[Seymour]

I have been told that Italians have some black blood in them, hence the dark, curly hair and darker skin on some of them ... but not all. I am fully aware that all human beings trace their ancestry to Africa, but I'm not talking about the beginning of mankind. I am just curious about Italians' anthropological history, moreover that they once had blonde hair and blue eyes. Does the Carthaginian general Hannibal (247?-183? B.C.) conquering Italy have something to do with their ties to black blood? Furthermore, does it have something to do with the fact that some Italians don't consider themselves white?

User Detail :  

Name : Seymour, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 21, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Netta]

Some Italians are still blonde.

User Detail :  

Name : Netta, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 18, City : Armidale, State : NA Country : Australia, Occupation : Student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[JerryS]

I think you may be misinformed: after all, there are plenty of curly headed blonds, and most people from lands bordering the Mediterranean are swarthy to various degrees. One of the darkest-skinned white people I ever knew was Greek; her family had been living in the hills near Sparta since Hector was a pup. Another was Jewish. None of that requires sub-Saharan ancestry. I doubt it has much to do with Hannibal; he, after all, was Carthaginian and they were Phoenicians, not blacks. There's a good chance that his army included Berbers and similar people from North Africa, but again, those people are not black. Also, Hannibal didn't occupy Italian soil for long. Sicily is very diverse, ethnically, having been colonized by the Greeks, invaded by the Vandals (a Germanic tribe that occupied North Africa), and held at various times by armies from Western Europe. Again, however, there was no widespread migration or invasion by blacks. Italy was a major commercial hub for a couple of thousand years, so undoubtedly there were traders (and slaves) from all over passing through; that would have included Moors (viz. Othello), again non-Negro Africans, and probably a few folks from sub-Saharan Africa, Nubia and Ethiopia. I doubt there were enough to change the complexion of Italy. Finally, let me comment that the ancient Greeks and Romans knew what blacks looked like, and they never mentioned that there was any population of them in Italy.

User Detail :  

Name : JerryS, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : New Britain, State : CT Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Kevin]

Italians have darker skin because they live in a harsher climate than Northern Europeans. Over time, people 'evolve' to protect their skin from exposure to the sun. What we look at as skin color is largely due to the melanin content in the skin. This is also why a lot of Spaniards have darker skin. Also, Hannibal never conquered the Italian peninsula. He razed several towns and then would move on, until he was ultimately defeated when attempting a siege of Rome.

User Detail :  

Name : Kevin, Gender : M, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, 

[Jessica B.]

Italians tend to be darker than other Europeans because they have Semitic (Middle Eastern) ancestry in them. There's probably a little black mixed in there as well, but that's true of just about all races.

User Detail :  

Name : Jessica B., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 16, City : Jackson, State : MS Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Brian23031]

According to some historians, African tribes invaded Italy prior to Hannibal and intermingled with the natives, producing the dark-eyed, dark-haired individuals we think of being in this group. Whether this is true is up to one's interpretation. Greeks, after all, are dark-complected and dark-haired, as are most Slavic groups. The theory of African interbreeding hasn't, to my knowledge, extended to them. Interestingly enough, the native Britons were dark-haired and dark-eyed, as were the native Irish. The waves of Nordic (Viking) pirates which came into their area were the cause of any lightening in their complexion. Most Europeans are dark-haired and dark-eyed. Blue eyes are a recessive trait, and therefore less common than brown anywhere on Earth.

User Detail :  

Name : Brian23031, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Peru, State : IN Country : United States, Occupation : writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Alex29048]

I believe Italians have their physical appearance due to their history. You cited Hannibal's invasion of the peninsula, but that would have been diluted in time. Instead, look at the long history of the Roman Empire, which extended through Northern Africa and the Middle East. Keep in mind Renaissance Italy's flourishing trade with the Middle East and China. I believe Italy's long trade history with the Middle East gave the peninsula a strong trace of Arab blood; most dark-skinned Italians more closely resemble Arabs than blacks.

User Detail :  

Name : Alex29048, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, City : Elkins Park, State : PA Country : United States, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, 

[Carlford Wadley]

Its true to a greater degree than people think that Italians have black blood. It is true in general of most meditterenan people. One of the reasons why color was not as discussed in ancient times is as most sociologist point out cultural background mattered more than color. Italy and greece have had long histories with the African Continent. Aesop was believed to have been black and at least one branch of the Demedici houshold was Afro Italian (Alessandro Demedici mother was African and his his father was an Italian Bishop). Also i think the poster who said the Moors were non-african was slightly incorrect. While it is true the Moors are not sub saharan they can be and would be and are considered black in Western Society. Arabic and Meditterinean society have a different view of race than we do since intermixture has being going on there for ever (e.g. I have a Iranian friend whose great grandmother is black from the coastal area of Iran and also has Persian and Mongolian Ancestry). the best way to illustrate this are two seperate encounters I have had. I met an Arabic man whose hair had the same kinky quality as mine and who was a shade lighter who did not consider himself black. I have also met a Somalian fellow with naturally straight hair who had the typical look of a dark skinned Arab or Moor who considered himself black. It must also be remembered that when Italians (primarily Sicilan and Southern Italians) first came to the states they were considered black thus the slur 'guinea' which was in reference to their dark complexions

User Detail :  

Name : Carlford Wadley, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 24, City : White Plains, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

[Roxanne29497]

I am Italian-American and have some cousins who look African American. These cousins are Sicilian. Sicily was once conquered by the Moors; if you look at a map, Sicily is a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Africa. Of course, there may be some African-American ancestry closer than that in the family that isn't talked about! Anyway, I have brown, curly hair, green eyes and a sallow complexion (a lovely shade of yellow). I have blond, blue-eyed aunts with fair skin. My dad has blue eyes. My brother looks more Puerto Rican than Italian. I consider myself white and don't know anyone who's Italian-American who doesn't consider himself or herself white.

User Detail :  

Name : Roxanne29497, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Italian-American, Religion : Catholic, Age : 33, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Systems Analyst, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Wildflower]

I have read that blue eyes are not 'recessive' but co-dominant. Logically speaking, if blue eyes were recessive, in light of all the conquering/conquered nations, etc., the blue-eyed trait would have been mixed out a long time ago. No one would have blue eye, and everyone on earth would have dark eyes by now (I cannot say for certain, because, alas, my degree is not in the physical sciences but in English). As to my empirical evidence, one of my best friends is Armenian with curly, almost-black hair and gorgeous, deep-blue eyes. Her entire immediate family has that exact same hair/eye combination. Now then: My friend has a child with her ex-fiance (a black man) with dark brown eyes. Would you care to guess what color the child's eyes came out? A beautiful clear blue, just a shade or so lighter than her mother's. I don't think we can just decide that dark eyes are solely dominant. It seems this opinion is based more on an assumption rather than science. All of you science people out there, please feel free to chime in.

User Detail :  

Name : Wildflower, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 30, City : Long Beach, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Assistant Academic Coordinator, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Paulo]

I am an Italian male working for a oil company in India. As for your question about Italians being dark, I guess this is beacause Italians fundamentally belong to the Mediterranean white race. As you know, the Caucasian race is made of three subracial types: Nordics, Alpinos and Mediterranean. Nordics tend to possess blond, wavy hair, larger bodies and blue eyes, while Mediterraneans possess excessive body hair, curly hair and dark eyes. Mediterraneans are spread throughout the Middle East, and a lot of them are present here in India. Besides, there have always been Nordics in Italy. The Romans themselves were from Northen Europe, and even up to this century, Italy's aristocrats were fundamentally large Nordics (mostly because of their Gothic ancestry).

As far as Hannibal goes, his race is very controversial. As for black blood in Italians, it is possible, because Roma in its latter days became a melting pot, with a significant black population in every strata of society. Also, southern Europeans are dark due to genetic mixing, and Northern Africans such as Ethiopians, Eritreans, etc. have Caucasian features and are fairer than those in Sub-Saharan Africa.

User Detail :  

Name : Paulo, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 26, City : Raigad, State : NA Country : India, Social class : Middle class, 

[Matthew]

I have never heard of 'Italians' not considering themselves white! You mean 'Italian-Americans,' I think, and that has only got to do with the United State's extremely complex ethnic politics (as with Irish-Americans). Carthaginians did not conquer Italy, despite Hannibal temporarily having the upper hand in the war with Rome. There was no occupation of Italy resulting in mass cross-breeding. (Armies were just a few thousand strong in those days, anyway). The features you describe are found all over Southern Europe. Basically, the more south you go in Europe (Spain, Portugal, Southern France, Greece, Yugoslavia), the more you find that people have dark skin and hair. (Inevitably, racist Northern Italians such as Umberto Bossi's supporters believe Southern Italians to be lazy criminals and parasites, etc.). There are also blond, blue-eyed people in Northern Africa, whose implantation dates from ancient times.

User Detail :  

Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, 

[human21345]

I think its a little ignorant to assume that anyone with any pigmentation is automatically of African ancestry - there are many types of 'black' people - from the near east, the middle east, India and the aborigines from Australia - all of whom can be extremely dark

User Detail :  

Name : human21345, City : NY, State : NY Country : United States, 

[Christian-D32025]

There is no doubt that there are some traces of North African features in the complexion of Sicilians. However, the Moorish occupation of Sicily lasted a mere 200 years and the only significant contributions were some architcture, granita, and some arabic melodies and words. I don't want to repeat what has already been intelligently said by previous responses, but I would like to put forth thiS question; Why are people obessed with the fact that Sicily is so close to Africa? Are we Italians hated so much in the US that people want to associate us with another marginalized group to justify their prejudice? Think about this, Spain is much, much closer to North Africa (only the Strait of Gibraltar seperates the two)and the Moorish occupation lasted centuries longer than it did in Sicily with much more significant contributions made. But do you ever hear of Spanish people being cast as 'African-like', no you don't because there aren't any sizeable Spanish immigrant communities in the US, most went to South America. I have been to Sicily, and would describe my friends there as looking Southern European (French, Spanish, Greek. etc..)I have seen countless people there with blond hair. And as for me, I am Italian with blue eyes and light brown hair, anyone wish to tell me that my ancestors were raped by Germanic tribes? BTW: i'm from southern Italy too.

User Detail :  

Name : Christian-D32025, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : European, Religion : Catholic, Age : 26, City : Coventry, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Brando]

Are Italians whites?

User Detail :  

Name : Brando, City : Athens, State : NA Country : Greece, 

[Author]

Posts