-gli-equilibri-dell-italia-romana_%28Enciclopedia-Costantiniana%29/ |access-date=19 November 2021 |language=it |archive-date=19 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119225335/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/la-riorganizzazione-amministrativa-dell-italia-costantino-roma-il-senato-e-gli-equilibri-dell-italia-romana_(Enciclopedia-Costantiniana)/ |url-status=live }}</ref> All its inhabitants were considered ''Italic'' and ''Roman''.<ref name="StraboneItaliaV1.1">[[Strabo]], ''[[Geographica]]'', V, 1,1.</ref>
The Latin term ''Italicus'' was used to describe "a man of Italy" as opposed to a [[Roman province|provincial]] from the greater Roman provinces.<ref>''Letters'' 9.23</ref> The Greeks likewise used terms such as ''Ἰταλικοί'' (Italikoi) and ''Ἰταλιώτης'' (''Italiotes'') to refer to the peoples and inhabitants of Italy.<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[Cato Maior de Senectute]]'', 21</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carbone |first=Lucia |date=1 January 2020 |title=THE FIRST ITALIA ON COINAGE |url=https://www.academia.edu/44787710 |journal=ANS Magazine Issue No.4}}</ref> The adjective ''Italianus'' emerged in the [[Middle Latin|medieval period]] and was used as an alternative alongside ''Italicus'' into the [[early modern period]].<ref>''ytaliiens'' (1265) [http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/italien TLFi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029191636/http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/italien |date=29 October 2018 }}</ref>
The [[Kingdom of Italy (Ostrogothic)|Kingdom of Italy]] was created after the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]]. The name "Italia" was retained for the [[Kingdom of the Lombards|kingdom]] under the [[Lombards]] and later their [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|successor kingdom]] within the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=IL COMUNE MEDIEVALE |url=https://www.homolaicus.com/storia/medioevo/comune_medievale.htm |website=www.homolaicus.com |access-date=13 September 2025 |archive-date=18 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318214257/http://www.homolaicus.com/storia/medioevo/comune_medievale.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Il Comune Medievale |url=http://www.homolaicus.com/storia/medioevo/comune_medievale.htm |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318214257/http://www.homolaicus.com/storia/medioevo/comune_medievale.htm |archive-date=18 March 2012 |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
== History == {{Main|Population history of Italy}} {{further|History of Italy}}
=== Roman era === {{further|Roman Italy|Ancient peoples of Italy|List of ancient Italic peoples|Etruscan civilization|Roman people|Italic peoples|Magna Graecia|Cisalpine Gaul|Ancient Rome}} [[File:Lupa Capitolina, Rome.jpg|thumb|The [[Capitoline Wolf]] ([[Italian language|Italian]]: ''Lupa Capitolina'') is a [[bronze]] sculpture depicting a scene from the legend of the [[founding of Rome]]. The sculpture shows a [[She-wolf (Roman mythology)|she-wolf]] suckling the mythical twin founders of Rome, [[Romulus and Remus]]. The image of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus is a symbol of Rome since ancient times, and one of the most recognizable icons of ancient mythology.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wiseman |first=Timothy |title=Remus. Un mito di Roma |publisher=Quasar |year=1999 |isbn=978-88-7140-148-5 |page=xiii |language=it}}</ref>]]
The [[Italian peninsula]] was divided into multiple tribal or ethnic territories prior to the [[Roman expansion in Italy|Roman conquest of Italy]] in the 3rd century BCE. The [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latins]], with [[Rome]] as their capital, came to dominate the Italian peninsula by 218 BCE.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} They continued to expand beyond Italy, and after a [[Punic Wars|century-long struggle]] against [[Carthage]], Rome conquered Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. By the end of the [[Third Punic War]] in 146 BCE, Rome had completely destroyed Carthage and become the dominant power in the Mediterranean.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} Unification and [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanization]] of Italy culminated in 88 BC, when, in the aftermath of the [[Social War (91–88 BC)|Social War]], Rome granted [[Roman citizenship]] to all fellow [[Italic peoples]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keaveney |first=Arthur |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ojoOAAAAQAAJ |title=Rome and the Unification of Italy |publisher=Croom Helm |year=1987 |isbn=978-1-904675-37-2 |location=London |access-date=29 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711052218/https://books.google.com/books?id=ojoOAAAAQAAJ |archive-date=11 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Rome was originally a republican city-state, but four famous civil conflicts destroyed the [[Roman Republic]]: [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla|Sulla]] against [[Gaius Marius|Marius]] (88–82 BCE), [[Julius Caesar]] against [[Pompey]] (49–45 BC), [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]] and [[Gaius Cassius Longinus|Cassius]] against [[Mark Antony]] and [[Octavian]] (43 BC), and Mark Antony against Octavian. Octavian, the final victor (31 BC), became the first Roman Emperor.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
During the [[Crisis of the Third Century]], the [[Roman Empire]] nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasions, civil wars, and hyperinflation.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} In 284 CE, Emperor [[Diocletian]] restored political stability. He divided the Roman Empire's territory and [[Tetrarchy|administration]] into the [[Western Roman Empire|Western]] and [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern]] Empires.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[State church of the Roman Empire|Christianity]] became the Roman state religion in AD 380, under Emperor [[Theodosius I]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} The defeat of the last Western Roman emperor, [[Romulus Augustulus]], by Germanic general [[Odoacer]] marked the end of the Western Roman Empire (and political unification of Italy until the establishment of the modern [[Kingdom of Italy]] in 1861).{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
=== The Middle Ages === {{further|Italy in the Middle Ages}} [[File:Coin of Odoacer at the British Museum (obverse).png|thumb|upright|left|[[Odoacer]], the first [[King of Italy]]]]
[[Odoacer]] ruled as the first king of Italy. After the death of his successor [[Theodoric the Great|Theodoric]] in 526 CE, the kingdom began to grow weak. By 553 CE, Byzantine Emperor [[Justinian I]] expelled the Ostrogoths from Italy and brought it back under [[Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty|Roman control]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} However, within twenty years, the [[Lombards]] invaded Italy and [[Kingdom of the Lombards|conquered]] most of the peninsula.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} (Remnants of Byzantine control remained in [[Southern Italy]] until the [[History of Islam in southern Italy|Arab conquest]] of [[Emirate of Sicily|Sicily]] in the 9th century and the [[Norman conquest of Southern Italy]] in the 11th; the interaction among Latin, Byzantine, Arab, and Norman cultures resulted in the formation of a unique [[Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture]] in Southern Italy.){{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[File:Marco Polo Mosaic from Palazzo Tursi.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Marco Polo]], explorer of the 13th century, recorded his 24 years-long travels in the ''[[The Travels of Marco Polo|Book of the Marvels of the World]]'', introducing Europeans to Central Asia and China.<ref name="Marco Polo – Exploration">{{Cite web |date=30 July 2012 |title=Marco Polo – Exploration |url=http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/marco-polo |access-date=9 January 2017 |publisher=History.com |archive-date=7 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307194818/http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/marco-polo |url-status=live }}</ref>]] For two centuries following the Lombard invasion, the [[pope]]s opposed foreign rule in Italy. They ultimately defeated the Lombards, with the aid of two Frankish kings, [[Pepin the Short|Pepin]] and [[Charlemagne]], and established the [[Papal States]] in central Italy in 756.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} To cement the Church's alliance with Charlemagne, [[Pope Leo III]] crowned him the Roman Emperor in 800.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McKitterick |first=Rosamond |author-link=Rosamond McKitterick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEaSdNBL0sgC&pg=PA105 |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume II |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1995 |isbn=0-521-36292-X |location=Cambridge |page=105 |access-date=12 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428062727/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEaSdNBL0sgC&pg=PA105 |archive-date=28 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Members of the [[Carolingian dynasty]] continued to rule Italy, and this [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Kingdom of Italy]] became part of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in the 10th century.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
=== The Renaissance and the Age of Discovery === {{further|Italian city-states|Italian language#Origins}} [[File:Leonardo self.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Leonardo da Vinci]], a [[polymath]] of the [[High Renaissance]] who was active as a painter, [[Drawing|draughtsman]], engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2003 |title=Leonardo da Vinci |encyclopedia=[[Grove Art Online]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |url=https://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000050401 |last=Kemp |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Kemp (art historian) |doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T050401 |isbn=978-1-884446-05-4 |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 May 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311022526/https://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000050401 |url-status=live }} {{Grove Art subscription}}</ref>]]
From the 11th century on, Italian cities rapidly grew in independence and importance, becoming centers of political life, [[banking]], and foreign trade. Many, including [[Florence]], [[Rome]], [[Genoa]], [[Milan]], [[Pisa]], [[Siena]] and [[Venice]], grew into nearly independent city-states and [[maritime republics]], each with its own foreign policy and trade. By the 14th and 15th centuries, some Italian city-states, such as Venice and Florence, ranked among the most influential powers in Europe.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} The Italian merchant cities acted as a gateway for goods and ideas from the Byzantine and [[Ottoman Empire|Islamic]] world into Europe; the [[Renaissance]] began in Florence in the 14th century<ref name="Burke1998">{{Cite book |last=Burke |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WWKnnbajUUQC |title=The European Renaissance: Centers and Peripheries |publisher=Wiley |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-631-19845-1 |access-date=12 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430005436/https://books.google.com/books?id=WWKnnbajUUQC |archive-date=30 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> and led to an unparalleled flourishing of the arts, literature, music, and science. [[File:Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio - Ritratto di Cristoforo Colombo (1520).jpg|thumb|left|upright|The Italian explorer [[Christopher Columbus]] leads an expedition to the New World, 1492. [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus|His voyages]] are celebrated as the discovery of the Americas from a European perspective, and they opened a [[Early modern period|new era]] in the history of humankind and sustained contact between the two worlds.]] [[File:Amerigo Vespucci (with turban) - cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Amerigo Vespucci]], Italian explorer from whose name the term "[[Naming of the Americas|America]]" is derived<ref name="livescience.com">https://www.livescience.com/42510-amerigo-vespucci.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008190857/https://www.livescience.com/42510-amerigo-vespucci.html |date=8 October 2021 }} Szalay, Jessie. ''Amerigo Vespuggi: Facts, Biography & Naming of America'' (citing Erika Cosme of Mariners Museum & Park, Newport News VA). 20 September 2017 (accessed 23 June 2019)</ref>]]
Italian<ref>Though the modern state of Italy had yet to be established, the Latin equivalent of the [[#Name|term Italian]] had been in use for natives of [[Italian geographical region|the region]] since antiquity. See [[Pliny the Elder]], ''[[Epistulae (Pliny)|Letters]]'' 9.23.</ref> [[List of Italian explorers|explorers]] and navigators, eager to find alternative trade routes to the Indies, ushered in the [[Age of Discovery]] and the European colonization of the Americas. Notable among them were: [[Christopher Columbus|Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo)]], who discovered the New World and opened the Americas for European conquest;<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, 1993 ed., Vol. 16, pp. 605ff / Morison, ''Christopher Columbus'', 1955 ed., pp. 14ff</ref> [[John Cabot|John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto)]], the first European to arrive in [[Newfoundland]];<ref>{{Cite web |year=2007 |title=''Catholic Encyclopedia'' "John & Sebastian Cabot" |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03126d.htm |access-date=17 May 2008 |publisher=newadvent |archive-date=18 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518005335/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03126d.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Amerigo Vespucci]] (for whom the [[Naming of the Americas|Americas were named]]), who demonstrated circa 1501 that the New World was not Asia but a previously unknown continent;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eric Martone |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHJ1DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |title=Italian Americans: The History and Culture of a People |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-61069-995-2 |page=504 |archive-date=2 October 2024 |access-date=28 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002212120/https://books.google.com/books?id=MHJ1DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Giovanni da Verrazzano]], the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of [[North America]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Greene |first=George Washington |author-link=George Washington Greene |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1qsuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PAPA13 |title=The Life and Voyages of Verrazzano |publisher=Folsom, Wells, and Thurston |year=1837 |location=Cambridge University |page=13 |access-date=18 August 2017 |via=Google Books |archive-date=2 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002212013/https://books.google.com/books?id=1qsuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PAPA13#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== The French Revolution and Napoleon === {{Main|Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy}} {{multiple image | align=right | image1 = Laura bassi1.jpg | width1 = 181 | alt1 = | caption1 = [[Laura Bassi]], the first chairwoman of a university in a scientific field of studies | image2 = Giuseppe Compagnoni.jpg | width2 = 158 | alt2 = | caption2 = [[Giuseppe Compagnoni]], considered the "father of the [[flag of Italy]]" }} The [[French Revolution]] began in 1789 and immediately found supporters among the Italian people. After the [[Louis XVI|French king]] was overthrown and France became a [[French First Republic|republic]], secret clubs favouring an Italian republic were formed throughout Italy.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} In 1796, [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] led a French army into northern Italy and drove out [[House of Habsburg|its Austrian rulers]]. Napoleon made himself emperor in 1804; parts of northern and central Italy were unified under the name of the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as king, the rest was annexed by France.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} French domination, which lasted less than 20 years, brought representative assemblies and new laws that were uniform across the country; for the first time since ancient Rome, Italians from different regions were using the same money and served in the same army. Many Italians began to see the possibility of a united Italy free of foreign control.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
=== Italian unification and the Kingdom of Italy === {{Main|Italian unification|Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy|Kingdom of Italy}} {{multiple image | align=left | image1 = Induno Domenico Goffredo Mameli.jpg | width1 = 170 | alt1 = Goffredo Mameli | image2 = Michele novaro.jpg | width2 = 152 | alt2 = Michele Novaro | footer = On the left, [[Goffredo Mameli]], author of the lyrics; on the right, [[Michele Novaro]], composer of the music, of the song ''[[Il Canto degli Italiani]]'', the Italian [[national anthem]] since 1946 }}
In the aftermath of [[Battle of Waterloo|Napoleon's defeat]] and the [[Congress of Vienna]], Italy came under control of the [[Austrian Empire]] and the [[Habsburg dynasty]]. [[Italian nationalism|Italian nationalist]] movements, led by reformers such as [[Giuseppe Mazzini]], occurred in several parts of the peninsula from the 1830s to 1849.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} The [[Risorgimento]] revolution of the 1850s was ultimately successful, and on 17 March 1861, [[Victor Emmanuel II]] was proclaimed king of the [[Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy|Kingdom of Italy]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} {{multiple image | align=right | image1 = VictorEmmanuel2.jpg | width1 = 139 | alt1 = | caption1 = | image2 = Tuminello, Lodovico (1824-1907) - Cavour cropped.jpg | width2 = 158 | alt2 = | caption2 = | footer = [[Victor Emmanuel II of Italy|Victor Emmanuel II]] (''left'') and [[Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour]] (''right''), leading figures in the [[Italian unification]], became respectively the first king and first Prime Minister of unified Italy. }}
[[Capture of Rome|Italian troops occupied Rome]] in 1870, and in July 1871, it formally became the capital of the kingdom.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Pope Pius IX]], a longtime rival of Italian kings, stated he had been made a "prisoner" inside the [[Vatican City|Vatican]] walls and refused to cooperate with the royal administration. Only in 1929 did the pope accept the unified Italy with [[Rome]] as its capital.
The process of Italian unification was completed in [[World War I]], with the annexation of Trieste, [[Istria]], [[Trentino-Alto Adige]], and [[Zadar|Zara]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} After World War I, Italy emerged as one of the [[Big Four (World War I)|world's four great powers]]. In the decades following unification, Italy began creating colonies in [[Africa]], and under [[Benito Mussolini]]'s [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Fascist regime]] conquered [[Ethiopian Empire|Ethiopia]], founding the [[Italian Empire]] in 1936.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} The population of Italy grew to 45 million in 1940 and the economy, which had been based upon agriculture until that time, started its industrial development, mainly in northern Italy.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
=== The Italian Republic === {{Main|History of the Italian Republic}} [[File:Alcide De Gasperi anni 50.jpg|thumb|left|[[Alcide De Gasperi]], [[List of Prime Ministers of Italy|first]] republican [[Prime Minister of Italy]] and one of the [[Founding Fathers of the European Union]]]]
On 2 June 1946, Italy held its first free election after more than 20 years of Fascist rule. Italians [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|chose to replace the monarchy]], which had been closely associated with [[Fascism]], with a republic.{{Citation Needed|date=September 2025}} They elected a [[Constituent Assembly of Italy|Constituent Assembly]] of anti-fascist representatives, which created a new democratic [[Italian constitution]] in 1947.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite journal |last=McGaw Smyth |first=Howard |date=September 1948 |title=Italy: From Fascism to the Republic (1943–1946) |journal=The Western Political Quarterly |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=205–222 |doi=10.2307/442274 |jstor=442274}}</ref> [[File:Esule con tricolore - Esodo giuliano-dalmata.png|thumb|A young Italian exile on the run carries, along with her personal effects, a [[flag of Italy]], during the [[Istrian-Dalmatian exodus]].]]
Under the [[Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947|Treaty of Peace with Italy]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] annexed [[Istria]], [[Kvarner Gulf|Kvarner]], most of the [[Julian March]], and [[Zadar|Zara]], which led to the [[Istrian-Dalmatian exodus|emigration]] of between 230,000 and 350,000 ethnic Italians, Slovenians, Croatians, and [[Istro-Romanians]], who chose to maintain [[Italian citizenship]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tobagi |first=Benedetta |title=La Repubblica italiana | Treccani, il portale del sapere |url=http://www.treccani.it/scuola/lezioni/storia/la_repubblica_italiana.html |access-date=28 January 2015 |publisher=Treccani.it |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305001726/http://www.treccani.it/scuola/lezioni/storia/la_repubblica_italiana.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 1949 Italy became a member of [[NATO]]. The [[Marshall Plan]] helped to revive the Italian economy which, until the late 1960s, enjoyed a period of sustained economic growth commonly called the "[[Italian economic miracle|Economic Miracle]]".{{Citation Needed|date=September 2025}} In 1957, Italy was a founding member of the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC), which became the [[European Union]] (EU) in 1993.{{Citation Needed|date=September 2025}}
== Ethnogenesis == {{Further|Genetic history of Europe|Genetic history of Italy|Italic peoples|List of ancient peoples of Italy}}
[[File:PCA of Italians and European and Mediterranean populations.png|thumb|[[Principal component analysis]] of the Italian population with other populations]]
Due to historic demographic shifts in the [[Italian peninsula]] throughout history, its geographical position in the center of the [[Mediterranean Sea]], and Italy's regional ethnic diversity since ancient times, modern Italians are genetically diverse.<ref>..."L'Italia è, dal punto di vista genetico, un mosaico di gruppi etnici ben differenziati." [[Alberto Piazza]], [https://www.units.it/sites/default/files/media/documenti/notizie/piazza_2.pdf I profili genetici degli italiani] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510214025/https://www.units.it/sites/default/files/media/documenti/notizie/piazza_2.pdf |date=10 May 2019 }}, Accademia delle Scienze di Torino</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Raveane |first1=Alessandro |last2=Montinaro |first2=Francesco |last3=Capelli |first3=Cristian |year=2019 |title=Un ritratto genetico degli italiani |url=https://www.scienzainrete.it/articolo/ritratto-genetico-degli-italiani/alessandro-raveane-serena-aneli-francesco-montinaro |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102100324/https://www.scienzainrete.it/articolo/ritratto-genetico-degli-italiani/alessandro-raveane-serena-aneli-francesco-montinaro |archive-date=2 November 2019 |access-date=4 November 2019 |publisher=Scienza in rete}}</ref>
=== Bronze Age === {{Further|Prehistoric Italy|Indo-European migrations}} Italians, like most Europeans, largely descend from three distinct lineages:<ref name="Indo-European" /> Paleolithic [[hunter-gatherer]]s, such as the [[Epigravettian]] culture, who arrived in the Italian peninsula as early as 35,000 to 40,000 years ago;<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Posth |first1=C. |last2=Yu |first2=H. |last3=Ghalichi |first3=A. |date=2023 |title=Palaeogenomics of Upper Palaeolithic to Neolithic European hunter-gatherers |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=615 |issue=2 March 2023 |pages=117–126 |bibcode=2023Natur.615..117P |doi=10.1038/s41586-023-05726-0 |pmc=9977688 |pmid=36859578}}</ref> Neolithic [[Early European Farmers]] who migrated from [[Western Asia]] and the [[Middle East]] during the [[Neolithic Revolution]] 9,000 years ago;<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gibbons |first=Ann |date=21 February 2017 |title=Thousands of horsemen may have swept into Bronze Age Europe, transforming the local population |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/thousands-horsemen-may-have-swept-bronze-age-europe-transforming-local-population |journal=Science |archive-date=25 September 2022 |access-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925154535/https://www.science.org/content/article/thousands-horsemen-may-have-swept-bronze-age-europe-transforming-local-population |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Yamnaya culture|Yamnaya]] [[Western Steppe Herders|Steppe pastoralists]] who expanded into Europe from the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe]] of Ukraine and southern Russia during the Indo-European migrations 5,000 years ago.<ref name="Indo-European">{{Cite journal |last1=Haak |first1=Wolfgang |last2=Lazaridis |first2=Iosif |last3=Patterson |first3=Nick |last4=Rohland |first4=Nadin |last5=Mallick |first5=Swapan |last6=Llamas |first6=Bastien |last7=Brandt |first7=Guido |last8=Nordenfelt |first8=Susanne |last9=Harney |first9=Eadaoin |last10=Stewardson |first10=Kristin |last11=Fu |first11=Qiaomei |date=11 June 2015 |title=Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=522 |issue=7555 |pages=207–211 |arxiv=1502.02783 |bibcode=2015Natur.522..207H |doi=10.1038/nature14317 |issn=0028-0836 |pmc=5048219 |pmid=25731166}}</ref>
The first wave of [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] migrations into Italy in the [[Bronze Age]] occurred from [[Central Europe]] (e.g. the [[Bell Beaker]] culture), followed by the [[Italo-Celtic|Italo-Celts]] (e.g. the Celtic-speaking [[Canegrate culture]]<ref>Venceslas Kruta: ''La grande storia dei celti. La nascita, l'affermazione e la decadenza'', Newton & Compton, 2003, {{ISBN|88-8289-851-2}}, {{ISBN|978-88-8289-851-9}}</ref> and the Italic-speaking [[Proto-Villanovan culture]],<ref name="Menotti2004">{{Cite book |last=Marzatico |first=Franco |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E_9-AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |title=Living on the Lake in Prehistoric Europe: 150 Years of Lake-Dwelling Research |date=19 August 2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-37181-5 |editor-last=Menotti |editor-first=Francesco |pages=83–84 |access-date=10 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161210150416/https://books.google.com/books?id=E_9-AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |archive-date=10 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> both deriving from the Proto-Italo-Celtic [[Urnfield culture]]). Recent DNA studies confirmed the arrival of [[Western Steppe Herders|Steppe-related ancestry]] in Northern Italy to at least 2000 BCE and in Central Italy by 1600 BCE, with this ancestry component increasing through time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Saupe |first1=Tina |last2=Montinaro |first2=Francesco |last3=Scaggion |first3=Cinzia |last4=Carrara |first4=Nicola |last5=Kivisild |first5=Toomas |last6=D'Atanasio |first6=Eugenia |last7=Hui |first7=Ruoyun |last8=Solnik |first8=Anu |last9=Lebrasseur |first9=Ophélie |last10=Larson |first10=Greger |last11=Alessandri |first11=Luca |date=21 June 2021 |title=Ancient genomes reveal structural shifts after the arrival of Steppe-related ancestry in the Italian Peninsula |url=https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(21)00535-2 |journal=Current Biology |language=English |volume=31 |issue=12 |pages=2576–2591.e12 |bibcode=2021CBio...31E2576S |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.022 |hdl=11585/827581 |issn=0960-9822 |pmid=33974848 |s2cid=234471370 |hdl-access=free |archive-date=27 October 2023 |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027022808/https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00535-2 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Aneli |first1=Serena |last2=Caldon |first2=Matteo |last3=Saupe |first3=Tina |last4=Montinaro |first4=Francesco |last5=Pagani |first5=Luca |date=1 October 2021 |title=Through 40,000 years of human presence in Southern Europe: the Italian case study |journal=Human Genetics |language=en |volume=140 |issue=10 |pages=1417–1431 |doi=10.1007/s00439-021-02328-6 |issn=1432-1203 |pmc=8460580 |pmid=34410492}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Saupe et al.|2021}} "The results suggest that the Steppe-related ancestry component could have first arrived through Late N/Bell Beaker groups from [[Central Europe]]."</ref> In the late Bronze Age and early [[Iron Age]], Celtic-speaking [[La Tène culture|La Tène]] and [[Hallstatt culture|Hallstatt]] cultures spread over a large part of Italy,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kruta |first=Venceslas |title=The Celts |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1991 |pages=89–102}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Stifter |first=David |title=Old Celtic Languages – Addenda |year=2008 |page=25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vitali |first=Daniele |year=1996 |title=Manufatti in ferro di tipo La Tène in area italiana: le potenzialità non-sfruttate |url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/mefr_0223-5102_1996_num_108_2_1954 |journal=Mélanges de l'École Française de Rome. Antiquité |volume=108 |issue=2 |pages=575–605 |doi=10.3406/mefr.1996.1954 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924203631/http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/mefr_0223-5102_1996_num_108_2_1954 |url-status=live }}</ref> with related archeological artifacts found as far south as [[Apulia]].<ref name="Prichard1826">{{Cite book |last=Prichard |first=James Cowles |author-link=James Cowles Prichard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W786AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA60 |title=Researches Into the Physical History of Mankind: In Two Volumes |publisher=John and Arthur Arch, Cornhill |year=1826 |page=60 |access-date=3 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161210130622/https://books.google.com/books?id=W786AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA60 |archive-date=10 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McNair |first=Raymond F. |title=Key to Northwest European Origins |date=22 March 2012 |publisher=Author House |isbn=978-1-4685-4600-2 |page=81}}</ref><ref name="Hazlitt1851">{{Cite book |last=Hazlitt |first=William |author-link=William Hazlitt (registrar) |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Y1sbAAAAMAAJ_2 |title=The Classical Gazetteer: A Dictionary of Ancient Geography, Sacred and Profane |publisher=Whittaker |year=1851 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Y1sbAAAAMAAJ_2/page/n307 297] |access-date=3 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A spasso nel tempo: passeggiando tra le millenarie vestigia di Canusium |url=https://iltaccodibacco.it/puglia/events/215016.html |access-date=20 March 2022 |website=iltaccodibacco.it |language=it-IT |archive-date=23 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323163038/https://iltaccodibacco.it/puglia/events/215016.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Nicholas Hammond, Howard Scullard. Dizionario di antichità classiche. Milano, Edizioni San Paolo, 1995, p.1836-1836. {{ISBN|88-215-3024-8}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ELMO CELTICO |url=https://archeologiagalliacisalpina.wordpress.com/category/elmo-celtico/ |access-date=20 March 2022 |website=ARCHEOLOGIA GALLIA CISALPINA |language=it-IT |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201152539/https://archeologiagalliacisalpina.wordpress.com/category/elmo-celtico/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Italic peoples|Italics]] occupied northeastern, southern, and central Italy. The "West Italic" group (including the [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latins]]) were the first wave. Major tribes included the Latins and [[Falisci]] in Lazio; the [[Oenotrians]] and Italii in [[Calabria]]; the [[Ausones]], [[Aurunci]] and [[Opici]] in [[Campania]]; and perhaps the [[Adriatic Veneti|Veneti]] in [[Veneto]] and the [[Sicels]] in Sicily. They were followed, and largely displaced by the East Italic ([[Osco-Umbrian languages|Osco-Umbrians]]) group.<ref>Cornell, T. J. (1995): The Beginnings of Rome. p43</ref>
=== Iron Age === [[File:Iron Age Italy-la.svg|thumb|Ethnolinguistic map of Italy in the [[Iron Age]], before the [[Roman expansion in Italy]]]] During the Iron Age, prior to Roman rule, Italy was predominantly inhabited by [[Italic tribes]]. The peoples living in the area of modern Italy and the islands were: * '''[[Etruscans]]''' ([[Camunni]], [[Lepontii]], [[Raeti]]); * '''[[Sicani]]''' in [[Sicily]] * '''[[Elymians]]'''; * '''[[Ligures]]''' ([[Apuani]], [[Bagienni]], [[Briniates]], [[Corsi people|Corsi]], [[Friniates]], [[Garuli]], [[Hercates]], [[Ilvates]], [[Insubres]], [[Orobii]], [[Laevi]], [[Lapicini]], [[Marici (Ligures)|Marici]], [[Statielli]], [[Taurini]]); * '''[[Italic tribes|Italics]]''' ([[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latins]], [[Falisci]], [[Marsi]], [[Umbri]], [[Volsci]], [[Marrucini]], [[Osci]], [[Aurunci]], [[Ausones]], [[Campanians]], [[Paeligni]], [[Sabines]], [[Bruttii]], [[Frentani]], [[Lucanians|Lucani]], [[Samnites]], [[Pentri]], [[Caraceni (tribe)|Caraceni]], [[Caudini]], [[Hirpini]], [[Aequi]], [[Fidenae|Fidenates]], [[Hernici]], [[Picentes]], [[Vestini]], [[Morgantina|Morgeti]], [[Sicels]], [[Adriatic Veneti|Veneti]]); * '''[[Iapygians]]''' ([[Messapians]], [[Daunians]], [[Peucetians]]); * '''[[Cisalpine Gaul|Celts]]''' ([[Allobroges]], [[Ausones]], [[Boii]], [[Carni]], [[Cenomani (Cisalpine Gaul)|Cenomani]], [[Ceutrones (Alps)|Ceutrones]], [[Graioceli]], [[Lepontii]], [[Lingones]], [[Segusini]], [[Senones]], [[Salassi]], [[Veragri]], [[Vertamocorii (Cisalpina)|Vertamocorii]]); * '''[[Magna Graecia|Greeks]]''' of [[Magna Graecia]]; * '''[[Sardinians]]''' ([[Nuragic civilization|Nuragic]] [[List of Nuragic tribes|tribes]]), in [[Sardinia]] By the beginning of the [[Iron Age Italy|Iron Age]], the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscans]] had emerged as the dominant civilization on the Italian peninsula. The Etruscans, expanded from [[Etruria]] over a large part of Italy, covering what is now [[Tuscany]], western [[Umbria]], and northern [[Lazio]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goring |first=Elizabeth |title=Treasures from Tuscany: the Etruscan legacy |publisher=National Museums Scotland Enterprises Limited |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-901663-90-7 |location=Edinburgh |page=13 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Leighton |first=Robert |title=Tarquinia. An Etruscan City |publisher=Duckworth Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-7156-3162-4 |series=Duckworth Archaeological Histories Series |location=London |page=32 |language=en}}</ref> as well as what are now the [[Po Valley]], [[Emilia-Romagna]], south-eastern [[Lombardy]], southern [[Veneto]], and western [[Campania]].<ref name="Camporeale2004">{{Cite book |title=The Etruscans Outside Etruria |publisher=Getty Trust Publications |year=2001 |editor-last=Camporeale |editor-first=Giovannangelo |editor-link=Giovannangelo Camporeale |location=Los Angeles |publication-date=2004 |language=en |translator-last=Hartmann |translator-first=Thomas Michael}}</ref><ref>http://spazioinwind.libero.it/popoli_antichi/Etruschi/Etruria%20Campana.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214214230/http://spazioinwind.libero.it/popoli_antichi/Etruschi/Etruria%20Campana.html |date=14 December 2021 }} Etruria campana</ref><ref>[[Strabo]], ''[[Geographica]]'', V (Italia), 4.3.</ref><ref name="belsito">{{Cite book |last=Francesco Belsito |title=Storia di Nocera. Monumenti, personaggi, leggende |publisher=Angri, Gaia |year=2013}}</ref><ref>Samuel Edward Finer, The History of Government from the Earliest Times, Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 398</ref> Ancient authors report [[Etruscan origins|several hypotheses]] for the origin of the Etruscans, including that they came from the Aegean Sea. Modern archaeological and genetic research concluded that the Etruscans were [[Villanovan culture|autochthonous]] and had a genetic profile similar to their Latin neighbors, notably lacking recent admixture with Anatolia or the Eastern Mediterranean.<ref name="Ghirotto2013">{{Cite journal |display-authors=etal |vauthors=Ghirotto S, Tassi F, Fumagalli E, Colonna V, Sandionigi A, Lari M, et al |date=2013 |title=Origins and Evolution of the Etruscans' mtDNA |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=8 |issue=2 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...855519G |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0055519 |pmc=3566088 |pmid=23405165 |doi-access=free |article-number=e55519}}</ref><ref name="Tassi2013">{{Cite journal |display-authors=etal |vauthors=Tassi F, Ghirotto S, Caramelli D, Barbujani G |date=2013 |title=Genetic evidence does not support an Etruscan origin in Anatolia. |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=152 |issue=1 |pages=11–18 |bibcode=2013AJPA..152...11T |doi=10.1002/ajpa.22319 |pmid=23900768}}</ref><ref name="Leonardi2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Leonardi |first1=Michela |last2=Sandionigi |first2=Anna |last3=Conzato |first3=Annalisa |last4=Lari |first4=Martina |last5=Tassi |first5=Francesca |year=2018 |title=The female ancestor's tale: Long-term matrilineal continuity in a nonisolated region of Tuscany |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=167 |issue=3 |pages=497–506 |bibcode=2018AJPA..167..497L |doi=10.1002/ajpa.23679 |pmid=30187463 |s2cid=52161000}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 February 2013 |title=Were the Etruscans after all native Italians? |url=http://forwhattheywereweare.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/were-the-etruscans-after-all-native-italians/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713153924/https://forwhattheywereweare.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/were-the-etruscans-after-all-native-italians/ |archive-date=13 July 2015 |access-date=25 April 2015 |website=For what they were... we are – Prehistory, Anthropology and Genetics}}</ref><ref name="Antonio2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Antonio |first1=Margaret L. |last2=Gao |first2=Ziyue |last3=M. Moots |first3=Hannah |year=2019 |title=Ancient Rome: A genetic crossroads of Europe and the Mediterranean |journal=Science |language=en |location=Washington D.C. |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science |publication-date=8 November 2019 |volume=366 |issue=6466 |pages=708–714 |bibcode=2019Sci...366..708A |doi=10.1126/science.aay6826 |hdl=2318/1715466 |pmc=7093155 |pmid=31699931 |quote=Interestingly, although Iron Age individuals were sampled from both Etruscan (n=3) and Latin (n=6) contexts, we did not detect any significant differences between the two groups with f4 statistics in the form of f4(RMPR_Etruscan, RMPR_Latin; test population, Onge), suggesting shared origins or extensive genetic exchange between them. |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Posth2021">{{Cite journal |last1=Posth |first1=Cosimo |last2=Zaro |first2=Valentina |last3=Spyrou |first3=Maria A. |date=24 September 2021 |title=The origin and legacy of the Etruscans through a 2000-year archeogenomic time transect |journal=[[Science Advances]] |volume=7 |issue=39 |bibcode=2021SciA....7.7673P |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abi7673 |pmc=8462907 |pmid=34559560 |article-number=eabi7673}}</ref>
[[File:Femmes peucètes dansant, fresque.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|Fresco of dancing [[Peucetians|Peucetian]] women in the [[Tomb of the Dancers]] in [[Ruvo di Puglia]], 4th–5th century BC]]
The Ligures were one of the oldest populations in Italy and Western Europe,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Homo |first=Léon |author-link=Léon Homo |title=Primitive Italy |date=1996 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-15580-9 |page=45}}</ref> possibly of Pre-Indo-European origin.<ref>Karl Viktor Müllenhoff, ''Deutsche Alterthurnskunde'', I volume.</ref> According to Strabo, they were not Celts but later became influenced by the Celtic culture of their neighbours, and thus are sometimes referred to as Celticized Ligurians or Celto-Ligurians.<ref name="SG" /> Their language had similarities to both [[Italic languages|Italic]] ([[Latin]] and the [[Osco-Umbrian languages]]) and [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] ([[Gaulish language|Gaulish]]).<ref>Dominique François Louis Roget de Belloguet, ''Ethnogénie gauloise, ou Mémoires critiques sur l'origine et la parenté des Cimmériens, des Cimbres, des Ombres, des Belges, des Ligures et des anciens Celtes''. Troisiéme partie: ''Preuves intellectuelles. Le génie gaulois'', Paris 1868.</ref><ref>Gilberto Oneto ''Paesaggio e architettura delle regioni padano-alpine dalle origini alla fine del primo millennio'', Priuli e Verlucc, editori 2002, pp. 34–36, 49.</ref><ref>See, in particular {{Cite book |last=McEvedy |first=Colin |title=The Penguin Atlas of Ancient History by Colin McEvedy |date=1967 |page=29}}</ref> They primarily inhabited the regions of [[Liguria]], [[Piedmont]], northern [[Tuscany]], western [[Lombardy]], western [[Emilia-Romagna]] and northern [[Sardinia]], but are believed to have once occupied an even larger portion of ancient Italy as far south as [[Sicily]].<ref>Leonard Robert Palmer, The Latin Language, London: Faber and Faber, 1954, p. 54</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sciarretta |first=Antonio |title=Toponomastica d'Italia. Nomi di luoghi, storie di popoli antichi |date=2010 |publisher=Mursia |isbn=978-88-425-4017-5 |location=Milano |pages=174–194}}</ref> They were also settled in [[Corsica]] and in the [[Provence]] region along the southern coast of modern [[France]].
Beginning in the 8th century BCE, Greeks arrived in Italy and founded cities along the coast of southern Italy and eastern Sicily, which became known as [[Magna Graecia]] ("Greater Greece"). The Greeks were frequently at war with the native Italic tribes, but nonetheless managed to [[Hellenization|Hellenize]] and assimilate much of the indigenous population located along eastern Sicily and the Southern coasts of the Italian mainland.<ref>{{Cite web |last=The Saylor Foundation |title=The Ancient People of Italy |url=http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/HIST301-4.3.2-AncientPeopleoftItaly-FINAL.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106114301/http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/HIST301-4.3.2-AncientPeopleoftItaly-FINAL.pdf |archive-date=6 November 2015 |access-date=19 September 2015 |website=Saylor.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hayden |first=Olivia E. |title=Urban Planning in the Greek Colonies in Sicily and Magna Graecia |url=http://dl.tufts.edu/file_assets/tufts:UA005.025.005.00001 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925122740/http://dl.tufts.edu/file_assets/tufts:UA005.025.005.00001 |archive-date=25 September 2015 |access-date=23 September 2015 |website=Tufts University, 2013}}</ref> According to [[Karl Julius Beloch|Beloch]], the number of Greek citizens in southern Italy reached only 80,000 to 90,000 at most, while the local people subjected by the Greeks were between 400,000 and 600,000.<ref>P. A. Brunt, Italian manpower, 225 B.C.-A.D. 14, Oxford University Press, 1971, p. 52</ref><ref name="LP">''La popolazione del Mondo Greco-Romano'', Karl Julius Beloch</ref> By the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, Greek power in Italy was challenged and began to decline, and many Greeks were pushed out of peninsular Italy by the native [[Oscans|Oscan]], [[Brutti]], and [[Lucanians|Lucani]] tribes.<ref>Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, Vol. 1, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. 1854. p. 4</ref> [[File:Grab der Granatäpfel heimkehrender Ritter.jpg|thumb|A mounted Lucanian warrior, fresco from a tomb of [[Paestum]], Italy, c. 360 BC]] The [[Gauls]] crossed the Alps and [[Roman-Gallic wars#Cisalpine|invaded northern Italy in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC]], settling in the area that became known as [[Cisalpine Gaul]]. Although named after the Gauls, the region was mostly inhabited by indigenous tribes, namely the Ligures, Etruscans, [[Euganei]], and Veneti. Estimates by Beloch and [[Peter Brunt|Brunt]] suggest that in the 3rd century BCE, Gaulish settlers in north Italy numbered between 130,000 and 140,000 out of a total population of about 1.4 million.<ref name="LP" /><ref name="Ligt, 2012. p. 43-44">Luuk De Ligt, ''Peasants, Citizens and Soldiers: Studies in the Demographic History of Roman Italy 225 BC – AD 100''. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012. p. 43-44</ref> The northern half of Cisalpine Gaul was already inhabited by the Celtic [[Lepontii]] since the Bronze Age. Speaking about the Alpine region, the Greek historian [[Strabo]], wrote: {{quote|''The [[Alps]] are inhabited by numerous nations, but all [[Celts|Keltic]] with the exception of the Ligurians, and these, though of a different race, closely resemble them in their manner of life.''<ref name="SG">Strabo, ''Geography'', book 2, chapter 5, section 28.</ref>}}
According to [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] and [[Livy]], after the invasion of the Gauls, some of the Etruscans living in the Po Valley sought refuge in the Alps and became known as the [[Raeti]].<ref>Pliny the Elder III.20</ref><ref>Livy V.33</ref> The Raeti inhabited the region of [[Trentino-Alto Adige]], as well as eastern [[Switzerland]] and [[Tyrol (state)|Tyrol]] in western [[Austria]]. The [[Ladin people|Ladins]] of north-eastern Italy and the [[Romansh people]] of Switzerland are said to be descended from the Raeti.<ref>Cambridge Anthropology, Vol. 6, 1980, p. 60</ref>
=== Roman === {{main|Colonia (Roman)}}
[[File:Romancoloniae2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.35|Map of Roman coloniae during the second century in Italy]] The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] — who according to legend originally consisted of [[Roman tribe|three ancient tribes]]: Latins, Sabines and Etruscans<ref>''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Vol. 3, London. John Murray: printed by Spottiswoode and Co., New-Street Square and Parliament Streetp. 661</ref> — would go on to [[Roman conquest of Italy|conquer the whole Italian peninsula]]. During the Roman period hundreds of cities and colonies were established throughout Italy, including [[Florence]], [[Turin]], [[Como]], [[Pavia]], [[Padua]], [[Verona]], [[Vicenza]], [[Trieste]] and many others. After the Roman conquest of Italy, "the whole of Italy had become Latinized".<ref>M. Rostovtzeff, ''A History of the Ancient World: Rome'', Vol. II, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1927, p. 171</ref> The Romans continued expansion northward to [[Cisalpine Gaul#Gallic expansion and Roman conquest|conquer Cisalpine Gaul]] and establish colonies in the former Gallic territory, including [[Bologna]], [[Modena]], [[Reggio Emilia]], [[Parma]], [[Piacenza]], [[Cremona]] and [[Forlì]].<ref>Alfred S. Bradford, ''With Arrow, Sword, and Spear: A History of Warfare in the Ancient World'', Praeger Publishers, 2001, p. 191</ref><ref name="Strabo, 5.1.10">Strabo, ''Geography'', book 5, chapter 10</ref> According to [[Strabo]]:{{quote|''The Cispadane peoples occupy all that country which is encircled by the Apennine Mountains towards the Alps as far as Genua and Sabata. The greater part of the country used to be occupied by the Boii, Ligures, Senones, and [[Gaesatae]]; but since the Boii have been driven out, and since both the Gaesatae and the Senones have been annihilated, only the Ligurian tribes and the Roman colonies are left.''<ref name="Strabo, 5.1.10" />}} The [[Boii]], the most powerful and numerous of the Gallic tribes, were expelled by the Romans after 191 BCE and settled in [[Bohemia]], while the [[Insubres]] still lived in [[Mediolanum]] in the 1st century BCE.<ref>Strabo, ''Geography'', book 5, chapter 6</ref>
Latin colonies were founded at [[Rimini|Ariminum]] in 268 BCE and at [[Fermo|Firmum]] in 264 BCE,<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1989 |title=Rome and Italy in the Early Third Century |encyclopedia=The Cambridge Ancient History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |last=Staveley |first=ES |editor-last=Walbank |editor-first=Frank William |volume=VII: the Hellenistic World: Part 2: The Rise of Rome to 220 BC |page=425 |quote=Certainly, steps designed to consolidate her hold in the north-east followed this incident in quick succession: the foundation in 268 of the Latin colony of Ariminum .... the annexation of the whole Picentine land save for ... Ancona and ... Asculum; the transportation of large numbers of Picentes to the ''ager Picentinus'' on the west coast, and finally in 264 the planting of a second large Latin colony on the coast at Firmum.}}</ref> while large numbers of [[Picentes]], who previously inhabited the region, were moved to [[Paestum]] and settled along the river [[Sele (river)|Silarus]] in [[Campania]]. Between 180 and 179 BCE, 47,000 Ligures belonging to the Apuani tribe were removed from their home along the modern Ligurian-Tuscan border and deported to [[Samnium]], an area corresponding to inland Campania, while Latin colonies were established in their place at [[Pisa]], [[Lucca]] and [[Luni, Italy|Luni]].<ref>Ettore Pais, ''Ancient Italy: Historical and Geographical Investigations in Central Italy, Magna Graecia, Sicily, and Sardinia'', The University of Chicago Press, 1908</ref> Such population movements contributed to the rapid Romanization and Latinization of [[Roman Italy|Italy]].<ref>Patrick Bruun, Studies in the romanization of Etruria, Vol. 1–7, p. 101</ref>
=== Middle Ages === [[File:Map of the Lombard colonies in Sicily.gif|thumb|right|[[Lombards of Sicily|Lombard (Northern Italian) colonies]] of Sicily: in light blue: the cities where Gallo-Italic language is spoken today. In dark blue: the cities where there is a good influence of the Gallo-Italic language. In purple: ancient Gallo-Italic colonies, the influence in these cities is variable, also some districts of [[Messina]] were colonized.]]
A large Germanic confederation of [[Sciri]], [[Heruli]], [[Turcilingi]], and [[Rugians]], led by [[Odoacer]], invaded and settled Italy in 476 CE.<ref>Jordanes, ''Getica'' 243</ref> They were preceded by the [[Alemanni]], including 30,000 warriors with their families, who settled in the Po Valley in 371 CE,<ref>Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Res Gestae'' 28,5,15</ref> and by [[Burgundians]] who settled between Northwestern Italy and Southern France in 443 CE.<ref name="Vauthier Adams" /> The Germanic tribe of the [[Ostrogoths]] led by [[Theodoric the Great]] conquered Italy and, in order to legitimize their rule to Roman subjects who believed in the superiority of Roman culture over foreign "[[barbarian]]" culture, created a blended [[Romano-Germanic culture]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ward-Perkins |first=Bryan |author-link=Bryan Ward-Perkins |url=https://archive.org/details/fallofromeendofc00ward |title=The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19-280564-5 |location=Oxford |page=[https://archive.org/details/fallofromeendofc00ward/page/31 31] |url-access=registration}}</ref> Since Italy had a population of several million, the Goths did not constitute a significant addition to the local population: at most, several thousand Ostrogoths in a population of 6 or 7 million.<ref name="Vauthier Adams">{{Cite book |last=Paul |first=Vauthier Adams |title=Experiencing World History |date=3 August 2000 |publisher=NYU Press}}</ref><ref>Frank N. Magill, ''The Middle Ages: Dictionary of World Biography, Volume 2'', Salem Press, Inc. 1998, p. 895.</ref><ref>William A. Sumruld, ''Augustine and the Arians: The Bishop of Hippo's Encounters with Ulfilan Arianism'', Associated Press University Presses 1994, p. 23.</ref> After the [[Gothic War (535–554)|Gothic War]], which devastated the local population, the Ostrogoths were defeated. Nevertheless, according to Roman historian [[Procopius of Caesarea]], the Ostrogothic population was allowed to live peacefully in Italy with their Rugian allies under Roman sovereignty.<ref>''De Bello Gothico'' IV 32, pp. 241–245; this reference stems from the pen of the Byzantine historian, Procopius, who accompanied Justinian's leading general, Belisarius, on his exploits between 527 and 540. This included the campaigns against the Ostrogoths, which is the subject of ''De Bello Gothico''.</ref>
In the sixth century, another Germanic tribe known as the [[Lombards|Longobards]] invaded Italy, which in the meantime had been reconquered by the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. The Longobards were a small minority compared to the roughly 4 million inhabitants of Italy at the time.<ref name="Santosuosso_44">Antonio Santosuosso, ''Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels: The Ways of Medieval Warfare'', Westview Press 2004, p. 44.</ref> They were later followed by the [[Bavarian dynasty|Bavarians]] and the [[Franks]], who conquered and ruled most of Italy. Some groups of [[Slavs]] settled in parts of the northern Italian Peninsula between the 7th and 8th centuries,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Diaconis |first=Paulus |author-link=Paul the Deacon |url=http://www.northvegr.org/lore/langobard/033.php |title=Historia Langobardorum |date=787 |location=Monte Cassino, Italy |page=Book V chapter 29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517112407/http://www.northvegr.org/lore/langobard/033.php |archive-date=17 May 2008 |no-pp=true}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Corbanese |first=G. G. |title=Il Friuli, Trieste e l'Istria: dalla Preistoria alla caduta del Patriarcato d'Aquileia |date=1983 |publisher=Del Bianco |edition=Grande Atlante Cronologico |location=Udine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=G. |first=Barbina |title=Codroipo |date=1981 |edition=Il ponte}}</ref> while [[Bulgars]] led by [[Alcek]] settled in [[Sepino]], [[Bojano]], and [[Isernia]]. These Bulgars preserved their speech and identity until the late 8th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Golden |first=Peter B. |url=https://www.academia.edu/12545004 |title=An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz |year=1992 |isbn=978-3-447-03274-2 |location=Wiesbaden |page=245 |archive-date=15 October 2022 |access-date=5 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015143636/https://www.academia.edu/12545004 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Map of Tuscan settlements in Sicily.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|left|Map of Tuscan settlements in Sicily.]]
Following Roman rule, Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia were conquered by the [[Vandals]], then by the Ostrogoths, and finally by the Byzantines. Sicily was later invaded by the [[History of Islam in southern Italy|Arabs]] in the 9th century and the [[Norman conquest of Southern Italy|Normans]] in the 11th century, leading to the formation of a unique [[Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture]] in Sicily. During the subsequent [[Hohenstaufen|Swabian]] rule under the Holy Roman Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], who spent most of his life as [[Kingdom of Sicily|king of Sicily]] in his court in [[Palermo]], Moors were progressively eradicated until the massive deportation of the last [[Muslims]] of Sicily.<ref>{{cite book |last=Abulafia |first=David |author-link=David Abulafia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGkfAQAAIAAJ |title=Mediterranean encounters, economic, religious, political, 1100–1550 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=0-86078-841-5 |page=236 |access-date=12 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504184610/https://books.google.com/books?id=hGkfAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=4 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> As a result of the Arab expulsion, many towns across Sicily were left depopulated. By the 12th century, [[Hohenstaufen|Swabian]] kings granted immigrants from northern Italy (particularly [[Piedmont]], [[Lombardy]] and [[Liguria]]), [[Latium]] and [[Tuscany]] in central Italy, and [[France|French regions]] of [[Normandy]], [[Provence]] and [[Brittany]] (all collectively known as ''[[Lombards of Sicily|Lombards]]''.)<ref>{{cite web |last=Società Siciliana per la Storia Patria. Archivio Storico Siciliano |date=12 December 1876 |title=Archivio Storico Siciliano |url=https://archive.org/details/archiviostoricos24soci |access-date=12 December 2017 |publisher=Palermo |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Barone |first=Francesco |title=L'Islam in Europa tra passato e futuro |publisher=Pellegrini Editore |year=2003 |isbn=88-8101-159-X |editor-last1=Di Bella |editor-first1=Saverio |location=Cosenza |page=104 |chapter=Islām in Sicilia nel XII e XIII secolo: ortoprassi, scienze religiose e tasawwuf |editor-last2=Tomasello |editor-first2=Dario}}</ref> settlement into Sicily, re-establishing the Latin element into the island, a legacy which can be seen in the many [[Gallo-Italic of Sicily|Gallo-Italic]] dialects and towns found in the interior and western parts of Sicily, brought by these settlers.<ref>{{cite web |title=History and etymology of Aidone and Morgantina |url=http://www.italythisway.com/places/articles/aidone-morgantina-history.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105070045/http://www.italythisway.com/places/articles/aidone-morgantina-history.php |archive-date=5 November 2012 |access-date=22 September 2012 |publisher=Italy This Way}}</ref> Before them, other ''Lombards'' arrived in [[Sicily]], with an expedition departed in 1038, led by the Byzantine commander [[George Maniakes]],<ref>Jules Gay, ''L'Italie meridionale et l'empire Byzantin'', Parigi 1904, vol. II, p. 450-453.</ref> which for a very short time managed to snatch Messina and [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] from [[Arab]] rule. The Lombards who arrived with the Byzantines settled in [[Maniace]], [[Randazzo]] and [[Troina]], while a group of [[Genoa|Genoese]] and other ''Lombards'' from Liguria settled in [[Caltagirone]].<ref>David Abulafia, ''Le due Italie: relazioni economiche fra il regno normanno di Sicilia e i comuni settentrionali'', Cambridge University Press 1977 (trad. it. Guida Editori, Napoli 1991), p. 114.</ref> After the marriage between the Norman [[Roger I of Sicily]] and [[Adelaide del Vasto]], descendant of the [[Aleramici]] family, many Northern Italian colonisers (known collectively as ''Lombards'') left their homeland, in the Aleramici's possessions in [[Piedmont]] and [[Liguria]] (then known as ''Lombardy''), to settle on the island of Sicily.<ref name="books.google.it">{{cite journal |last1=Loud |first1=G. A. |last2=Metcalfe |first2=Alex |date=2002 |title=Following the marriage to his third wife, Adelaide, from the Aleramici clan in Piedmont, many northern Italians (the sources refer to them as lombardi, as opposed to the longobardi from southern Italy) settled on the island of Sicily from the late Eleventh century onwards. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1IBspuVRwnUC&pg=PA323 |url-status=live |journal=The Society of Norman Italy |publisher=Brill, Leiden |page=323 |isbn=90-04-12541-8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610135950/https://books.google.com/books?id=1IBspuVRwnUC&pg=PA323 |archive-date=10 June 2016 |access-date=12 December 2015}}</ref><ref>These Lombard colonisers were natives from Northern Italy and should not be confused with the [[Lombards|Lombard]] Germanic tribe, who were referred to as ''Longobardi'' to distinguish them from the locals of the region who were known as ''Lombardi''.</ref> It is believed that the Lombard immigrants in Sicily over a couple of centuries were a total of about 200,000.<ref>According to the most credible hypothesis this settlement dates back to a period between the eleventh century and the thirteenth century. Cfr. {{cite book |last=Toso |first=Fiorenzo |title=Le minoranze linguistiche in Italia |date=2008 |publisher=Il Mulino |isbn=978-88-15-12677-1 |location=Bologna |page=137}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bartalotta |first1=Enrica |title=Minoranze etniche di Sicilia: i Lombardi |url=http://www.siciliafan.it/minoranze-etniche-sicilia-i-lombardi/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420122203/http://www.siciliafan.it/minoranze-etniche-sicilia-i-lombardi/ |archive-date=20 April 2017 |access-date=21 April 2017 |website=siciliafan.it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lanza |first1=Manfredu |title=Le colonie 'lombarde' si insediano in Sicilia |url=http://www.casalenews.it/cultura/le-colonie-lombarde-si-insediano-in-sicilia-21269.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525033638/http://www.casalenews.it/cultura/le-colonie-lombarde-si-insediano-in-sicilia-21269.html |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=21 April 2017 |website=casalenews.it}}</ref> An estimated 20,000 [[Swabians]] and 40,000 [[Normans]] settled in the southern half of Italy during the 10th and 11th centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Musca |first=Giosuè |title=Terra e uomini nel Mezzogiorno normanno-svevo: atti delle settime Giornate normanno-sveve |date=15–17 October 1985 |publisher=EDIZIONI DEDALO |location=Bari}}</ref> Additional Tuscan migrants settled in Sicily after the Florentine conquest of Pisa in 1406.<ref>{{Cite book |last=B. Fanucci |first=Giovanni |title=Orazione accademica sull'istoria militare Pisana |date=1788 |publisher=Prosperi |page=100}}</ref>
Some of the Muslims expelled by the Normans were deported to [[Lucera]] (Lugêrah, as it was known in Arabic). Their numbers eventually reached between 15,000 and 20,000,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barbera |first=Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ZiKIfC4uBMC&pg=PA175 |title=The Military Factor in Social Change Vol. 2 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=978-1-4128-3781-1 |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017082314/https://books.google.it/books?id=7ZiKIfC4uBMC&pg=PA175&lpg=PA175 |archive-date=17 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> leading Lucera to be called ''Lucaera Saracenorum'' because it represented the last stronghold of Islamic presence in Italy. The colony thrived for 75 years until it was sacked in 1300 by Christian forces under the command of the [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevin]] [[Charles II of Naples]]. The city's Muslim inhabitants were exiled or sold into slavery.<ref>Julie Taylor. [https://archive.today/20120629142609/http://www.umd.umich.edu/univ/ur/press_releases/nov03/taylorbook_pr.html Muslims in Medieval Italy: The Colony at Lucera]. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books. 2003.</ref> After the expulsions of Muslims in Lucera, Charles II replaced Lucera's Saracens with Christians, chiefly [[Burgundy (region)|Burgundian]] and [[Provence|Provençal]] soldiers and farmers,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Janin |first1=Hunt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3sjAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 |title=Mercenaries in Medieval and Renaissance Europe |last2=Carlson |first2=Ursula |date=2 July 2013 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-7274-1 |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017082232/https://books.google.it/books?id=Y3sjAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55#v=onepage&q=charles%20ii%20burgundians%20lucera |archive-date=17 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> following an initial settlement of 140 Provençal families in 1273.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italian City States 1250–1453 by Sanderson Beck |url=http://www.san.beck.org/7-7-ItalianCityStates.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714190021/http://www.san.beck.org/7-7-ItalianCityStates.html |archive-date=14 July 2015 |access-date=16 May 2015 |website=beck.org}}</ref> A remnant of the descendants of these Provençal colonists, still speaking a [[Franco-Provençal language|Franco-Provençal dialect]], has survived until the present day in the villages of [[Faeto]] and [[Celle di San Vito]].
=== Modern period === {{multiple image | align = | image1 = Gebrüder Alinari - Giuseppe Mazzini (Zeno Fotografie).jpg | width1 = 126 | alt1 = | caption1 = | image2 = Giuseppe Garibaldi (1866).jpg | width2 = 141 | alt2 = | caption2 = | footer = [[Giuseppe Mazzini]] ''(left)'', highly influential leader of the Italian revolutionary movement; and [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] ''(right)'', celebrated as one of the greatest generals of modern times<ref name="scholar and patriot">{{Cite web |title=Scholar and Patriot |url={{Google books|iWK7AAAAIAAJ|page=PA133|keywords=Garibaldi+one+of+the+greatest+generals+of+modern+time|text=|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=Manchester University Press |via=Google Books}}</ref> and as the "Hero of the Two Worlds",<ref name="Garibaldi on Encyclopædia Britannica">{{Cite web |title=Giuseppe Garibaldi (Italian revolutionary) |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225978/Giuseppe-Garibaldi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226091529/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225978/Giuseppe-Garibaldi |archive-date=26 February 2014 |access-date=6 March 2014}}</ref> who commanded and fought in many military campaigns that led to [[Italian unification]] }}
Substantial migrations of Lombards to Naples, Rome, and Palermo continued in the 16th and 17th centuries, driven by the constant overcrowding in the north.<ref>{{Cite web |title=L'EMIGRAZIONE ALLA ROVESCIA. DAL LAGO DI COMO ALLA SICILIA |url=http://www.storiamediterranea.it/public/md1_dir/r1495.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525033243/http://www.storiamediterranea.it/public/md1_dir/r1495.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=Storiamediterranea.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=L'EMIGRAZIONE ALLA ROVESCIA: TRA VALCHIAVENNA E SICILIA |url=http://www.storiamediterranea.it/wp-content/uploads/mediterranea/p2492/r1206.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525033248/http://www.storiamediterranea.it/wp-content/uploads/mediterranea/p2492/r1206.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=Storiamediterranea.it}}</ref> Minor but significant settlements of [[Slavs]] and [[Arbëreshë people|Arbereshe]] in Italy have been recorded, while [[Scottish people|Scottish]] soldiers – the ''[[Scottish Guards (France)|Garde Ecossaise]]'' – who served the French King, [[Francis I of France|Francis I]], settled in the mountains of [[Piedmont]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 August 2017 |title=The Italian highlanders who may have Scottish roots |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-40865981 |access-date=2 December 2022 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202091215/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-40865981 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 January 2019 |title=Gurro: il villaggio scozzese nelle montagne del Piemonte tra kilt, cornamuse e antiche storie di clan |url=https://www.guidatorino.com/gurro-villaggio-scozzese-piemonte/ |access-date=2 December 2022 |website=Guida Torino |language=it-IT |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202091219/https://www.guidatorino.com/gurro-villaggio-scozzese-piemonte/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The geographical and cultural proximity with Southern Italy pushed Albanians to cross the [[Strait of Otranto]], especially after [[Skanderbeg]]'s death and the conquest of the [[Balkans]] by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]]. In defense of the Christian religion and in search of soldiers loyal to the Spanish crown, [[Alfonso V of Aragon]], also king of Naples, invited Arbereshe soldiers to move to Italy with their families. In return the king guaranteed to Albanians lots of land and a favourable taxation.{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}}
Arbereshe and Schiavoni were used to repopulate abandoned villages or villages whose population had died in earthquakes, plagues and other catastrophes. Albanian soldiers were also used to quell rebellions in Calabria. Slavic colonies were established in eastern [[Friuli]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Il popolamento slavo (PDF) |url=http://www.picmediofriuli.it/enciclopedia/pdf/4.4.1.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525033649/http://www.picmediofriuli.it/enciclopedia/pdf/4.4.1.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=Picmediofriuli.it}}</ref> [[Sicily]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=UN INSEDIAMENTO SLAVO PRESSO SIRACUSA NEL PRIMO MILLENNIO D.C. |url=http://www.europaorientalis.it/uploads/files/1983/1983.1.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525033242/http://www.europaorientalis.it/uploads/files/1983/1983.1.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=Europaorientalis.it}}</ref> and [[Molise]] ([[Molise Croats]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=LE COLONIE SERBOCROATE DELL'ITALIA MERIDIONALE |url=http://www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/Philo/Sprachwiss/slavistik/acqua/Resetar_Libro_completo1.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525033638/http://www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/Philo/Sprachwiss/slavistik/acqua/Resetar_Libro_completo1.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=Uni-konstanz.de}}</ref>
Between the [[Late Middle Ages]] and the [[early modern period]], there were several waves of immigration of Albanians into Italy, in addition to another in the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LE MIGRAZIONI DEGLI ARBERESHE |url=http://www.arbitalia.it/storia/migrazioni.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525033637/http://www.arbitalia.it/storia/migrazioni.htm |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=Arbitalia.it |format=PDF}}</ref> The descendants of these Albanian emigrants, many still retaining the [[Albanian language]], the [[Arbëresh language|Arbëresh]] dialect, have survived throughout southern Italy, numbering about 260,000 people,<ref name="RhzMMTTdIC 2010, p. 18">[https://books.google.com/books?id=31RhzMMTTdIC&q=Arb%C3%ABresh%C3%AB+people&pg=PA18 Ethnobotany in the New Europe: People, Health and Wild Plant Resources, vol. 14, Manuel Pardo de Santayana, Andrea Pieroni, Rajindra K. Puri, Berghahn Books, 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205065444/https://books.google.com/books?id=31RhzMMTTdIC&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q=Arb%C3%ABresh%C3%AB%20people |date=5 February 2016 }}, {{ISBN|1-84545-814-1}}, p. 18.</ref> with roughly 80,000 to 100,000 speaking the Albanian language.<ref name="books.google.bg">[https://books.google.com/books?id=hyR_dqdZ5SQC&q=Arb%C3%ABresh%C3%AB+people&pg=PA110 Handbook of ethnotherapies, Christine E. Gottschalk-Batschkus, Joy C. Green, BoD – Books on Demand, 2002], {{ISBN|3-8311-4184-3}}, p. 110.</ref><ref name="ethnologue.com">{{Cite web |title=Albanian, Arbëreshë |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/aae/***EDITION*** |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913112304/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/aae/***EDITION*** |archive-date=13 September 2019 |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=Ethnologue.com}}</ref>
=== Italian Surnames === Most of [[Italian name#Surnames|Italy's surnames]] (''cognomi''), with the exception of a few areas marked by linguistic minorities, derive from Italian. Many are derived from an individual's physical qualities (e.g. ''Rossi'', ''Bianchi'', ''Quattrocchi'', ''Mancini'', ''Grasso'', etc.), occupation (''Ferrari'', ''Auditore'', ''Sartori'', ''Tagliabue'', etc.), fatherhood or lack thereof (''De Pretis'', ''Orfanelli'', ''Esposito'', ''Trovato'', etc.), and geographic location (''[[Padua|Padovano]]'', ''[[Pisa]]no'', ''[[Lecce]]se'', ''[[Lucca|Lucchese]]'', etc.). Some of them also indicate a remote foreign origin (''[[Greeks|Greco]]'', ''[[Germans|Tedesco]]'', ''[[Moors|Moro]]'', ''[[Albanians|Albanese]]'', etc.).
{| role="presentation" class="wikitable mw-collapsible" |- ! colspan=2| Most common surnames<ref>{{Cite web |title=Classifica dei cognomi più diffusi in Italia (ranking of the most common surnames in Italy) |url=https://www.mappadeicognomi.it/classifica_cognomi_piu_diffusi.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511130921/https://www.mappadeicognomi.it/classifica_cognomi_piu_diffusi.php |archive-date=11 May 2019 |access-date=24 July 2019 |publisher=Mappa dei Cognomi}}</ref> |- | 1|| Rossi |- | 2 || Ferrari |- | 3 || Russo |- | 4 || Bianchi |- | 5 || Romano |- | 6 || Gallo |- | 7 || Costa |- | 8 || Fontana |- | 9 || Conti |- | 10 || Esposito |- | 11 || Ricci |- | 12 || Bruno |- | 13 || Rizzo |- | 14 || Moretti |- | 15 || De Luca |- | 16 || Marino |- | 17 || Greco |- | 18 || Barbieri |- | 19 || Lombardi |- | 20 || Giordano |}
== Italian diaspora == {{Main|Italian diaspora|Oriundo}}
{| class="wikitable" |+ !Censuses (Resident population) [https://esploradati.istat.it/databrowser/#/it/censpop/categories/IT1,Z1200CPA,1.0/MIGR_BCK_PAR/IT1,DF_DCSS_MIGR_BACKG_PAR_TV_1_COM,1.0] !1981 !1991 !2001 !2011 !2021 !2022 !2023 |- |Italians by birth (1981/1991 Total italian citizens) |56.345.973 (99,63%) |56.421.872 (99,37%) |55.375.073 (97,16%) |54.734.723 (92,09%) |52.460.242 (88,87%) |52.146.522 (88,39%) |51.855.553 (87,93%) |- |Naturalized italians | | |285.782 (0,50%) |671.394 (1,13%) |1.539.175 (2,61%) |1.709.338 (2,90%) |1.862.019 (3,16%) |- |Foreigners |210.938 (0,37%) |356.159 (0,63%) |1.334.889 (2,34%) |4.027.627 (6,78%) |5.030.716 (8,52%) |5.141.341 (8,71%) |5.253.658 (8,91%) |- |Total population |56.556.911 |56.778.031 |56.995.744 |59.433.744 |59.030.133 |58.997.201 |58.971.230 |} [[File:Map of the Italian Diaspora in the World.svg|thumb|upright=2.5|[[Italian diaspora]] worldwide {{plainlist| {{Legend|#000000|Italy}} {{Legend|#2e5e00|+ 10,000,000}} {{Legend|#6abc00|+ 1,000,000}} {{Legend|#85ff36|+ 100,000}} {{Legend|#c6fca2|+ 10,000}} }} ]]
[[Italian diaspora|Italian migration outside Italy]] occurred over centuries in a series of migration cycles.<ref name="Cohen">{{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Robin |author-link=Robin Cohen |title=The Cambridge Survey of World Migration |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-521-44405-7 |location=Cambridge |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YbzsBPuhyggC&q=%22about+5+million+French+nationals+are+of+Italian+origin+if+their+parentage+is+retraced+over+three+generations.%22&pg=PA143 143]}}</ref> A large [[Italian diaspora|diaspora]] took place after Italy's unification in 1861 and continued through 1914 with the lead up to the [[First World War]].<ref name="gabaccia">{{Cite book |last=Gabaccia |first=Donna |url=https://archive.org/details/italysmanydiaspo00gaba |title=Italy's Many Diasporas |publisher=University of Washington Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-295-97918-2 |location=New York: Routledge |pages=[https://archive.org/details/italysmanydiaspo00gaba/page/58 58]–80 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="SN">{{Cite journal |last=Moretti |first=Enrico |date=1 January 1999 |title=Social Networks and Migrations: Italy 1876–1913 |journal=The International Migration Review |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=640–657 |doi=10.2307/2547529 |jstor=2547529}}</ref> One major motivation for emigrants at this time was a post-unification economic slump within Italy (except for the "industrial triangle" between [[Milan]], [[Genoa]] and [[Turin]])<ref name="gabaccia" /> that coincided with a boom in industrialization, urbanization, and economic expansion elsewhere in the world, which provided better economic opportunities.<ref name="SN" /> Large-scale emigration continued through the late 1920s, well into the Fascist regime, and a subsequent wave was observed after the end of the [[Second World War]]. Another wave of migration outside Italy began in the 21st century and is still ongoing, caused by the [[Italian government debt|debt crisis]] in Italy.
{{multiple image | total_width = 350 | align = left | image1 = David - Napoleon crossing the Alps - Malmaison1.jpg | width1 = | alt1 = | caption1 = [[Napoleon]], the most notable [[Italians in France|Italian French]] personality. He was ethnically Italian of Corsican origin, and his family was of [[Genoa|Genoese]] and [[Tuscany|Tuscan]] ancestry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Napoleon I (emperor of France) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/402943/Napoleon-I |access-date=2 September 2010 |publisher=Britannica.com |archive-date=3 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503000917/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/402943/Napoleon-I |url-status=live }}</ref> | image2 = Pope Francis in March 2013 (cropped3).jpg | width2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = [[Pope Francis]], an [[Italian Argentines|Argentine of Italian descent]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biography – Francis |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/biography/documents/papa-francesco-biografia-bergoglio_en.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330042717/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/biography/documents/papa-francesco-biografia-bergoglio_en.html |archive-date=30 March 2014 |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=Vatican.va}}</ref> About 60% of Argentina's population has Italian ancestry.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Departamento de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas de la [[National University of La Matanza|Universidad Nacional de La Matanza]] |date=14 November 2011 |title=Historias de inmigrantes italianos en Argentina |url=http://infouniversidades.siu.edu.ar/noticia.php?titulo=historias_de_inmigrantes_italianos_en_argentina&id=1432#.U2cKkYHa70s |publisher=infouniversidades.siu.edu.ar |language=es |quote=Se estima que en la actualidad, el 90% de la población argentina tiene alguna ascendencia europea y que al menos 25 millones están relacionados con algún inmigrante de Italia. |access-date=15 November 2018 |archive-date=15 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715055112/http://argentinainvestiga.edu.ar/noticia.php?titulo=historias_de_inmigrantes_italianos_en_argentina&id=1432#.U2cKkYHa70s |url-status=live }}</ref> | footer = }}
Over 80 million people claiming full or partial Italian descent live outside Italy. A majority of these, about 50 million total, live in [[South America]]. [[Italian Brazilian|Brazil]] has the largest number of Italian descendants outside Italy,<ref name="Brazil" /> and in [[Italian Argentine|Argentina]], over 62.5% of the country's population has at least one Italian ancestor.<ref name="Matanza" /> Another 23 million Italian descendants live in North America ([[Italian American|United States]] and [[Italian Canadian|Canada]]), 7 to 8 million in other parts of Europe (primarily in [[Italians in France|France]], [[Italians in Germany|Germany]], [[Italians in Switzerland|Switzerland]], and [[Italians in the United Kingdom|the United Kingdom]]), and another 1 million in Oceania ([[Italian Australian|Australia]] and [[Italian New Zealanders|New Zealand]]). To a lesser extent, people of full or partial Italian descent are also found in Africa (particularly in the former Italian colonies of [[Italian Eritreans|Eritrea]],<ref>The Italian Ambassador stated at the 2008 Film Festival in Asmara [http://www.ambberlino.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Asmara/Menu/Ambasciata/News/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218200229/http://www.ambberlino.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Asmara/Menu/Ambasciata/News/|date=18 February 2012}} that nearly 100,000 Eritreans in 2008 have Italian blood, because they have at least one grandfather or great-grandfather from Italy.</ref><ref name="camera.it">[http://www.camera.it/_dati/leg13/lavori/stampati/sk6000/relazion/5634.htm Descendants of Italians in Eritrea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923221557/http://www.camera.it/_dati/leg13/lavori/stampati/sk6000/relazion/5634.htm |date=23 September 2015 }} (in Italian)</ref><ref name="babelfish.yahoo.com">http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.camera.it%2F_dati%2Fleg13%2Flavori%2Fstampati%2Fsk6000%2Frelazion%2F5634.htm&lp=it_en&.intl=us&fr=yfp-t-501{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} Descendants of Italians in Eritrea</ref> [[Italian Somalis|Somalia]], [[Italian Libyans|Libya]], and [[Italians of Ethiopia|Ethiopia]]; and in others countries such as [[Italian South Africans|South Africa]],<ref name="Italian-World" /> [[Italian Tunisians|Tunisia]], and [[Italian Egyptians|Egypt]]), in the Middle East (such as the [[Italians in the United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]] with 10,000 Italian immigrants), and in Asia ([[Singapore]] is home to a sizeable Italian community).<ref name="Italian-World" />
[[File:Map of regions with Little Italys.svg|thumb|upright=2.5|World map of first level subdivisions (states, counties, provinces, etc.) that are home to [[Little Italy]]s or Italian neighbourhoods]]
There are many individuals of Italian descent in the diaspora who may be eligible for Italian citizenship by ''[[jus sanguinis]]'', which is from the Latin meaning "by blood". Simply having Italian ancestry is not enough to qualify for Italian citizenship; one must have at least one Italian-born citizen ancestor who, after emigrating from Italy to another country, had passed citizenship onto their children before they naturalized as citizens of their newly adopted country. The Italian government does not have a rule regarding how many generations born outside of Italy can claim Italian nationality.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Citizenship by descent |url=https://conssanfrancisco.esteri.it/consolato_sanfrancisco/en/i_servizi/per_i_cittadini/cittadinanza/citizenship-by-descent.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015042247/https://conssanfrancisco.esteri.it/consolato_sanfrancisco/en/i_servizi/per_i_cittadini/cittadinanza/citizenship-by-descent.html |archive-date=15 October 2018 |access-date=15 October 2018 |website=conssanfrancisco.esteri.it |language=en-gb}}</ref>
== Culture == {{Main|Culture of Italy}}
[[File:The Pantheon.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] and the [[Fontana del Pantheon]]. Roman relics and Roman culture are important symbols in Italy.|alt=]] {{Further|National symbols of Italy|Traditions of Italy|Folklore of Italy}}
[[Italy]] is considered one of the birthplaces of [[Western culture|Western civilization]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Perry |first1=Marvin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N6jytVCocwMC |title=Western Civilization: Since 1400 |last2=Chase |first2=Myrna |last3=Jacob |first3=James |last4=Jacob |first4=Margaret |last5=Von Laue |first5=Theodore H. |date=1 January 2012 |publisher=[[Cengage Learning]] |isbn=978-1-111-83169-1 |page=XXIX |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> and has been described as a [[Power (international relations)#Power as status|cultural superpower]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 June 2012 |title=Italy, a cultural superpower |url=https://www.arabnews.com/italy-cultural-superpower |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226231012/http://www.arabnews.com/italy-cultural-superpower |archive-date=26 December 2014 |work=[[Arab News]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Washington Post">{{Cite news |last=Midgette |first=Anne |date=17 October 2012 |title=Coming to the U.S.: 'The Year of Italian Culture 2013' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/coming-to-the-us-the-year-of-italian-culture-2013/2012/10/15/29f404a8-1703-11e2-9855-71f2b202721b_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819103449/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/coming-to-the-us-the-year-of-italian-culture-2013/2012/10/15/29f404a8-1703-11e2-9855-71f2b202721b_story.html |archive-date=19 August 2017 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 March 2007 |title=Italy's 'cultural superpower' status at stake |url=http://m.theaustralian.com.au/arts/italys-cultural-superpower-status-at-stake/story-e6frg8n6-1111113103044 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141226233723/http://m.theaustralian.com.au/arts/italys-cultural-superpower-status-at-stake/story-e6frg8n6-1111113103044 |archive-date=26 December 2014 |work=[[The Australian]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 November 2012 |title="Italy is a Cultural Superpower" |url=http://italoamericano.com/story/2012-11-8/InterviewGeneralConsulSF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127074301/http://italoamericano.com/story/2012-11-8/InterviewGeneralConsulSF#.VJgPzYA1 |archive-date=27 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=LAquilaBlog News | Quotidiano Online della Provincia dell'Aquila |url=http://www.laquilablog.it/obama-litalia-superpotenza-culturale/48727-0409/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226231012/http://www.arabnews.com/italy-cultural-superpower |archive-date=26 December 2014 |access-date=30 July 2025}}</ref> Italian culture is incredibly diverse, spanning the entire [[Italian peninsula]] plus [[Sardinia]] and [[Sicily]]. Italy was the origin of phenomena of international impact including the [[Roman Republic]], [[Ancient Rome|Roman Empire]], the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Maritime republics]], [[Romanesque art]], [[Scholasticism]], the [[Renaissance|Rinascimento]], the [[Age of Discovery]], [[Mannerism]], the [[Scientific Revolution]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cohen |first=I. Bernard |date=1965 |title=Reviewed work: The Scientific Renaissance, 1450–1630, Marie Boas |journal=Isis |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=240–242 |doi=10.1086/349987 |jstor=227945}}</ref> the [[Baroque]], [[Neoclassicism]], [[Fascism]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Peter |title=The Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far Right |last2=Lynch |first2=Derek |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-21494-0 |series=Routledge Companions |pages=1–5}}</ref> and [[European integration]].
Italy became a seat of learning in 1088 with the establishment of the [[University of Bologna]], the first [[university]] and the [[list of oldest universities in continuous operation|oldest in continuous operation]].<ref name="Top Universities">{{Cite web |title=Times Higher Education – QS World University Rankings 2007 – World's oldest universities |url=http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2007/overall_rankings/worlds_oldest_universities/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117202932/http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2007/overall_rankings/worlds_oldest_universities/ |archive-date=17 January 2009 |access-date=6 January 2010 |website=TopUniversities}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Paul L. Gaston |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wyjnHZ1IIlgC&q=the+oldest+university+in+the+world+Bologna&pg=PA18 |title=The Challenge of Bologna |publisher=Stylus |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-57922-366-3 |page=18 |access-date=7 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="Hunt Janin 2008">Hunt Janin: "The university in medieval life, 1179–1499", McFarland, 2008, {{ISBN|0-7864-3462-7}}, p. 55f.</ref><ref name="Ridder-Symoens 1992">de Ridder-Symoens, Hilde: [https://books.google.com/books?id=5Z1VBEbF0HAC ''A History of the University in Europe: Volume 1, Universities in the Middle Ages''], Cambridge University Press, 1992, {{ISBN|0-521-36105-2}}, pp. 47–55</ref> The [[Schola Medica Salernitana]], in southern Italy, the first medical school in Europe, and many other centers of higher education followed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Laura |first=Lynn Windsor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QtZtkf35CF0C&pg=PA202 |title=Women in Medicine: An Encyclopedia |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |year=2002 |isbn=1-57607-392-0 |location=Santa Barbara |page=202 |access-date=12 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624205653/https://books.google.com/books?id=QtZtkf35CF0C&pg=PA202 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The European [[Renaissance]] began in Italy and was powered by leading Italian painters, sculptors, architects, scientists, literature authors, and music composers. Italy continued to influence European cultural throughout the [[Baroque]] period and into the Romantic period, with a strong Italian presence in music. [[File:Archiginnasio ora blu Bologna.jpg|thumb|[[Bologna University]], established in AD 1088, is the [[List of oldest universities in continuous operation|world's oldest university in continuous operation]].]] [[File:Vittoriano Altare della Patria 2013-09-16.jpg|thumb|The [[Victor Emmanuel II Monument]] in Rome, a [[National symbols of Italy|national symbol of Italy]] celebrating the first king of the unified country, and resting place of the [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Italy)|Italian Unknown Soldier]] since the end of World War I. It was inaugurated in 1911, on the occasion of the 50th [[Anniversary of the Unification of Italy]].]]
The country contains several world-famous cities. [[Rome]] was the capital of the ancient Roman Empire, the seat of the Pope of the Catholic Church, and the capital of reunified Italy. [[Florence]] was the heart of the [[Renaissance]].<ref>Zirpolo, Lilian H. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QPqWxHwdMNAC&pg=PA154 ''The A to Z of Renaissance Art.''] Scarecrow Press, 2009. pp. 154–156. Web. 16 July 2012.</ref> [[Turin]], which used to be the capital of Italy, is a center of automobile engineering.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Milan]] is the industrial and financial capital of Italy and one of the world's [[fashion capital]]s.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Venice]]'s intricate canal system attracts tourists from all over the world especially during the [[Venetian Carnival]] and the [[Biennale]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Naples]] has the largest historic city center in Europe and the [[Teatro di San Carlo|world's oldest continuously active public opera house]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} Due to its relatively late national unification and the historical autonomy of the regions that comprise the Italian peninsula, many Italian traditions and customs can be identified by their regions of origin.
== Philosophy == {{Main|Italian philosophy}}
[[File:Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli by Santi di Tito.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Niccolò Machiavelli]], the founder of modern political science and ethics|alt=]]
[[Italian literature]] had a significant influence on Western philosophy, from the ancient Greeks and Romans, to the Rinascimento, to the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], to modern philosophy.
Medieval Italian philosophy was mainly influenced by Christianity. Saint [[Thomas Aquinas]] was a [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] theologian, experimentalist, and professor at the [[University of Paris]] from the Kingdom of Sicily. Aquinas was notable for introducing a framework of [[Aristotelianism|Aristotelian philosophy]] to Christian theology.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}
Major Italian cities like [[Rome]], [[Milan]], [[Venice]], [[Padua]], [[Bologna]] and [[Naples]] – which hosted important universities and an abundance of coffeeshops, which became hubs for intellectual conversation – were centers of scholarship in Enlightenment Europe.<ref name="history-world.org">{{Cite web |title=The Enlightenment throughout Europe |url=http://history-world.org/enlightenment_throughout_europe.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123082708/http://history-world.org/enlightenment_throughout_europe.htm |archive-date=23 January 2013 |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=history-world.org}}</ref> Italy was the home of several important philosophers, such as [[Giambattista Vico]] (who is widely considered the founder of modern Italian philosophy)<ref name="maritain.nd.edu">{{Cite web |title=History of Philosophy 70 |url=http://maritain.nd.edu/jmc/etext/hop70.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525033238/http://maritain.nd.edu/jmc/etext/hop70.htm |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=maritain.nd.edu}}</ref> and [[Antonio Genovesi]];<ref name="history-world.org" /> scientists such as [[Alessandro Volta]] and [[Luigi Galvani]];<ref name="history-world.org" /> [[Cesare Beccaria]] (considered one of the fathers of [[Classical school (criminology)|classical criminal theory]] and modern [[penology]], who penned one of the earliest prominent condemnations of [[torture]] and th e[[death penalty]]).<ref name="history-world.org" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hostettler |first=John |title=Cesare Beccaria: The Genius of 'On Crimes and Punishments' |date=2011 |publisher=Waterside Press |isbn=978-1-904380-63-4 |location=Hampshire |page=160}}</ref> [[File:Idealisti italiani.png|thumb|315px|[[Benedetto Croce]] (''left'') and [[Giovanni Gentile]] (''right''), the two greatest exponents of the [[Italian idealism]]]]
Some of the most prominent philosophies and ideologies of the late 19th and 20th centuries were developed in Italy, including [[anarchism]], [[communism]], [[socialism]], [[futurism]], [[fascism]], and [[Christian democracy]].{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} Some notable Italian philosophers in the era include [[Antonio Rosmini]], the founder of [[Italian idealism]];{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Giovanni Gentile]], an idealist and fascist philosopher;{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} and [[Antonio Gramsci]], an important philosopher within [[Marxist]] and communist theory, credited with creating the theory of [[cultural hegemony]].{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Italian fascism]] was the official philosophy and ideology of the Italian government from the 1920s to the 1940s led by Benito Mussolini.<ref name="Nunzio Pernicone pp. 111-113">Nunzio Pernicone, ''Italian Anarchism 1864–1892'', pp. 111–113, AK Press 2009.</ref>
Early [[Feminism in Italy|Italian feminists]] include [[Sibilla Aleramo]], [[Alaide Gualberta Beccari]], and [[Anna Maria Mozzoni]], although proto-feminist philosophies had previously been explored by earlier Italian writers such as [[Christine de Pizan]], [[Moderata Fonte]], and [[Lucrezia Marinella]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} Italian physician and educator [[Maria Montessori]] is credited with the creation of the [[Montessori education|Montessori philosophy of education]].<ref name="Montessori">{{Cite web |title=Introduction to Montessori Method |url=https://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/Introduction-to-Montessori |publisher=American Montessori Society |access-date=18 November 2022 |archive-date=10 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190210043323/https://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/Introduction-to-Montessori |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Giuseppe Peano]] was one of the founders of [[analytic philosophy]] and contemporary [[philosophy of mathematics]]. Italian analytic philosophers writing in the 21st century include [[Carlo Penco]], [[Gloria Origgi]], [[Pieranna Garavaso]] and [[Luciano Floridi]].<ref name="Garin">{{Cite book |last=Garin |first=Eugenio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sVP3vBmDktQC |title=History of Italian Philosophy |publisher=VIBS |year=2008 |isbn=978-90-420-2321-5}}</ref>
== Literature == {{Main|Italian literature}}
[[File:Dante03.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Dante Alighieri]], whose works helped establish modern [[Italian language]], is considered one of the greatest poets of the [[Middle Ages]]. His epic poem ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' ranks among the finest works of [[world literature]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bloom |first=Harold |author-link=Harold Bloom |url=https://archive.org/details/westerncanonbook00bloorich |title=The Western Canon |publisher=Harcourt Brace |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-15-195747-7 |url-access=registration}} See also [[Western canon]] for other "canons" that include the ''Divine Comedy''.</ref>]]
Formal Latin literature began in 240 BC, when the first stage play was performed in Rome.<ref>Duckworth, George Eckel. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BuLEo5U9sb0C&pg=PA3 ''The nature of Roman comedy: a study in popular entertainment.''] University of Oklahoma Press, 1994. p. 3. Web. 15 October 2011.</ref> The Romans were famous for their poets, dramatists, orators, philosophers, and historians; important figures included [[Pliny the Elder]], [[Pliny the Younger]], [[Virgil]], [[Horace]], [[Propertius]], [[Ovid]], and [[Livy]].<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|LHA_SydyKOYC|page=PA39|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=Poetry and Drama: Literary Terms and Concepts. |date=2011 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-61530-490-5 |access-date=18 October 2011}}</ref>
Saint [[Francis of Assisi]] is widely considered the first Italian poet, with his religious song ''[[Canticle of the Sun]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|3uq0bObScHMC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=The Cambridge History of Italian Literature |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-521-66622-0 |editor-last=Brand |editor-first=Peter |chapter=2 – Poetry. Francis of Assisi (pp. 5ff.) |access-date=31 December 2015 |editor-last2=Pertile |editor-first2=Lino |editor-link2=Lino Pertile |chapter-url={{Google books|3uq0bObScHMC|page=PA5|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610172548/https://books.google.com/books?id=3uq0bObScHMC&printsec=frontcover |archive-date=10 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Notable poets in the [[Middle Ages]] include [[Dante Alighieri]], [[Petrarch]], and [[Giovanni Boccaccio]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
During the [[Renaissance]], humanists such as [[Leonardo Bruni]], [[Coluccio Salutati]] and [[Niccolò Machiavelli]] published important histories and philosophical writings.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} Philosophers during the [[Age of Enlightenment]], such as [[Apostolo Zeno]] and [[Metastasio]], disseminated their ideas across Europe.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Carlo Goldoni]], a Venetian playwright and librettist, created the comedy of character.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} The leading figure of the 18th-century Italian literary revival was [[Giuseppe Parini]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[File:Francesco Hayez - Ritratto di Alessandro Manzoni.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Alessandro Manzoni]] is famous for the novel ''[[The Betrothed]]'' (1827), generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 May 2023 |title=Alessandro Manzoni | Italian author |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alessandro-Manzoni |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=24 April 2023 |archive-date=26 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426125259/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/363364/Alessandro-Manzoni |url-status=live }}</ref> He contributed to the nationwide use of the Italian language.<ref>{{Cite web |title=I Promessi sposi or The Betrothed |url=http://manzoni.classicauthors.net/IPromessiSposiOrTheBetrothed/IPromessiSposiOrTheBetrothed1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718073016/http://manzoni.classicauthors.net/IPromessiSposiOrTheBetrothed/IPromessiSposiOrTheBetrothed1.html |archive-date=18 July 2011}}</ref>]]
[[Giacomo Leopardi]] was an influential poet in the 19th century, known for his radical views.<ref>[https://newrepublic.com/article/115276/giacomo-leopardis-zibaldone-reviewed-adam-kirsch The Least Known Masterpiece of European Literature] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822050017/https://newrepublic.com/article/115276/giacomo-leopardis-zibaldone-reviewed-adam-kirsch |date=22 August 2017 }}, New Republic</ref><ref>[http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/leopardi/projects/index.aspx The Zibaldone project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523011333/http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/leopardi/projects/index.aspx |date=23 May 2015}}, University of Birmingham</ref> Italian novelists include [[Alessandro Manzoni]], author of the historical novel ''[[The Betrothed|I promessi sposi]]'' ("The Betrothed");{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Italo Svevo]], author of ''[[La coscienza di Zeno]]'';{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Luigi Pirandello]], winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature;{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} and [[Federigo Tozzi]] and [[Giuseppe Ungaretti]], pioneers of [[existentialism]] in the European novel.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
Modern literary figures and Nobel laureates include [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]], nationalist poet [[Giosuè Carducci]], realist writer [[Grazia Deledda]], theatre author [[Luigi Pirandello]], short story writer [[Italo Calvino]], poet [[Salvatore Quasimodo]], poet [[Eugenio Montale]], [[Umberto Eco]], and satirist and theatre author [[Dario Fo]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=All Nobel Prizes in Literature |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529091551/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/ |archive-date=29 May 2011 |access-date=30 May 2011 |publisher=Nobelprize.org}}</ref>
== Politics == {{main|Politics of Italy}}
[[File:Sandro Pertini Official.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sandro Pertini]]]]
The [[politics of Italy]] are conducted through a [[parliamentary republic]] with a [[multi-party system]]. [[Italy]] has been a [[democratic republic]] since 2 June 1946, when [[Kingdom of Italy|the monarchy]] was abolished by [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|popular referendum]].<ref name="auto2"/> [[Executive power]] is exercised by the [[Council of Ministers (Italy)|Council of Ministers]], which is led by the [[Prime Minister of Italy|Prime Minister]], officially referred to as "President of the Council" (''Presidente del Consiglio''). [[Legislative power]] is primarily vested in the [[Bicameralism|two houses]] of [[Italian Parliament|Parliament]], but the Council of Ministers can introduce bills and holds the majority in both houses.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} The [[Judiciary of Italy|judiciary]] is [[Judicial independence|independent]] of the executive and the legislative branches. The [[President of Italy|President]] presides over the [[High Council of the Judiciary (Italy)|High Council of the Judiciary]] as the [[head of state]], a position that is separate from all three branches.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
The Presidents of Italy were [[Enrico De Nicola]], [[Luigi Einaudi]], [[Giovanni Gronchi]], [[Antonio Segni]], [[Giuseppe Saragat]], [[Giovanni Leone]], [[Sandro Pertini]], [[Francesco Cossiga]], [[Oscar Luigi Scalfaro]], [[Carlo Azeglio Ciampi]], [[Giorgio Napolitano]] and [[Sergio Mattarella]].
The legal and social status of Italian women has undergone rapid transformations and changes during the past decades. This includes family laws, the enactment of anti-discrimination measures, and reforms to the penal code (in particular with regard to crimes of violence against women).<ref name="europarl.europa.eu">{{Cite web |title=The Policy on Gender Equality in Italy |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2014/493052/IPOL-FEMM_NT%282014%29493052_EN.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924004439/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2014/493052/IPOL-FEMM_NT%282014%29493052_EN.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=24 February 2015}}</ref> After World War II, women were given the right to vote in 1946 Italian institutional referendum. The new Italian Constitution of 1948 affirmed that women had equal rights. It was not however until the 1970s that women in Italy scored some major achievements with the introduction of laws regulating divorce (1970), abortion (1978), and the approval in 1975 of the new family code. Today, women have the same legal rights as men in Italy, and have mainly the same job, business, and education opportunities.<ref name="kwin">{{Cite web |title=Professional Translation Services Agency{{snd}}Kwintessential London |url=http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/article/Italy/Women%E2%80%99s-Rights-in-Italy/314 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114112325/http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/article/Italy/Women%E2%80%99s-Rights-in-Italy/314 |archive-date=14 January 2010 |access-date=13 January 2010}}</ref>
== Law and justice == [[File:Cesare Beccaria.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Cesare Beccaria]]]]
Since the Roman Empire, most western contributions to Western legal culture was the emergence of a class of Roman jurists.{{Clarify|date=September 2025}} During the Middle Ages, [[Thomas Aquinas|Saint Thomas Aquinas]] integrated the theory of natural law with the notion of an eternal and Biblical law.<ref>Code of [[Canon Law]], Can. 252, § 3 [https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__PW.HTM] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219191727/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__PW.HTM|date=19 February 2020}}</ref> During the Renaissance, Professor [[Alberico Gentili]], the founder of the science of [[international law]], authored the first treatise on public international law, and separated secular law from canon law and Catholic theology.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]'s greatest legal theorists, [[Cesare Beccaria]], [[Giambattista Vico]] and [[Francesco Mario Pagano]], are remembered for their legal works, particularly on criminal law.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Francesco Carrara (jurist)|Francesco Carrara]], an advocate of abolition of the death penalty, was one of the foremost European criminal lawyers of the 19th century.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} During the last periods, numerous Italians have been recognised as prominent prosecutor magistrates.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
== Economy == {{main|Economy of Italy}}
[[File:Enzo Ferrari Monza 1967.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Enzo Ferrari]]]]
The [[economy of Italy]] is a [[Developed country|highly developed]] [[social market economy]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Peter A. |author1-link=Peter A. Hall |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EU02HzYJeFsC&q=canada+a+market+economy |title=Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage |last2=Soskice |first2=David |author2-link=David Soskice |date=2001 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-191-64770-3 |page=131}}</ref> It is the third-largest national economy in the [[European Union]], the [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|10th-largest in the world by nominal GDP]], and the [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|12th-largest by GDP (PPP)]]. [[Italy]] is a founding member of the European Union, the [[Eurozone]], the [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]], the [[G7]] and the [[G20]];<ref>{{Cite web |title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2017/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=37&pr.y=12&sy=2015&ey=2022&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=136&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC&grp=0&a= |website=www.imf.org |access-date=28 October 2024 |archive-date=25 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425183840/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2017/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=37&pr.y=12&sy=2015&ey=2022&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=136&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC&grp=0&a= |url-status=live }}</ref> it is the [[List of countries by exports|eighth-largest exporter in the world]], with $611 billion exported in 2021.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} Its closest trade ties are with the other countries of the European Union, with whom it conducts about 59% of its total trade; Italy's [[List of the largest trading partners of Italy|largest trading partners]], in order of market share in exports, are [[Germany]] (12.5%), [[France]] (10.3%), the [[United States]] (9%), [[Spain]] (5.2%), the [[United Kingdom]] (5.2%) and [[Switzerland]] (4.6%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=CIA World Factbook: Italy |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109235252/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 January 2021 |access-date=8 February 2015 |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]}}</ref>
In the post-World War II period, Italy saw a transformation from an agriculture-based economy, which had been severely affected by the consequences of the [[World War]]s, into one of the world's leading countries in [[international trade|world trade and exports]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Select Country or Country Groups |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2017/02/weodata/weoselgr.aspx |website=www.imf.org |access-date=28 October 2024 |archive-date=22 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022143402/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2017/02/weodata/weoselgr.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Italy is the seventh-largest [[manufacturing]] country,<ref name="databank">"[http://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=2&series=NV.IND.MANF.KD&country= Manufacturing, value added (current US$)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010152014/http://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=2&series=NV.IND.MANF.KD&country= |date=10 October 2017 }}". accessed on 17 May 2017.</ref> characterised by many [[small and medium-sized enterprises]], with fewer global multinational corporations than other economies of comparable size. Italy is a large manufacturer<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 2015 |title=Manufacturing statistics |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Manufacturing_statistics_-_NACE_Rev._2 |access-date=8 February 2015 |publisher=[[Eurostat]] |archive-date=3 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603011234/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Manufacturing_statistics_-_NACE_Rev._2 |url-status=live }}</ref> and exporter<ref>{{Cite web |last=Workman |first=Daniel |date=27 December 2018 |title=Italy's Top 10 Exports |url=http://www.worldstopexports.com/italys-top-10-exports/ |website=World's Top Exports |access-date=28 October 2024 |archive-date=21 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421191000/http://www.worldstopexports.com/italys-top-10-exports/ |url-status=live }}</ref> of [[machinery]], [[vehicles]], [[pharmaceuticals]], furniture, food, clothing, and other products.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Workman |first=Daniel |date=2 March 2019 |title=Top Industrial Robots Exporters |url=http://www.worldstopexports.com/top-industrial-robots-exporters/ |website=World's Top Exports |access-date=28 October 2024 |archive-date=4 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504212157/http://www.worldstopexports.com/top-industrial-robots-exporters/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Noteworthy Italian entrepreneurs include [[Alessandro Martini]], [[Luigi Lavazza]], [[Pietro Ferrero]], [[Giovanni Agnelli]], [[Piero Pirelli]], [[Gaspare Campari]], [[Adriano Olivetti]], [[Enzo Ferrari]], [[Ferruccio Lamborghini]], [[Enrico Mattei]], [[Luciano Benetton]], and [[Giovanni Rana]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
== Visual art == {{Main|Italian art}}
[[File:Michelangelo Daniele da Volterra (dettaglio).jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Michelangelo]]]] [[Roman art]] was influenced by [[Ancient Greek art|the art of ancient Greece]], but Roman painting does have unique characteristics. The only surviving Roman paintings are [[Mural|wall paintings]], many from villas in [[Campania]], in Southern Italy. Such paintings can be grouped into four main "styles" or periods<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roman Painting |url=http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/roman/painting.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726163006/http://art-and-archaeology.com/roman/painting.html |archive-date=26 July 2013 |publisher=art-and-archaeology.com}}</ref> and may contain the first examples of [[trompe-l'œil]], pseudo-perspective, and pure landscape.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roman Wall Painting |url=http://www.accd.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/Rome4.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319123717/http://www.accd.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/Rome4.htm |archive-date=19 March 2007 |publisher=accd.edu}}</ref> Panel painting became more common in Italy during the [[Romanesque art|Romanesque]] period, under the heavy influence of Byzantine [[icon]]s.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Medieval art]] and [[Gothic painting]] trended towards realism, with interest in the depiction of volume and perspective, notably by [[Cimabue]] and then his pupil [[Giotto]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[File:Bild-Ottavio Leoni, Caravaggio.jpg|thumb|[[Caravaggio]]|252x252px]]
The [[Italian Renaissance]] is said by many to be the [[Golden Age (metaphor)|golden age]] of painting. In Italy, artists like [[Paolo Uccello]], [[Fra Angelico]], [[Masaccio]], [[Piero della Francesca]], [[Andrea Mantegna]], [[Filippo Lippi]], [[Giorgione]], [[Tintoretto]], [[Sandro Botticelli]], [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Michelangelo]], [[Raphael]], [[Giovanni Bellini]], and [[Titian]] developed refined drawing and painting techniques through the use of [[Perspective (graphical)|perspective]] and the study of [[human anatomy]] and proportion.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Michelangelo]] was active as a sculptor from about 1500 to 1520, producing famous works such as his ''[[David (Michelangelo)|David]]'', ''[[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Pietà]]'', and ''[[Moses (Michelangelo)|Moses]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}'' Other significant Renaissance sculptors include [[Lorenzo Ghiberti]], [[Luca Della Robbia]], [[Donatello]], [[Filippo Brunelleschi]] and [[Andrea del Verrocchio]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[File:Antonio Canova Selfportrait 1792.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Antonio Canova]]]]
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the [[High Renaissance]] gave rise to a stylised art known as [[mannerism]]. In place of the balanced compositions and rational approach to perspective that characterised the early Renaissance, the Mannerists sought instability, artifice, and doubt.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} The unperturbed faces and gestures of [[Piero della Francesca]] and the calm Virgins of Raphael are replaced by the troubled expressions of [[Pontormo]] and the emotional intensity of [[El Greco]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}{{Tone inline|date=September 2025}}
17th century [[Italian Baroque]] painters include [[Caravaggio]], [[Annibale Carracci]], [[Artemisia Gentileschi]], [[Mattia Preti]], [[Carlo Saraceni]] and [[Bartolomeo Manfredi]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} In the 18th century, French Rococo inspired the [[Italian Rococo art|Italian Rococo]] movement, with artists such as [[Giovanni Battista Tiepolo]] and [[Canaletto]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Antonio Canova]]'s Italian Neoclassical sculpture focused on the idealist aspect of the movement.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
Some major Italian [[Romantic painting|Romantic]] painters from the 19th century were [[Francesco Hayez]], [[Giuseppe Bezzuoli]] and [[Francesco Podesti]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Impressionism]] was brought to Italy from France by the ''[[Macchiaioli]]'' movement, led by [[Giovanni Fattori]] and [[Giovanni Boldini]], and [[Realism (arts)|Realism]] style, led by [[Gioacchino Toma]] and [[Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} In the 20th century, Italian art was revolutionized by the [[Futurism]] movement, primarily through the sculptural works of [[Umberto Boccioni]] and [[Giacomo Balla]], and the metaphysical paintings of [[Giorgio de Chirico]], who influenced later [[Surrealists|Surrealist]] artists like [[Bruno Caruso]] and [[Renato Guttuso]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}{{clear}}
== Music == {{Main|Music of Italy}}
{{multiple image | align = left | direction = vertical | width = 160 | footer = History's most successful tenors, [[Enrico Caruso]] (above) and [[Luciano Pavarotti]] (below) | width1 = 220 | image1 = Postcard of Enrico Caruso, ca. 1910.jpg | width2 = Caruso | image2 = Luciano Pavarotti 15.06.02 cropped.jpg | alt2 = Pavarotti }}
[[File:BartolomeoCristofori.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bartolomeo Cristofori]], the inventor of the [[piano]]]]
Several instruments associated with [[classical music]], including the piano and violin, were invented in Italy; and many of the prevailing classical music forms, such as the [[symphony]], concerto, and [[sonata]], can trace their roots back to innovations of 16th- and 17th-century Italian music. [[Italian opera]] was founded in the early 17th century in cities such as [[Mantua]] and [[Venice]], and has been influential on the Western opera tradition.<ref name="books.google.com">{{Cite book |last=Kimbell |first=David R. B |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C37Gq2GagZIC |title=Italian Opera |date=29 April 1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-46643-1 |access-date=20 December 2009}}</ref>
Notable Italians composers include [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina]]; [[Claudio Monteverdi]]; the [[List of Baroque composers|Baroque composers]] [[Alessandro Scarlatti|Scarlatti]], [[Arcangelo Corelli|Corelli]], and [[Antonio Vivaldi|Vivaldi]]; the [[List of Classical era composers|Classical composers]] [[Niccolò Paganini|Paganini]] and [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]]; and the [[List of Romantic-era composers|Romantic composers]] [[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]], [[Donizetti]], [[Verdi]], and [[Puccini]], whose operas, including ''[[La bohème]]'', ''[[Tosca]]'', ''[[Madama Butterfly]]'', and ''[[Turandot]]'', are among the most frequently worldwide performed in the [[List of important operas|standard repertoire]].<ref>{{Cite web |year=2007 |title=Quick Opera Facts 2007 |url=http://www.operaamerica.org/pressroom/quickfacts2006.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001054025/http://www.operaamerica.org/pressroom/quickfacts2006.html |archive-date=1 October 2006 |access-date=23 April 2007 |publisher=OPERA America}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dornic |first=Alain P. |year=1995 |title=An Operatic Survey |url=http://opera.stanford.edu/misc/Dornic_survey.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914030020/http://opera.stanford.edu/misc/Dornic_survey.html |archive-date=14 September 2007 |access-date=23 April 2007 |publisher=Opera Glass}}</ref> In the Post Romantic era, the composer [[Ottorino Respighi]] was also recognized internationally for his symphonic tone poems: ''[[ Pines of Rome]]'', ''[[Fountains of Rome (symphonic poem)| Fountains of Rome]]'' and ''[[Roman Festivals (Respighi)|Roman Festivals]]''.<ref name=TRECCANI2016>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ottorino-respighi_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/|title=Respighi, Ottorino|work=[[Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani]]|volume=87|year=2016|first=Virgilio|last=Bernardoni|language=it|publisher=[[Treccani]]|access-date=19 November 2023}}</ref><ref>[https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_International_Cyclopedia_of_Music_an/aX7UtLXMCJUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ottorino+Respighi&pg=PA1817&printsec=frontcover ''The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians''. Oscar Thompson Ed. Vol. 1, 10th Edition. Dodd, Mean 1975 "Ottlrino Respighi" by Guido M. Gotti p.1818-1821 on Google Books]</ref> Modern Italian composers such as [[Luciano Berio|Berio]], [[Maderna]], and [[Luigi Nono (composer)|Nono]] proved significant in the development of [[experimental music|experimental]] and [[electronic music]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
Starting in the late 19th century, Italians also emerged as notable [[conductor (music)|conductors]] and musical directors of operatic and symphonic orchestras on the international concert hall stage. Included among them were: [[Arturo Toscanini]],<ref>{{cite book | last=Sachs | first=Harvey | title=Toscanini | publisher=Da Capo Press | year=1978 | isbn=0-306-80137-X}}</ref> and [[Victor de Sabata]],<ref name="toscanini_letters">{{cite book|first=Arturo|last=Toscanini|others=Harvey Sachs (trans.)|title=The Letters of Arturo Toscanini|isbn=978-0-226-73340-1|location=New York|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|year=2002|pages=127–128|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-5EQ-CbHcMC&q=%22victor+de+sabata%22&pg=PA127}}</ref>. In the modern era, several others followed their lead including: [[Claudio Abbado]],<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10583860/Claudio-Abbado-obituary.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10583860/Claudio-Abbado-obituary.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Claudio Abbado – obituary |work=Telegraph |date=20 January 2014 |access-date=22 March 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Riccardo Chailly]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Riccardo Chailly (Conductor) |publisher=Bach Cantatas Website |access-date=18 June 2021 |url=https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Chailly-Riccardo.htm }}</ref> [[Carlo Maria Giulini]],<ref name="GUARD">[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/jun/16/guardianobituaries.italy "Carlo Maria Giulini: Italian conductor who brought spiritual intensity to religious works and perfectionism to opera"], ''The Guardian'' (London), 15 June 2005; retrieved 23 February 2014.</ref> [[Fabio Luisi]],<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.nhkso.or.jp/en/news/20230829.html | title=Fabio Luisi, Chief Conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra: Term extended until August 2028 | publisher=NHK Symphony Orchestra | date=29 August 2023 | access-date=2024-01-25}}</ref> [[Riccardo Muti]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Pullinger |first=Mark |date=3 September 2015 |title=Chailly and the Berliner Philharmoniker: the critics' choice for World's Best Conductor and Orchestra |work=[[Bachtrack]] |access-date=6 May 2021 |url=https://bachtrack.com/worlds-best-orchestra-best-conductor-critics-choice-september-2015 }}</ref> and [[Gianandrea Noseda]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=OPER! AWARDS 2023 {{!}} Operavision |url=https://operavision.eu/performance/oper-awards-2023 |access-date=12 April 2023 |website=operavision.eu}}</ref>. Others achieved international acclaim as principal orchestral musicians including [[Ernesto Köhler]],<ref name=Lorenzo> [https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_Complete_Story_of_the_Flute/qdxENVZtDccC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ernesto+Kohler&pg=PA165&printsec=frontcover ''My Complete Story of the Flute''. De Lorenzo, Leonardo. Texas Tech University Press, 1992 p. 161-166 ISBN 9780896722774 Biography of Ernesto Kohler on Google Books]</ref> [[Leonardo De Lorenzo]].<ref>[https://digitalscores.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/leonardo-de-lorenzo-1875-1962/ ''Sibley Digital Scores - Sibley Music Library - Eastman School of Music - University of Rochester'' Biography of Leonardo De Lorenzo on digitalscores.wordpress.com]</ref><ref>[https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/mastertalent/detail/103642/De_Lorenzo_Leonardo Leonardo De Lorenzo on DAHR]</ref> [[Jazz]] found a particularly strong foothold among Italians in the 1920s and remained popular despite the xenophobic cultural policies of the Fascist regime.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} Later, Italy embraced the [[progressive rock]] movement of the 1970s, with bands like [[Premiata Forneria Marconi|PFM]] and [[Goblin (band)|Goblin]], as well as [[disco]] and [[electronic music]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Italo disco]], characterised by a futuristic sound and prominent usage of synthesizers and [[drum machine]]s, was one of the earliest electronic dance genres and influenced [[Euro disco]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Giorgio Moroder]], three-time [[Academy Award]] winner, was highly influential in the development of [[Electronic dance music|EDM]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} Italian [[traditional pop|pop music]] is represented annually with the [[Sanremo Music Festival]], which served as inspiration for the [[Eurovision]] song contest, and the [[Festival of Two Worlds]] in [[Spoleto]]. Singers such as pop [[diva]] [[Mina (Italian singer)|Mina]], classical crossover artist [[Andrea Bocelli]], [[Grammy]] winner [[Laura Pausini]], and European chart-topper [[Eros Ramazzotti]] have attained international acclaim.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
== Theatre and dance == {{main|Theatre of Italy}}
[[File:Alessandro Longhi - Ritratto di Carlo Goldoni (c 1757) Ca Goldoni Venezia.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Carlo Goldoni]]]]
The traditions of [[Italian theatre]] have their origins in the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] colonies of [[Magna Graecia]] in [[Southern Italy]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Storia del Teatro nelle città d'Italia |url=https://www.melogranoarte.it/storia-del-teatro-nelle-citta-ditalia/ |access-date=27 July 2022 |language=it |archive-date=26 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026104502/https://www.melogranoarte.it/storia-del-teatro-nelle-citta-ditalia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the theatre of the [[Italic peoples]] and [[theatre of ancient Rome|ancient Rome]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Storia del teatro: lo spazio scenico in Toscana |url=https://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/itinerari/itinerario/storiateatrospazioscenicotoscana.html |access-date=28 July 2022 |language=it |archive-date=28 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728143455/https://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/itinerari/itinerario/storiateatrospazioscenicotoscana.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[Middle Ages]], Italian theatre was expansive, comprising the dramatization of Catholic liturgies, the court performances of jesters, the songs of [[troubadour]]s, and public city festivals.<ref>Of this second root [[Dario Fo]] he speaks of a true alternative culture to the official one: although widespread as an idea, some scholars such as {{ill|Giovanni Antonucci|it}} do not agree in considering it as such. In this regard, see {{Cite book |last=Antonucci |first=Giovanni |title=Storia del teatro italiano |publisher=Newton Compton Editori |year=1995 |isbn=978-88-7983-974-7 |pages=10–14 |language=it}}</ref> [[Renaissance]] theatre was marked by a resurgence of the classics; ancient theatrical texts were re-discovered, translated from Latin to Italian, and performed. The cities of [[Ferrara]] and [[Rome]] played a prominent role in the rediscovery and renewal of theatrical art in the fifteenth century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Antonucci |first=Giovanni |title=Storia del teatro italiano |publisher=Newton Compton Editori |year=1995 |isbn=978-88-7983-974-7 |page=18 |language=it}}</ref> [[File:Dario.fo.writer.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Dario Fo]], one of the most widely performed playwrights in modern theatre, received international acclaim for his highly [[Improvisational theatre|improvisational]] style.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Tony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jrdMAgAAQBAJ |title=Dario Fo: People's Court Jester (Updated and Expanded) |publisher=[[Methuen Publishing|Methuen]] |year=1999 |isbn=0-413-73320-3 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Scuderi |first=Antonio |title=Dario Fo: Framing, Festival, and the Folkloric Imagination |publisher=Lanham (Md.): Lexington Books |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7391-5111-2}}</ref> He was awarded the [[Nobel Prize for Literature]] in 1997.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1997 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1997/summary/ |access-date=12 July 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org |archive-date=2 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702122523/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1997/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
From the 16th to 18th century, ''[[commedia dell'arte]]'' was a popular form of [[improvisational theatre]].<ref name=":0" /> Traveling troupes of players would set up an outdoor stage and provide entertainment in the form of [[juggling]], [[acrobatics]], and humorous plays called ''[[canovaccio]].<ref name=":0" />'' Actors improvised the performance from loose scenarios called [[lazzi]], that provided the basic situation and plot. Actors relied on a repertoire of [[stock character]]s, such as foolish old men, devious servants, or military officers full of false [[bravery|bravado]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Chaffee |first1=Judith |title=The Routledge Companion to Commedia Dell'Arte |last2=Crick |first2=Olly |publisher=Rutledge Taylor and Francis Group |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-415-74506-2 |location=London and New York |page=1}}</ref>
Noteworthy Italian theater actors and playwrights are [[Jacopone da Todi]], [[Angelo Beolco]], [[Isabella Andreini]], [[Carlo Goldoni]], [[Eduardo Scarpetta]], [[Ettore Petrolini]] [[Eleonora Duse]], [[Eduardo De Filippo]], [[Carmelo Bene]] and [[Giorgio Strehler]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
The [[ballet]] dance genre also originated in Italy. It began during the Italian Renaissance as a form of entertainment at court weddings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2004 |title=The Ballet |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/balt/hd_balt.htm |website=metmuseum.org |access-date=13 December 2022 |archive-date=9 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209161716/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/balt/hd_balt.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Andros on Ballet – Catherine Medici De |url=http://www.michaelminn.net/andros/index.php?de_medici_catherine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209205503/http://www.michaelminn.net/andros/index.php?de_medici_catherine |archive-date=9 February 2008 |website=michaelminn.net}}</ref> At first, ballets were woven into the midst of an opera, providing the audience a moment of relief from the opera's dramatic intensity. By the 17th century, Italian ballets were performed in their entirety in between the acts of an opera, and had become a popular dance form in their own right by the 1800s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kuzmick Hansell |first=Kathleen |title=Opera and Ballet at the Regio Ducal Teatro of Milan, 1771–1776: A Musical and Social History |publisher=University of California |year=1980 |volume=I |page=200}}{{No ISBN}}</ref>{{clear}}
== Cinema == {{Main|Cinema of Italy|List of Italian film directors|List of Italian actors}}
[[File:Federico Fellini NYWTS 2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Federico Fellini]], considered one of the most influential and widely revered [[Filmmaking|filmmakers]] in the history of cinema<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 January 2022 |title=Federico Fellini, i 10 migliori film per conoscere il grande regista |url=https://libreriamo.it/intrattenimento/federico-fellini-i-10-film-regista/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220910184139/https://libreriamo.it/intrattenimento/federico-fellini-i-10-film-regista/ |archive-date=10 September 2022 |access-date=10 September 2022 |language=it}}</ref>]] The history of [[Cinema of Italy|Italian cinema]] began in the late 1800s, a few months after the [[Auguste and Louis Lumière|Lumière brothers]] started motion picture exhibitions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bondanella |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HgOl4LWswLQC&q=Divine+comedy%2C+first+art+film&pg=PA6 |title=A History of Italian Cinema |publisher=A&C Black |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4411-6069-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Luzzi |first=Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4LT1CwAAQBAJ&q=Italy+art+film |title=A Cinema of Poetry: Aesthetics of the Italian Art Film |date=30 March 2016 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-1-4214-1984-8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=L'œuvre cinématographique des frères Lumière - Pays: Italie |url=https://catalogue-lumiere.com/pays/italie/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320195614/https://catalogue-lumiere.com/pays/italie/ |archive-date=20 March 2018 |access-date=1 January 2022 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Il Cinema Ritrovato – Italia 1896 – Grand Tour Italiano |url=https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/proiezione/italy-1896-in-honor-of-aldo-bernardini/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321124127/https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/proiezione/italy-1896-in-honor-of-aldo-bernardini/ |archive-date=21 March 2018 |access-date=1 January 2022 |language=it}}</ref> The first Italian director was [[Vittorio Calcina]], a collaborator of the Lumières, who filmed [[Pope Leo XIII]] in 1896.<ref>{{Cite web |title=26 febbraio 1896 – Papa Leone XIII filmato Fratelli Lumière |url=https://archivio.quirinale.it/aspr/gianni-bisiach/AV-002-000398/26-febbraio-1896-papa-leone-xiii-filmato-fratelli-lumiere |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101141704/https://archivio.quirinale.it/aspr/gianni-bisiach/AV-002-000398/26-febbraio-1896-papa-leone-xiii-filmato-fratelli-lumiere |archive-date=1 January 2022 |access-date=1 January 2022 |language=it}}</ref> In the 1910s the Italian film industry developed rapidly.<ref name="treccani-cinematografia">{{Citation |title=Cinematografia |volume=III |page=226 |year=1970 |publisher=[[Treccani]] |language=it |encyclopedia=Dizionario enciclopedico italiano}}</ref> ''[[Cabiria]]'', a 1914 Italian [[epic film]] directed by [[Giovanni Pastrone]], is considered the most famous Italian [[silent film]].<ref name="treccani-cinematografia" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Andrea Fioravanti |title=La "storia" senza storia. Racconti del passato tra letteratura, cinema e televisione |publisher=Morlacchi Editore |year=2006 |isbn=978-88-6074-066-3 |page=121 |language=it}}</ref> It was also the first film in history to be shown in the [[White House]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robert K. Klepper |title=Silent Films, 1877-1996: A Critical Guide to 646 Movies |publisher=McFarland |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7864-0595-4 |page=78}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Patrick Robertson |title=Guinness Book of Movie Facts and Feats |publisher=Abbeville Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-1-55859-236-0 |page=217}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=John Alberti |title=Screen Ages: A Survey of American Cinema |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-65028-7 |page=45}}</ref> The oldest European [[avant-garde]] cinema movement, [[Italian Futurism (cinema)|Italian futurism]], took place in the late 1910s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 September 2017 |title=Il cinema delle avanguardie |url=https://www.brevestoriadelcinema.org/04-4-il-cinema-delle-avanguardie/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113130520/https://www.brevestoriadelcinema.org/04-4-il-cinema-delle-avanguardie/ |archive-date=13 November 2022 |access-date=13 November 2022 |language=it}}</ref> After a period of decline in the 1920s, the Italian film industry was revitalized in the 1930s with the arrival of [[sound film]]. Popular Italian genres during this period were the [[Telefoni Bianchi]], consisting of comedies with glamorous backgrounds,<ref name="katz">{{Citation |last=Ephraim Katz |title=Italy |pages=682–685 |year=2001 |publisher=HarperResource |encyclopedia=The Film Encyclopedia}}</ref> and [[Calligrafismo]], with its [[Imitation (art)|artistic]], highly [[Formalism (art)|formalistic]], and [[Expressionism|expressive]] styling.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brunetta |first=Gian Piero |title=Storia del cinema mondiale |publisher=Einaudi |year=2002 |isbn=978-88-06-14528-6 |volume=III |pages=357–359 |language=it}}</ref>
{{multiple image | align = right | total_width = 320 | image1 = S Kragujevic, Vittorio De Sica, 1959.JPG | alt1 = | caption1 = [[Vittorio De Sica]], one of the world's most acclaimed and influential filmmakers of all time<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 July 2020 |title=Vittorio De Sica: l'eclettico regista capace di fotografare la vera Italia |url=https://shockwavemagazine.it/cinema-serietv/vittorio-de-sica-regista-attore/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114152021/https://shockwavemagazine.it/cinema-serietv/vittorio-de-sica-regista-attore/ |archive-date=14 January 2022 |access-date=14 January 2022 |language=it}}</ref> | image2 = Sergio Leone 1975.jpg | alt2 = | caption2 = [[Sergio Leone]], widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cinema<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=19 April 1996 |title=The 50 Greatest Directors and Their 100 Best Movies |url=http://ew.com/article/1996/04/19/50-greatest-directors-and-their-100-best-movies/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607165813/https://ew.com/article/1996/04/19/50-greatest-directors-and-their-100-best-movies/ |archive-date=7 June 2019 |access-date=7 June 2019 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Greatest Film Directors |url=https://www.filmsite.org/directors.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905115334/https://www.filmsite.org/directors.html |archive-date=5 September 2019 |access-date=7 June 2019 |website=[[Filmsite.org]]}}</ref> }}
Italian film was widely renowned after the end of [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=STORIA 'POCONORMALE' DEL CINEMA: ITALIA ANNI '80, IL DECLINO |url=https://www.mymovies.it/cinemanews/2009/16629/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101145950/https://www.mymovies.it/cinemanews/2009/16629/ |archive-date=1 January 2022 |access-date=1 January 2022 |language=it}}</ref> [[List of film directors from Italy|Notable Italian film directors]] from this period include [[Vittorio De Sica]], [[Federico Fellini]], [[Sergio Leone]], [[Pier Paolo Pasolini]], [[Luchino Visconti]], [[Michelangelo Antonioni]], [[Duccio Tessari|Dussio Tessari]], and [[Roberto Rossellini]]; some of these are recognised among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=The Bicycle Thief / Bicycle Thieves (1949) |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990319/REVIEWS08/903190306/1023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227023704/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19990319%2FREVIEWS08%2F903190306%2F1023 |archive-date=27 February 2009 |access-date=8 September 2011 |work=Chicago Sun-Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=7 July 2002 |title=The 25 Most Influential Directors of All Time |url=http://www.moviemaker.com/archives/moviemaking/directing/articles-directing/the-25-most-influential-directors-of-all-time-3358/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211230213/http://www.moviemaker.com/archives/moviemaking/directing/articles-directing/the-25-most-influential-directors-of-all-time-3358 |archive-date=11 December 2015 |access-date=21 February 2017 |website=MovieMaker Magazine}}</ref> Movies include world cinema treasures such as ''[[Bicycle Thieves]]''; ''[[La dolce vita]]''; ''[[8½]]''; ''[[The Good, the Bad and the Ugly]]''; and ''[[Once Upon a Time in the West]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italian Neorealism – Explore – The Criterion Collection |url=https://www.criterion.com/explore/6-italian-neorealism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918102158/http://www.criterion.com/explore/6-italian-neorealism |archive-date=18 September 2011 |access-date=7 September 2011 |publisher=Criterion.com}}</ref> Actresses such as [[Sophia Loren]], [[Giulietta Masina]], and [[Gina Lollobrigida]] were popular during this period.<ref name="katz" /> A number of film genres were popularized by Italians during the 20th century, including [[Peplum film genre|Peplum]], [[Macaroni Combat]], [[Musicarello]], [[Poliziotteschi]], [[Commedia sexy all'italiana]], [[Giallo]]s, and the [[Spaghetti Western]].<ref name="Aulenti">{{Cite book |last=Lino Aulenti |title=Storia del cinema italiano |publisher=libreriauniversitaria, 2011 |year=2011 |isbn=978-88-6292-108-4}}</ref> Since the decline of Italian cinema in the 1980s, contemporary directors such as [[Ermanno Olmi]], [[Bernardo Bertolucci]], [[Giuseppe Tornatore]], [[Gabriele Salvatores]], [[Roberto Benigni]], [[Matteo Garrone]], [[Paolo Sorrentino]] and [[Luca Guadagnino]] brought critical acclaim back to Italian cinema.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
The [[Venice International Film Festival]], held annually since 1932, is the oldest film festival in the world and one of the "[[Film festival#Notable festivals|Big Three]]" alongside [[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]] and [[Berlin International Film Festival|Berlin]].<ref name="VeniceFilmFest">{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Ariston |date=24 July 2014 |title=Venice: David Gordon Green's 'Manglehorn,' Abel Ferrara's 'Pasolini' in Competition Lineup |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/venice-film-festival-unveils-lineup-720770 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160218220740/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/venice-film-festival-unveils-lineup-720770 |archive-date=18 February 2016 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Addio, Lido: Last Postcards from the Venice Film Festival |url=https://time.com/3291348/addio-lido-last-postcards-from-the-venice-film-festival/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920162423/http://time.com/3291348/addio-lido-last-postcards-from-the-venice-film-festival/ |archive-date=20 September 2014 |magazine=Time}}</ref> Italy is the most awarded country at the [[Academy Award]]s for [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]], with 14 awards won, 3 [[Academy Honorary Award|Special Awards]] and 28 [[List of Italian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|nominations]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 October 2021 |title=Oscar 2022: Paolo Sorrentino e gli altri candidati come miglior film internazionale |url=https://www.sorrisi.com/cinema/migliori-film/oscar-2022-paolo-sorrentino-e-gli-altri-candidati-come-miglior-film-internazionale/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101154154/https://www.sorrisi.com/cinema/migliori-film/oscar-2022-paolo-sorrentino-e-gli-altri-candidati-come-miglior-film-internazionale/ |archive-date=1 January 2022 |access-date=1 January 2022 |language=it}}</ref> {{as of|2016}}, Italian films have won 12 [[Palme d'Or|Palmes d'Or]] (the second-most of any country),<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 May 2014 |title=10 film italiani che hanno fatto la storia del Festival di Cannes |url=https://www.nanopress.it/articolo/10-film-italiani-che-hanno-fatto-la-storia-del-festival-di-cannes/67505/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101154154/https://www.nanopress.it/articolo/10-film-italiani-che-hanno-fatto-la-storia-del-festival-di-cannes/67505/ |archive-date=1 January 2022 |access-date=1 January 2022 |language=it}}</ref> 11 [[Golden Lion]]s<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 August 2018 |title=I film italiani vincitori del Leone d'Oro al Festival di Venezia |url=https://www.supereva.it/i-film-italiani-vincitori-del-leone-doro-al-festival-di-venezia-51756 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101154151/https://www.supereva.it/i-film-italiani-vincitori-del-leone-doro-al-festival-di-venezia-51756 |archive-date=1 January 2022 |access-date=1 January 2022 |language=it}}</ref> and 7 [[Golden Bear]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Film italiani vincitori Orso d'Oro di Berlino |url=https://popcorntv.it/guide/film-italiani-vincitori-orso-doro-di-berlino/32626 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101154200/https://popcorntv.it/guide/film-italiani-vincitori-orso-doro-di-berlino/32626 |archive-date=1 January 2022 |access-date=1 January 2022 |language=it}}</ref>
== Science and technology == {{Main|Science and technology in Italy|List of Italian inventions}}
[[File:Justus Sustermans - Portrait of Galileo Galilei, 1636.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Galileo Galilei]], considered the "father" of [[observational astronomy]],<ref name="Clarendon">{{Cite book |last=Singer |first=C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPIgAAAAMAAJ |title=A Short History of Science to the Nineteenth Century |date=1941 |publisher=Clarendon Press |page=217}}</ref> modern physics,<ref name="Whitehouse">{{Cite book |last=Whitehouse |first=D. |url=https://archive.org/details/renaissancegeniu0000whit |title=Renaissance Genius: Galileo Galilei & His Legacy to Modern Science |date=2009 |publisher=Sterling Publishing |isbn=978-1-4027-6977-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/renaissancegeniu0000whit/page/219 219]}}</ref> the [[scientific method]],<ref name="Hobbes">''Thomas Hobbes: Critical Assessments'', Volume 1. Preston King. 1993. p. 59</ref> and [[modern science]]<ref name="Disraeli">{{Cite book |last=Disraeli |first=I. |title=Curiosities of Literature |date=1835 |publisher=W. Pearson & Company |page=371}}</ref>]]
Italians have contributed countless inventions and discoveries to various scientific fields. During the [[Renaissance]], Italian polymaths such as [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Michelangelo]], and [[Leon Battista Alberti]] made important contributions to including biology, architecture, and engineering.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Galileo Galilei]], a physicist, mathematician, and astronomer, played a major role in the [[Scientific Revolution]]. His achievements include the invention of the thermometer and improvements to the [[telescope]], which led to key astronomical observations and ultimately the triumph of [[Nicolaus Copernicus|Copernicanism]] over the [[Ptolemaic model]]. Other astronomers such as [[Giovanni Domenico Cassini]] and [[Giovanni Schiaparelli]] made many important discoveries about the [[Solar System]].
Prominent Italian biologists include: * [[Francesco Redi]], who was the first to challenge the theory of [[spontaneous generation]] by demonstrating that maggots come from eggs of flies;{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Marcello Malpighi]], who founded [[microscopic anatomy]];{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Lazzaro Spallanzani]], who conducted important research in bodily functions, animal reproduction, and cellular theory;{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Camillo Golgi]], who discovered the [[Golgi complex]] named after him and advanced understanding of the [[neuron doctrine]];{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Rita Levi-Montalcini]], who discovered the [[nerve growth factor]];{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Angelo Ruffini]], who first described the [[Ruffini endings]] and was known for his work in [[histology]] and [[embryology]];{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Filippo Pacini]], who discovered the [[Pacinian corpuscles]] and was the first to isolate the [[cholera]] bacillus ''[[Vibrio cholerae]]'' in 1854, before [[Robert Koch]]'s more widely accepted discoveries 30 years later.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[File:Enrico Fermi 1943-49.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Enrico Fermi]], builder of [[Chicago Pile-1|the first nuclear reactor]]]]
Prominent Italian scientists, engineers, and inventors include: * [[Amedeo Avogadro]], who was noted for his contributions to [[molecular theory]], in particular [[Avogadro's law]] and the [[Avogadro constant]];{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Evangelista Torricelli]], who invented the [[barometer]];{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Alessandro Volta]], who invented the [[electric battery]];{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Guglielmo Marconi]], who invented [[radio]];<ref name="Hong">{{Cite book |last=Hong |first=Sungook |url=https://monoskop.org/images/f/f4/Hong_Sungook_Wireless_From_Marconis_Black-Box_to_the_Audion.pdf |title=Wireless: From Marconi's Black-Box to the Audion |publisher=MIT Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-262-08298-5 |location=Cambridge, Mass. |page=1 |ref=Hong}}</ref> * [[Antonio Meucci]], who developed a voice-communication apparatus, often considered the inventor of the first [[telephone]] before even [[Alexander Graham Bell]]),<ref name="guardian.co.uk">{{Cite news |last=Carroll |first=Rory |date=17 June 2002 |title=Bell did not invent telephone, US rules |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jun/17/humanities.internationaleducationnews |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202074757/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jun/17/humanities.internationaleducationnews |archive-date=2 December 2016 |access-date=17 December 2016 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London, UK}}</ref><ref>Several Italian encyclopaedias claim Meucci as the inventor of the telephone, including: – the "Treccani" [http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ricerca/meucci] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811062529/http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ricerca/meucci/|date=11 August 2017}} – the Italian version of Microsoft digital encyclopaedia, Encarta. – ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti'' (''Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Literature and Arts'').</ref> * [[Galileo Ferraris]], who invented the first [[induction motor]] and pioneered the AC power system;{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Eugenio Barsanti]] and [[Felice Matteucci]], who invented the [[internal combustion engine]] in 1853.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
In chemistry, [[Giulio Natta]], the inventor of the first catalyst for the production of isotactic propylene, received the 1963 Nobel prize for Chemistry along with [[Karl Ziegler]], for their work on high [[polymers]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Giulio Natta |encyclopedia=[[Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giulio-Natta |access-date=11 February 2026 |author=<!-- not stated -->}}</ref>
In physics, [[Enrico Fermi]], a Nobel prize laureate, co-developed [[quantum mechanics|quantum theory]] and led the team in Chicago that built the [[Chicago Pile-1|first nuclear reactor]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Enrico Fermi |encyclopedia=[[Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Enrico-Fermi |access-date=11 February 2026 |author=<!-- not stated -->}}</ref> A number of Italian physicists were forced to leave Italy in the 1930s by [[Italian Racial Laws|Fascist laws against Jews]], including Fermi, [[Emilio G. Segrè]] (who discovered the elements [[technetium]] and [[astatine]], and the [[antiproton]]),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Orlando |first=Lucia |year=1998 |title=Physics in the 1930s: Jewish Physicists' Contribution to the Realization of the "New Tasks" of Physics in Italy |journal=Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=141–181 |doi=10.2307/27757806 |jstor=27757806}}</ref> and [[Bruno Rossi]] (a pioneer in cosmic rays and X-ray astronomy).{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} Other notable Italian physicists include: * [[Ettore Majorana]], who theorized the [[Majorana fermion]]s;<ref>{{cite web |last=Service |first=Robert |date=12 April 2012 |title=Physicists Discover New Type of Particle—Sort Of |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/physicists-discover-new-type-particle-sort |access-date=11 February 2026 |website=[[Science (journal)]]}}</ref> * [[Giuseppe Occhialini]], who received the [[Wolf Prize in Physics]] for the discovery of the [[pion]] or pi-[[meson]] decay in 1947;{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Carlo Rubbia]], who received the 1984 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] for work leading to the discovery of the [[W and Z particles]] at [[CERN]];<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Carlo Rubbia |encyclopedia=[[Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carlo-Rubbia |access-date=11 February 2026 |author=<!-- not stated -->}}</ref> * [[Giorgio Parisi]], who received the 2021 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] for his work on [[spin glass]]es.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Giorgio Parisi |encyclopedia=[[Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giorgio-Parisi |access-date=11 February 2026 |author=<!-- not stated -->}}</ref>
== Mathematics == {{Main|List of Italian mathematicians}}
[[File:Cardano.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Gerolamo Cardano]], one of the key figures in the foundation of [[probability]] and the earliest introducer of the [[binomial coefficients]] and the [[binomial theorem]] in the Western world]] During the [[Middle Ages]], [[Leonardo Fibonacci]] introduced the [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system]] to the [[Western world]] and invented the [[Fibonacci sequence]].<ref>[[Howard Eves|Eves, Howard]]. ''An Introduction to the History of Mathematics''. Brooks Cole, 1990: {{ISBN|0-03-029558-0}} (6th ed.), p. 261.</ref> [[Gerolamo Cardano]] established the foundation of [[probability]] and introduced the [[binomial coefficients]] and the [[binomial theorem]]; he also invented several mechanical devices.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} During the Renaissance, [[Luca Pacioli]] introduced [[accounting]] to the world, publishing the first work on [[double-entry bookkeeping system]]. [[Galileo Galilei]] made several significant advances in mathematics.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Bonaventura Cavalieri]]'s works partially anticipated [[integral calculus]] and popularized [[logarithms]] in Italy.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
[[Jacopo Riccati]] invented the [[Riccati equation]]. [[Maria Gaetana Agnesi]], the first woman to write a mathematics handbook, become the first woman mathematics professor at a university.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Gian Francesco Malfatti]] posed a famous geometry problem, the solution to which is now known as [[Malfatti circles]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Paolo Ruffini (mathematician)|Paolo Ruffini]] is credited for his innovative work in mathematics, creating [[Ruffini's rule]] and co-creating the [[Abel–Ruffini theorem]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Joseph-Louis Lagrange]], who was one of the most influential mathematicians of his time, made essential contributions to [[analysis]], [[number theory]], and both [[classical mechanics|classical]] and [[celestial mechanics]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
[[Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro]] invented [[tensor calculus]] and [[absolute differential calculus]], which were popularized in a work he co-wrote with [[Tullio Levi-Civita]], and used in the development of the [[theory of relativity]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} Ricci-Curbastro also wrote meaningful works on algebra, infinitesimal analysis, and papers on the theory of [[real number]]s.<ref>{{Citation |last=Ricci-Curbastro |first=Gregorio |title=Lezioni di Analisi algebrica ed infinitesimale |year=1918 |edition=1926 |publisher=Padova: Tip. Universitaria}}</ref> [[Giuseppe Peano]], was a founder of [[mathematical logic]] and [[set theory]]; alongside [[John Venn]], he drew the first [[Venn diagram]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Beniamino Segre]] is one of the major contributors to [[algebraic geometry]] and one of the founders of [[finite geometry]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Ennio De Giorgi]], a [[Wolf Prize in Mathematics]] recipient in 1990, solved [[Bernstein's problem]] about [[minimal surface]]s and the [[Hilbert's nineteenth problem|19th Hilbert problem]] on the regularity of solutions of [[elliptic partial differential equations]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}+
== Nobel Prizes == [[File:Ernesto Teodoro Moneta.jpg|thumb|[[Ernesto Teodoro Moneta]] was awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1907. He adopted the motto ''In varietate unitas!'' which later inspired [[Motto of the European Union]].]] [[File:Luigi Pirandello 1932.jpg|thumb|[[Luigi Pirandello]]. He was awarded the 1934 [[Nobel Prize in Literature]]. Pirandello's [[tragedy|tragic]] [[farce]]s are often seen as forerunners of the [[Theatre of the Absurd]].]] [[File:Guglielmo Marconi.jpg|thumb|[[Guglielmo Marconi]], inventor and [[electrical engineering|electrical engineer]], known for his creation of a practical [[radio wave]]-based [[Wireless telegraphy|wireless telegraph]] system.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bondyopadhyay |first=Prebir K. |title=25th European Microwave Conference, 1995 |year=1995 |page=879 |chapter=Guglielmo Marconi – The father of long distance radio communication – An engineer's tribute |doi=10.1109/EUMA.1995.337090 |s2cid=6928472}}</ref> This led to Marconi being credited as the [[inventor of radio]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hong |first=Sungook |url=https://monoskop.org/images/f/f4/Hong_Sungook_Wireless_From_Marconis_Black-Box_to_the_Audion.pdf |title=Wireless: From Marconi's Black-Box to the Audion |publisher=MIT Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-262-08298-5 |location=Cambridge, Mass. |page=1 |ref=Hong |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090610/http://monoskop.org/images/f/f4/Hong_Sungook_Wireless_From_Marconis_Black-Box_to_the_Audion.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> and he won the 1909 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] "in recognition of their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy".<ref name="NPbio">"[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1909/marconi-bio.html Guglielmo Marconi: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1909] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225193915/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1909/marconi-bio.html |date=2011-02-25 }}". nobelprize.org</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bondyopadhyay |first=P.K. |year=1998 |title=Sir J.C. Bose diode detector received Marconi's first transatlantic wireless signal of December 1901 (the 'Italian Navy Coherer' Scandal Revisited) |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1232181 |journal=Proceedings of the IEEE |volume=86 |page=259 |doi=10.1109/5.658778}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite news |last=Roy |first=Amit |date=8 December 2008 |title=Cambridge 'pioneer' honour for Bose |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081208/jsp/nation/story_10221833.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123050302/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081208/jsp/nation/story_10221833.jsp |archive-date=23 January 2009 |access-date=10 June 2010 |work=The Telegraph |location=[[Kolkota]]}}</ref>]]
{| class="wikitable" ! Year !! Winner !! Branch !! Contribution |- | 1906 | [[Giosuè Carducci]] | Literature | "Not only in consideration of his deep learning and critical research, but above all as a tribute to the creative energy, freshness of style, and lyrical force which characterize his poetic masterpieces".<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1906 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1906/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702122502/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1906/index.html |archive-date=2 July 2018 |access-date=12 July 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1906 | [[Camillo Golgi]] | Medicine | "In recognition of his work on the structure of the nervous system".<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1906 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1906/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708192527/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1906/index.html |archive-date=8 July 2018 |access-date=22 December 2017 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1907 | {{nowrap|[[Ernesto Teodoro Moneta]]}} | Peace | "For his work in the press and in peace meetings, both public and private, for an understanding between France and Italy".<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Peace Prize 1907 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1907/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522013018/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1907/summary/ |archive-date=22 May 2020 |access-date=17 September 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1909 | [[Guglielmo Marconi]] | Physics | "In recognition of his contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy".<ref name="NPbio"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bondyopadhyay |first=P.K. |year=1998 |title=Sir J.C. Bose diode detector received Marconi's first transatlantic wireless signal of December 1901 (the 'Italian Navy Coherer' Scandal Revisited) |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1232181 |url-status=live |journal=Proceedings of the IEEE |volume=86 |page=259 |doi=10.1109/5.658778 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408051453/https://zenodo.org/record/1232181 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |access-date=10 August 2025}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/> |- | 1926 | [[Grazia Deledda]] | Literature | "For her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1926 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1926/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305064115/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1926/ |archive-date=5 March 2018 |access-date=12 July 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1934 | [[Luigi Pirandello]] | Literature | "For his bold and ingenious revival of dramatic and scenic art."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1934 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1934/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702151028/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1934/index.html |archive-date=2 July 2018 |access-date=12 July 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1938 | [[Enrico Fermi]] | Physics | "For his demonstrations of the existence of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, and for his related discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1938 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1938/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522211252/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1938/summary/ |archive-date=22 May 2020 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1957 | [[Daniel Bovet]] | Medicine | "For his discoveries relating to synthetic compounds that inhibit the action of certain body substances, and especially their action on the vascular system and the skeletal muscles."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1957 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1957/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523072234/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1957/summary/ |archive-date=23 May 2020 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1959 | {{nowrap|[[Salvatore Quasimodo]]}} | Literature | "For his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own times."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1959 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1959/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702150849/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1959/index.html |archive-date=2 July 2018 |access-date=12 July 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1959 | [[Emilio Gino Segrè]] | Physics | "For his discovery of the anti-proton."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1959 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1959/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522211428/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1959/summary/ |archive-date=22 May 2020 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1963 | [[Giulio Natta]] | Chemistry | "For his discoveries in the field of the chemistry and technology of high polymers."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1963 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1963/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521194455/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1963/summary/ |archive-date=21 May 2020 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1969 | [[Salvatore Luria]] | Medicine | "For his discoveries concerning the replication mechanism and the genetic structure of viruses."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1969 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1969/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523075948/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1969/summary/ |archive-date=23 May 2020 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1975 | [[Renato Dulbecco]] | Medicine | "For his discoveries concerning the interaction between tumour viruses and the genetic material of the cell."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1975 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1975/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523072409/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1975/summary/ |archive-date=23 May 2020 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1975 | [[Eugenio Montale]] | Literature | "For his distinctive poetry which, with great artistic sensitivity, has interpreted human values under the sign of an outlook on life with no illusions."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1975 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1975/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812214413/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1975/index.html |archive-date=12 August 2018 |access-date=12 July 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1984 | [[Carlo Rubbia]] | Physics | "For his decisive contributions to the large project, which led to the discovery of the field particles W and Z, communicators of weak interaction."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1984 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1984/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522192230/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1984/summary/ |archive-date=22 May 2020 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1985 | [[Franco Modigliani]] | Economics | "For his pioneering analyses of saving and of financial markets".<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1985 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1985/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522192250/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1985/summary/ |archive-date=22 May 2020 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1986 | {{nowrap|[[Rita Levi-Montalcini]]}} | Medicine | "For his discoveries in growth factors."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1986 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1986/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523072533/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1986/summary/ |archive-date=23 May 2020 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 1997 | [[Dario Fo]] | Literature | "Who emulates the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1997 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1997/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702122523/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1997/index.html |archive-date=2 July 2018 |access-date=12 July 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 2002 | [[Riccardo Giacconi]] | Physics | "For pioneering contributions to astrophysics, which have led to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 2002 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2002/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522211833/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2002/summary/ |archive-date=22 May 2020 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 2007 | [[Mario Capecchi]] | Medicine | "For his discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2007/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523072648/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2007/summary/ |archive-date=23 May 2020 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |- | 2021 | [[Giorgio Parisi]] | Physics | "For the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2021/summary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240504063255/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2021/summary/ |archive-date=4 May 2024 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> |}
== Architecture == {{Main|Architecture of Italy}}
{{see also|List of World Heritage Sites in Italy}} [[File:Palladio filtered.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Andrea Palladio]], one of the most influential individuals in the [[Architectural history|history of architecture]]]] Italy is home to [[World Heritage Sites by country|the greatest number]] of [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s (61 total) and half of the world's great art treasures.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abbot |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VGuWGa48iQMC&pg=PA101 |title=Italy: A quick guide to customs & etiquette |publisher=Morellini Editore |year=2006 |isbn=88-89550-13-9 |location=Milan |page=101 |access-date=12 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506130624/https://books.google.com/books?id=VGuWGa48iQMC&pg=PA101 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Italians are known for their significant architectural achievements, such as the construction of arches, domes, and similar structures during [[ancient Rome]]; the [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance architectural movement]] in the late-14th to 16th centuries; and [[Palladianism]], a style of construction that inspired the later [[Neoclassical architecture]] and [[Italianate architecture]] movements.<ref>[http://www.justitaly.org/italy/italy-architecture.asp Architecture in Italy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115053940/http://www.justitaly.org/italy/italy-architecture.asp|date=15 January 2012}}, ItalyTravel.com</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 January 1970 |title=History – Historic Figures: Inigo Jones (1573–1652) |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/jones_inigo.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821112543/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/jones_inigo.shtml |archive-date=21 August 2013 |access-date=12 March 2013 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
During the [[Fascism|Fascist period]], the [[Novecento movement]] flourished, with figures such as [[Gio Ponti]], [[Pietro Aschieri]], and [[Giovanni Muzio]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} Fascist architecture (exemplified in the [[EUR, Rome|EUR buildings]]) was followed by the Neo-liberty style, seen in earlier works of [[Vittorio Gregotti]], and [[Brutalist architecture]], seen in the works of [[Leonardo Savioli]] and [[Giancarlo De Carlo]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
== Cuisine == {{main|Italian cuisine}}
[[File:Scappi.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bartolomeo Scappi]]]]
[[Italian cuisine]] is a [[Mediterranean cuisine]]<ref name="DavidRisotto">{{Cite book |last=David |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth David |title=A Book of Mediterranean Food |title-link=A Book of Mediterranean Food |date=1988 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley [John Lehmann] |isbn=978-0-14-027328-1 |pages=101–103 |orig-date=1950}}</ref> consisting of the [[ingredient]]s, [[recipe]]s, and [[List of cooking techniques|cooking techniques]] developed across the [[Italian Peninsula]] since [[Ancient Roman cuisine|antiquity]], and later spread around the world together with waves of [[Italian diaspora]].<ref name="Italian Food">{{Cite web |title=Italian Food |url=http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/food-articles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508201127/http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/food-articles |archive-date=8 May 2017 |access-date=15 May 2017 |website=Life in Italy}}</ref><ref name="The History of Italian Cuisine I">{{Cite web |date=30 October 2019 |title=The History of Italian Cuisine I |url=https://www.lifeinitaly.com/history-of-food/the-history-of-italian-cuisine-i |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205153130/https://www.lifeinitaly.com/history-of-food/the-history-of-italian-cuisine-i |archive-date=5 December 2019 |access-date=16 April 2020 |website=Life in Italy}}</ref><ref name="Thoms">{{Cite web |last=Thoms |first=Ulrike |title=From Migrant Food to Lifestyle Cooking: The Career of Italian Cuisine in Europe Italian Cuisine |url=http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/europe-on-the-road/economic-migration/ulrike-thoms-from-migrant-food-to-lifestyle-cooking-the-career-of-italian-cuisine-in-europe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129140615/http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/europe-on-the-road/economic-migration/ulrike-thoms-from-migrant-food-to-lifestyle-cooking-the-career-of-italian-cuisine-in-europe |archive-date=29 November 2021 |access-date=17 April 2020 |website=EGO (ieg-ego.eu) |language=en}}</ref> Italian cuisine includes deeply rooted traditions common to the whole country, as well as [[Regions of Italy|regional]] cuisines which are in continuous exchange.<ref name="Related Articles">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Italian cuisine |encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia |publisher=Britannica.com |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/718430/Italian-cuisine |access-date=24 April 2010 |date=2 January 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716014306/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/718430/Italian-cuisine |archive-date=16 July 2010 |author=Related Articles}}</ref><ref name="Indigo Guide">{{Cite web |title=Italian Food – Italy's Regional Dishes & Cuisine |url=http://www.indigoguide.com/italy/food.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102020059/http://www.indigoguide.com/italy/food.htm |archive-date=2 January 2011 |access-date=24 April 2010 |publisher=Indigo Guide}}</ref><ref name="Regional Italian Cuisine">{{Cite web |title=Regional Italian Cuisine |url=http://www.rusticocooking.com/regions.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410072851/http://www.rusticocooking.com/regions.htm |archive-date=10 April 2010 |access-date=24 April 2010 |publisher=Rusticocooking.com}}</ref><ref name="Cronistoria della cucina italiana">{{Cite web |title=Cronistoria della cucina italiana |url=https://www.viedelgusto.it/piccola-storia-della-cucina-italiana/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031013059/https://www.viedelgusto.it/piccola-storia-della-cucina-italiana/ |archive-date=31 October 2021 |access-date=13 November 2021 |language=it}}</ref><ref name="treccani.it">{{Cite web |title=Piatti regionali a diffusione nazionale |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/scoperta-e-invenzione-della-cucina-regionale_%28L%27Italia-e-le-sue-Regioni%29/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029004725/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/scoperta-e-invenzione-della-cucina-regionale_%28L%27Italia-e-le-sue-Regioni%29/ |archive-date=29 October 2021 |access-date=13 November 2021 |language=it}}</ref>
One of the main characteristics of Italian cuisine is its simplicity, with many dishes made up of few ingredients, and therefore Italian cooks often rely on the quality of the ingredients, rather than the complexity of preparation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intervista esclusiva allo chef Carlo Cracco: "La cucina è cultura" |url=https://it.latuaitalia.ru/food-n-wine/intervista-esclusiva-allo-chef-carlo-cracco-la-cucina-e-cultura/ |access-date=5 January 2020 |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 May 2019 |title=Storia della cucina italiana: le tappe della nostra cultura culinaria |url=https://www.incibum.it/storia-della-cucina-italiana/ |access-date=5 January 2020 |language=it}}</ref> The most popular dishes and recipes, over the centuries, have often been created by ordinary people moreso than by [[chef]]s, which is why many Italian recipes are suitable for home and daily [[cooking]].<ref name="cibo360.it">{{Cite web |title=Individualità territoriale e stagionalità nella cucina italiana |url=https://www.cibo360.it/cucina/mondo/cucina_italiana.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029052347/https://www.cibo360.it/cucina/mondo/cucina_italiana.htm |archive-date=29 October 2021 |access-date=5 January 2020 |language=it}}</ref><ref name="gqitalia.it">{{Cite web |date=2 December 2016 |title=Regole e stagionalità della cucina italiana |url=https://www.gqitalia.it/lifestyle/food-drinks/2016/12/02/le-5-regole-fondamentali-della-cucina-italiana |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031093232/https://www.gqitalia.it/lifestyle/food-drinks/2016/12/02/le-5-regole-fondamentali-della-cucina-italiana |archive-date=31 October 2021 |access-date=5 January 2020 |language=it}}</ref><ref name="Nonne come chef">{{Cite web |title=Nonne come chef |date=23 June 2011 |url=https://www.sololibri.net/Le-ricette-della-nonna-Alla.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031091730/https://www.sololibri.net/Le-ricette-della-nonna-Alla.html |archive-date=31 October 2021 |access-date=5 January 2020 |language=it}}</ref>
Noteworthy Italian chefs include [[Bartolomeo Scappi]], [[Gualtiero Marchesi]], [[Lidia Bastianich]], [[Antonio Carluccio]], [[Cesare Casella]], [[Carlo Cracco]], [[Antonino Cannavacciuolo]], [[Gino D'Acampo]], [[Gianfranco Chiarini]], [[Massimiliano Alajmo]], [[Massimo Bottura]] and [[Bruno Barbieri]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
== Fashion and design == [[File:Guccio Gucci c.1940.JPG|thumb|left|upright|[[Guccio Gucci]]]]
=== Italian fashion === {{Main|Italian fashion|History of Italian fashion}}
Milan, Florence, and Rome are Italy's main [[fashion capital]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New York Takes Top Global Fashion Capital Title from London, edging past Paris |url=http://www.languagemonitor.com/fashion/sorry-kate-new-york-edges-paris-and-london-in-top-global-fashion-capital-10th-annual-survey/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222011026/http://www.languagemonitor.com/fashion/sorry-kate-new-york-edges-paris-and-london-in-top-global-fashion-capital-10th-annual-survey/ |archive-date=22 February 2014 |access-date=25 February 2014 |publisher=Languagemonitor.com}}</ref> Although most of the oldest Italian couturiers are based in Rome, Milan is seen as the fashion capital of Italy because many well-known designers are based there and it is the venue for the Italian designer collections. Major Italian fashion labels, such as [[Gucci]], [[Armani]], [[Prada]], [[Versace]], [[Curiel]], [[Valentino SpA|Valentino]], [[Dolce & Gabbana]], [[Missoni]], [[Fendi]], [[Moschino]], [[Max Mara]], [[Trussardi]], [[Benetton Group|Benetton]], and [[Ferragamo]], to name a few, are regarded among the finest fashion houses in the world. Accessory and jewelry labels, such as [[Bulgari]], [[Luxottica]], and [[Buccellati]] were founded in Italy and are internationally acclaimed. The fashion magazine [[Vogue Italia]] is considered one of the most prestigious fashion magazines in the world.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Press |first=Debbie |url={{Google books|pkeaOOxb_isC|page=PA16|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=Your Modeling Career: You Don't Have to Be a Superstar to Succeed |publisher=Allworth Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-58115-045-2}}</ref> [[File:Dolce e Gabbana (26441884825).jpg|thumb|[[Stefano Gabbana]] (''left'') and [[Domenico Dolce]] (''right'')]]
Notable Italian fashion designers include [[Guccio Gucci]], [[Salvatore Ferragamo]], [[Giorgio Armani]], [[Gianni Versace]], [[Valentino (fashion designer)|Valentino]], [[Ottavio Missoni]], [[Nicola Trussardi]], [[Mariuccia Mandelli]], [[Rocco Barocco]], [[Roberto Cavalli]], [[Renato Balestra]], [[Laura Biagiotti]], [[Stefano Gabbana]] and [[Domenico Dolce]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
=== Italian design === {{Main|Italian design}}
Italy is also prominent [[Italian design|in the field of design]], notably in interior design, architectural design, [[industrial design]], and urban design.<ref name="Insight Guides (2004)" /> The country has produced some well-known furniture designers, such as [[Gio Ponti]] and [[Ettore Sottsass]], and Italian phrases such as ''Bel Disegno'' and ''Linea Italiana'' have entered the vocabulary of furniture design.<ref>Miller (2005) p. 486. Web. 26 September 2011.{{incomplete short|date=August 2025}}</ref> Examples of classic pieces of Italian [[white goods]] and pieces of furniture include [[Zanussi]]'s washing machines and fridges,<ref name="Insight Guides (2004)">Insight Guides (2004) p. 220{{incomplete short|date=August 2025}}</ref> the "New Tone" sofas by Atrium,<ref name="Insight Guides (2004)" /> and the post-modern bookcase by Ettore Sottsass, inspired by Bob Dylan's song "[[Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again]]".<ref name="Insight Guides (2004)" /> Milan and Turin are the nation's leaders in architectural design and industrial design. Milan hosts the [[FieraMilano]], Europe's biggest design fair,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wiley: Design City Milan – Cecilia Bolognesi |url=http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470026839.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206052654/http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470026839.html |archive-date=6 December 2010 |access-date=20 August 2017 |website=Wiley.com}}</ref> the ''Fuori Salone'', and the [[Salone del Mobile]], and has been home to the designers [[Bruno Munari]], [[Lucio Fontana]], [[Enrico Castellani]], and [[Piero Manzoni]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 January 2010 |title=Frieze Magazine – Archive – Milan and Turin |url=http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/milan_turin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110123141/http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/milan_turin |archive-date=10 January 2010 |access-date=20 August 2017 |website=Frieze.com}}</ref>
== Sport == {{Main|Sport in Italy}}
663 Italian athletes have won medals at the Olympic games – 549 medals at the [[Summer Olympic Games|Summer Olympics]] and 114 medals at the [[Winter Olympic Games|Winter Olympics]] – which makes them the 6th most successful ethnic group in Olympic history.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} Italy consistently performs well in [[swordsmanship]] events and [[skiing]], thanks to the presence of the [[Alps]] and the [[Apennines]] in [[Northern Italy|Northern]] and [[Central Italy]].{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}
[[File:Edoardo Mangiarotti2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Edoardo Mangiarotti]], the world's most successful [[Fencing|fencer]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 April 2020 |title=Edoardo Mangiarotti: il re di spade |url=https://azzurridigloria.com/storie/edoardo-mangiarotti-il-re-della-scherma/ |access-date=24 September 2022 |language=it}}</ref>]]
[[Italian national football team|Italy]] is one of the most successful national teams in association football, having won four [[FIFA World Cup]]s, two UEFA European Championship, and one Olympic tournament.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} FIFA World Cup winners include [[Giuseppe Meazza]], [[Silvio Piola]] (to date the highest goalscorer in Italian first league history), [[Dino Zoff]], [[Paolo Rossi]], [[Marco Tardelli]], [[Bruno Conti]], [[Gianluigi Buffon]], [[Fabio Cannavaro]], [[Alessandro Del Piero]], [[Andrea Pirlo]], and [[Francesco Totti]]. European champions include [[Gianni Rivera]], [[Luigi Riva]] (to date Italy's leading scorer of all time), [[Sandro Salvadore]], [[Giacomo Bulgarelli]], [[Pietro Anastasi]], and [[Giacinto Facchetti]].{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} At the club level, Italy has won a total of 12 [[European Cup|European Cup / Champions' Leagues]], 9 [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cups / UEFA Europa League]], and 7 [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup]].{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} Prominent players who achieved success at club level include [[Giampiero Boniperti]], [[Romeo Benetti]], [[Roberto Boninsegna]], [[Roberto Bettega]], [[Roberto Baggio]] and [[Paolo Maldini]].{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}
Italians have won more [[World Cycling Championship]]s than any other country except for [[Belgium]].{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} The [[Giro d'Italia]] is a world-famous long-distance cycling race held every May, and constitutes one of the three [[Grand Tour (cycling)|Grand Tours]], along with the [[Tour de France]] and the [[Vuelta a España]].{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}
Italian professional [[tennis]] players are almost always in the top 100 world ranking of male and female players.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} [[Beach tennis#Beach tennis with paddle racket|Beach tennis with paddle racquet]] was invented by Italians, and is practised by many people across the country.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}
The [[Italian national basketball team]]'s best results were gold at [[Eurobasket 1983]] and [[EuroBasket 1999]], as well as silver at the Olympics in [[Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics|2004]]. [[Lega Basket Serie A]] is widely considered one of the most competitive in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 2019 |title=Basket Eurolega, l'albo d'oro delle squadre più forti e titolate d'Europa |url=https://williamhillnews.it/basket/basket-eurolega/ |access-date=4 January 2022 |language=it}}</ref>
The [[Italian Volleyball League]] is regarded as the most difficult volleyball league in the world.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} The [[Italy national volleyball team|male]] and [[Italy women's national volleyball team|female]] national teams often rank in the top 4 teams in the world.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}
[[Rugby union]] was imported from France in the 1910s and has been regularly played since the 1920s. By the 1990s, when the [[Italy national rugby union team|Italian national team]] managed to beat historically dominant teams like [[Scotland national rugby union team|Scotland]], [[Ireland national rugby union team|Ireland]], and [[France national rugby union team|France]], Italy gained admission to the Five Nation Championship, which had to be renamed [[Six Nations Championship|Six Nations]] as a result.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} Italy has taken part in the [[Rugby World Cup]] since its inauguration in 1987 and never missed an edition, although to date it has never progressed past the group stage.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} {{clear}}
[[File:Giacomo Agostini (1968).jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Giacomo Agostini]], the most successful motorcyclist in the history of the World Championship<ref name="oasport">{{Cite web |date=17 March 2020 |title=MotoGP, Piloti immortali: Giacomo Agostini, il più grande di tutti i tempi. Le vittorie e i record di un mito italiano |url=https://www.oasport.it/2020/03/motogp-piloti-immortali-giacomo-agostini-il-piu-grande-di-tutti-i-tempi-le-vittorie-e-i-record-di-un-mito-italiano/ |access-date=27 September 2022 |language=it}}</ref>]]
Some other notable Italian athletes include: * Motorcycle racers such as [[Giacomo Agostini]] and [[Valentino Rossi]];{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Federica Pellegrini]], one of the few female swimmers to have set world records in more than one event;{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Jessica Rossi]], who scored a [[Shooting sport]] world record of 99;{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} * [[Bruno Sammartino]], a wrestler who held the [[WWE Championship|WWWF World Heavyweight Championship]] for over 11 years across two reigns, the first of which was the longest single reign in the promotion's history{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}
== Women == {{main|Women in Italy}}
[[File:Samantha Cristoforetti official portrait in an EMU spacesuit.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Samantha Cristoforetti]]]]
Famous women from Italy include actresses [[Anna Magnani]], [[Sofia Loren]], and [[Gina Lollobrigida]]; soprano [[Renata Tebaldi]]; ballet dancer [[Carla Fracci]]; costume designer [[Milena Canonero]]; athletes [[Sara Simeoni]], [[Deborah Compagnoni]], [[Valentina Vezzali]], and [[Federica Pellegrini]]; writers [[Natalia Ginzburg]], [[Elsa Morante]], [[Alda Merini]], and [[Oriana Fallaci]]; architect [[Gae Aulenti]]; scientist and 1986 Nobel Prize winner [[Rita Levi-Montalcini]]; astrophysicist [[Margherita Hack]]; astronaut [[Samantha Cristoforetti]]; pharmacologist [[Elena Cattaneo]]; [[CERN]] Director-General [[Fabiola Gianotti]]; and politicians [[Nilde Iotti]], [[Tina Anselmi]], [[Emma Bonino]], and [[Giorgia Meloni]], the first female [[Prime Minister of Italy]]. {{clear}}
== See also == {{portal|Italy}} * [[Demographics of Italy]] * [[Sicilians]] * [[Sardinians]] * [[Sammarinese]] * [[Ladins]] * [[List of people from Italy]] * [[List of people from Sardinia]] * [[List of people from Sicily]]
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{reflist}}
=== Sources === * {{Cite journal |last1=Saupe |first1=Tina |last2=Montinaro |first2=Francesco |last3=Scaggion |first3=Cinzia |last4=Carrara |first4=Nicola |last5=Kivisild |first5=Toomas |last6=D'Atanasio |first6=Eugenia |last7=Hui |first7=Ruoyun |last8=Solnik |first8=Anu |last9=Lebrasseur |first9=Ophélie |last10=Larson |first10=Greger |last11=Alessandri |first11=Luca |display-authors=1 |date=21 June 2021 |title=Ancient genomes reveal structural shifts after the arrival of Steppe-related ancestry in the Italian Peninsula |url=https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(21)00535-2 |journal=Current Biology |language=English |volume=31 |issue=12 |pages=2576–2591.e12 |bibcode=2021CBio...31E2576S |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.022 |hdl=11585/827581 |issn=0960-9822 |pmid=33974848 |s2cid=234471370 |ref={{harvid|Saupe et al.|2021}} |hdl-access=free}}
== Bibliography == * {{Cite book |last=Baretti |first=Joseph |author-link=Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti |url=https://archive.org/details/anaccountmanner02baregoog |title=An account of the manners and customs of Italy |publisher=T. Davies |year=1768 |location=London}} * {{Cite book |last=Lyman |first=Theodore |author-link=Theodore Lyman (militiaman) |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalstatei00lymagoog |title=The political state of Italy |publisher=Wells and Lilly |year=1820 |location=Boston}} * {{Cite book |last=Leopardi |first=Giacomo |author-link=Giacomo Leopardi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3IbAQAAIAAJ |title=Discorso sopra lo stato presente dei costumi degl'italiani |publisher=Marsilio Editore |year=1824 |isbn=978-88-317-5196-4 |location=Venice |language=it}} * {{Cite book |last=Micali |first=Giuseppe |url=https://archive.org/details/storiadeglianti07micagoog |title=Storia degli antichi popoli italiani |publisher=Tipografia Dante |year=1832 |location=Florence |language=it}} * {{Cite book |last=Prezzolini |first=Giuseppe |author-link=Giuseppe Prezzolini |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQVtIsx9cSgC |title=Codice della vita italiana |publisher=La Voce |year=1921 |isbn=978-88-7371-022-6 |location=Florence |language=it}} * {{Cite book |last=Devoto |first=Giacomo |author-link=Giacomo Devoto |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mEQfAAAAMAAJ |title=Gli antichi italici |publisher=Vallecchi |year=1951 |location=Florence |language=it}} * {{Cite book |last=Bollati |first=Giulio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ylRoAAAAMAAJ |title=L'italiano: il carattere nazionale come storia e come invenzione |publisher=Einaudi |year=1996 |isbn=978-88-06-14264-3 |location=Turin |language=it}}
{{Ethnic groups in Italy}} {{Italy topics}} {{Subject bar |portal1=Italy |portal2=European Union |portal3=Europe |commons=y }} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Italian People}} [[Category:Ethnic groups in Italy]] [[Category:Ethnic groups in Montenegro]] [[Category:Italian people| ]] [[Category:Romance peoples]] [[Category:Ethnic groups divided by international borders]]