Italy:south west or south east Europe ethnically?

[Nurzat]

if some romanians look greek, especially in the south and anyway only a very minor number, i can't say the same about italians. italians can't pass as balkan in most cases and they have an obvious different look, they would go better with spanish and southern french and even portuguese so i would say italy is OR western OR an ethnic isolate

[Sikeliot]

I think you know my position already.

North Italians would be South-Westerners (let's forget about a 'Central Europe' now), given the Celtic substrate and the consequent nature of the Rhaeto-Padanian Romance. (However, the Venetic area would be somewhat different, as the history of it leans towards the Adriatic)

The rest of Italians would be Central Southerners, specially Central Italy (Tuscany and Corsica, Rome and the Marches...), as well as Sardinia (this island with a remarkable South-Western input, though). The 'Two Sicilies' would still be Central Southerners to me, but different from Central Italians, being transitional or with a strong tendency towards the South-East. Again, I mainly base myself on previous substrates and posterior ethnolinguistic evolutions.

You explained my thoughts, probably better than I did.

[GeistFaust]

I would say West South Eastern they are the periphery of the West and East which puts them sort of in the middle. They do have a lot of Balkan looking individuals though in Italy I have noticed. And Dinaric is a very common sub type that is found throughout all of Italy.

[Hess]

Culturally, Italians have much more in common with Iberians than with people from the Balkans IMO

[Sikeliot]

Culturally, Italians have much more in common with Iberians than with people from the Balkans IMO

I see more commonalities with southern France, if you're to look west. At least with northerners. I can see something similar between Naples and Spain though.. but I don't think Italians, north or south, are culturally akin to Portugal other than Romance-speaking and Catholic (oh and, our fiery tempers!). Just my opinion of course.

[askra]

I can see something similar between Naples and Spain though..

which similarities can you see between spaniards and the neapolitans?

[Sikeliot]

which similarities can you see between spaniards and the neapolitans?

Some surnames, architecture, and the siesta (I think Neapolitans do this too?)

[Ibericus]

which similarities can you see between spaniards and the neapolitans?

Not much.

[Sikeliot]

I think a lot of the perceived similarity between Iberian and Italian cultures comes from the language, and the shared Catholicism. If you know one of the three languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian) the others are readable to some extent. But otherwise the spirit of the Iberian people is very different in my view.

But I think the question Veleda was asking was more ethnic than cultural.

[Hess]

I don't think any reasonable person can deny that Italians have more in common in Iberians than anyone else from the Balkans.

South Slavs, Albanians, Romanians, etc. Have a completely different mindset than the Italians, much more so than the Iberian countries