Writing Assignment #2

When discussing Italian identities it is a very dense and complicated topic, because of the large amount of discourse over what region is the “true” Italian. Much of this discourse and arguments stems from the unification of Italy about 150 years ago, and has been much more obvious in the last 60 years after WWII when north Italy was rebuilt and was modernized and became the industrial mecca of Italy, while the south remained mainly agriculturally driven. A similar divide like this has also been seen in the United States mainly after the Civil War when the Northern States became industrialized and the southern states remained agricultural. This division that is seen in Italy between the north and the south has caused a differing mind-set between the north and south causing at times a division of ideas and ultimately their identities.

In America we have preconceived notions and stereotypes of what an Italian should be, for example that all Italian immigrants in America are working for the mafia and conducting illegal activities; this may be true for a very small part of the population but it doesn't hold true for all of them. Even within Italy there are these “myths” or stereotypes between not only of the immigrants and Roma populations but also of the northern and southern Italians. As time moves forward there is an ever growing number of immigrants in Italy and the number will continue to raise in the coming years as more and more people use Italy as a gateway for European immigration. As it stands right now the immigrant population in Italy accounts for about 10% of the population or about 5 to 6 million people in a country that has population of around 60 million. As this trend continues the Italian people are going to have to accommodate these people and their national cultures. Italy is moving the direction of a multinational culture similar to the United States but many of the Italians are unwilling to make this change and wish to preserve Italy as a purely Italian state by making it increasing difficult to legally reside within the country. But then this raises the question of how can the Italians make a purely Italian country when the Italian people themselves can't even decide on what is a “true” Italian? Whether the Italian people want to admit it or not the immigrants are a needed workforce for the country, due to a negative birthrate, and the transition of the country from a mostly blue collar country into one that is white collar and the unwillingness of the native population to perform these “lower class” jobs, when all they want is the higher paying desk jobs. This same scenario has been happening in the US for decades now, particularly in the agricultural sector and this same trend is currently happening in Italy.

The increase in the immigrant population has started to make Italy a diverse country with a mixing of cultures living together, this is especially visible in the larger cities like Rome, Milan, Florence and Naples. Even though there are different cultures living together the dominant culture is still Italian but there are neighborhoods that are made up of a very large immigrant population, generally in the poor parts of the city. From some of my observations and talking to Italian they will generally try to avoid these areas and wont shop in their stores or eat in their restaurants although they are tolerant of them.

As I have stated before it is extremely difficult to describe what the Italian culture is because there is such a large immigrant population and even disagreement between Italians as to who really is a “true” Italian. Italy is like America in this way that there are many different “America's” within the US, for example the difference between the south, midwest and westcoast. It's true we are all different but we still recognize us all as being American despite our differences on political, cultural and social issues and I think in this respect that Italy has something to learn from the US on these matters. While on the matter of who does belong and who doesn't in Italy, it would be hard for me, being an American to say that nobody because we have been raised in a country where everyone one belongs and can be an American. But in Italy it would seem to be that the title “Italian” is reserved for those who are Italian by heritage and bloodline. What I would like you the reader to understand from this assignment is that Italy is still a young country in the terms of immigration and political/social ideals, and has a long way to go on figuring out its identity and to be more open to the ideas of others not just other Italians but other immigrants.