Italy is a relatively young country in southern Europe. In a single whole, its lands finally united only in 1871. Nevertheless, the history of the statehood of Italy is rooted in the distant past, during the existence of the Roman Empire. For a long time, representatives of various nationalities lived on the territory of the state. Many of them became part of a single Italian ethnic group, while others managed to maintain their identity. What peoples inhabit Italy today? We will talk about the composition of its population.
A bit of history
Italy occupies the central part of Southern Europe. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, covering the entire Apennine Peninsula, the Padan lowland and the surrounding Alps, as well as the islands of Sardinia and Sicily.
In the first century BC, the territory of the country was inhabited by the Umbrians, Sabines, Gauls, Etruscans, Ligures, Greeks, Aequis, Volsci and other tribes. One of the most numerous peoples inhabiting Italy were the Latins living in the region of Latium. Together with several local tribes, they founded Rome and began to call themselves Romans, and their language Latin. Italians, from whomthe name of the modern state occurred, they lived only in a small area in the south of the "boot". However, in the next century, the name "Italy" spread to the Alps themselves.
Rome was not peaceful. It grew and grew stronger, capturing foreign territories, and very soon became the most powerful state in the Mediterranean. He conquered the Etruscans, Ligurians, Greeks, Celts, Venets, reached North Africa, Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine.
In the 5th century AD, a great power fell from the raids of barbarian tribes, most of which were Germanic peoples. Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Lombards, Huns, Vandals and Franks invaded here. On the territory of the empire, scattered duchies and regions were formed, fighting among themselves and suffering from the raids of the Hungarians and Arabs. The fragmentation of Italy and the peoples living in it persisted for many centuries.
Nevertheless, over the years of the empire's existence, a Roman ethnic group with different dialects and regional characteristics has formed on its territory. Mixing with the invaders, he became the basis for the formation of Italian ethnicity and the Italian language.
The lands of Italy were part of the Holy Roman Empire, the Papal States, the Norman Kingdom, the Lombard League and small independent republics. It was possible to unite all the territories only in 1871, when Rome joined the Kingdom of Italy.
Peoples of Italy
Today almost 60 million people live in the state. According to various sources, 80-94% of them are Italians. Currently in the countrythere are about three million foreigners, most of whom are from Albania, Morocco, Romania, Ukraine, China, the Philippines, India, Egypt.
The ancient peoples of Italy, traditionally living on its territory, are Arbereshes, Romansh, Friuls, Ladins, Romanches. These include groups of Slovenes, French, Germans, Tyroleans, Greeks, Croats, whose ancestors arrived here in the Middle Ages, and maybe even earlier. Italians themselves are divided into various sub-ethnic groups such as Sicilians and Sardinians.
The official language of the state is Italian, but regional languages and dialects are developed in the regions. In terms of population, Italy ranks fourth in Europe, second only to Germany, France and the UK. However, the state has a high rate of emigration, and the natural increase is negative.
On average, 201 people live on one square meter. The most densely populated areas are Campania, Liguria, Lazio and Lombardy with a density of 300-500 people/km2. Approximately 60% of the country's population lives in cities. The largest number of inhabitants are Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo and Genoa.
Sardinians
Sardinians, or Sardis, number about 2.5 million people and live in Argentina, Germany, France, Switzerland and Belgium. In Italy, the people are distributed mainly in Sardinia, one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean. Here their number is about 1.6 million. They have their own language, which belongs to the Romance group andconsists of five dialects. It has features of Spanish and Italian, but it does not belong to their dialects, but is considered independent.
The distant ancestors of the Sardinians were the "peoples of the sea" Sherdans, who arrived on the island in the second millennium BC. The formation of their ethnos and language was influenced by the Phoenicians, Vandals, Byzantines, rivers, who conquered the island along with the Romans. The peculiarities of the local language reflected the features of the dialects of the Genoese, Tuscans and Pisans.
Friuli
This people of Italy lives in the north-east of the country in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, where its population is about 500 thousand people. Outside the country, the region borders on Slovenia and Austria. Part of the people live in Venice.
The Friuls are culturally and genetically close to Romansh and Ladin, and their language belongs to the Romansh group. They are the descendants of the Venets, Carns and Euganeans, whose ethnogenesis was influenced by the Lombards, Huns, Slavs and Visigoths. The people got its name from the name of the Roman municipality of Forum Julia. They were already Romanized by the 5th century, and in the 19th century they almost completely adopted the life and culture of the Italians.
Ladins
Ladins belong to the Romansh language group. Unlike the Sardinians and Friulians, among them there are not only Catholics, but also Calvinists. In total, the number of Ladins is about 35 thousand people. Some of them live in Switzerland, the other part in Italy.
Ladins are descendantsromanized rets. In Italy, they inhabit mainly South Tyrol, partly Trento and Belluno in the north of the country. They live in isolated alpine villages, engaged in cattle breeding, wood carving and agriculture. Lace weaving is also a traditional occupation of the people. They speak Ladin, a mixture of Rhetic and Latin, but each village has its own particular dialect. The Ladins still retain their old traditions and customs. Matriarchy reigns in their families, where the decisive word always belongs to the female gender, even the invitation to marriage is made by the girls. To express their intention, the girls give the betrothed three pears.
Romanches
Romance people also live in the Alps in northern Italy. Its representatives also inhabit Switzerland. They number about 65 thousand people and profess Catholicism. Little is known about this people of Italy. Romanches live in small villages in the mountains, doing agriculture. Their ancestors are also the Rhets, who were Romanized in the first century BC. Later they were influenced by the Allemans and the Bavarians.
Sicilians
Sicilians are a sub-ethnos of Italians, but they better not talk about it. They consider themselves a separate people with a special culture and their own language. They really differ from Italians, at least in that they are not so emotional and behave more restrained. For them, family and relationships are very important, women have a special status of reverence. The desire of a mother for every Sicilian is literally a law.
In Italy they live mainly in Sicily. And the ancestors are the Sicans and Sicules, who were influenced by the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Ostrogoths, Normans. The Sicilian language is spoken not only on the island, but also in Calabaria, Campania and Apulia, Arabic played a big role in its formation. The Sicilians are known for their ceramics and wooden carts, which are still made today, and for the mafia that formed here in the 19th century and continues to operate today.
