Are Italians truely of Roman descent?

Question

Since Rome was founded it was a nation that keep prove it self.Romans invented impressing machine of war and many technology.Not only Italians of today doesn't appear physically like the former Roman use to be, but they lack the "Winner" heart ancient Romans had.

Rome was already a very cosmopolitan and multicultural city .People from all around the Mediterranean sea came to Rome to have a better life.The invasion of the Vandhale, Visigoths,which mark the start of the end, borough a lot of foreign element added themselves to the Roman melting pots.

If you look at Spain or Algeria(north Africa) during the time of Rome a thousand year ago, you would listen people speaking Visigoth(old German dialect) and German looking.

Could it be the same situation for Ancient Roman versus Italian of today.Am sure people from the City of Rome,Italy, may still have some "Ancient Roman" blood in them but how much?Today welsh and English clam to be themselves of Roman descent and heir of their cultu

Answer 1

First of all, the racial demographics of the entire Mediterranean area is totally, TOTALLY different today compared to Roman times. It's even dramatically different than 500 years ago. For example, North Africa was made up of White Berbers (aside from Egypt). To answer your question, yes and no. Of course, it's changed somewhat, but the basic Etruscan type has changed very little in central Italy.

A few years ago, an amateur anthropologist poked around a few ancient Roman graveyards and proclaimed that the overwhelming majority of the names were "Oriental" which meant "Turkish," so therefore it began outrageous claims, especially linked to Roman's downfall. The mtDNA evidence trashes this claim, and many others. I'm not saying that it has not changed, but that change is way overrated. Even the "melting pot" concept was out of proportion.

The Lombard influence in Northern Italy left only a small imprint on the population. Very early Celtic inflence was probably overrated as well, at least a little bit. Northern Italians are basically descended from the old Etruscan and early Italic tribes.

Southern Italy was probably more of what might be called a "melting pot," with Greek, Roman, Spanish, Arab, Phoenician, Lombard, and Norman (Viking) genes mixed in. All of those ethnicities were Caucasoid. Nevertheless, many Sicilians could easily resemble Middle Easterners, but some can have blonde hair and blue eyes. They are fairly homogenous though. They don't look like North Africans, because that population has changed so dramatically during the past 1,000 years.

So to answer your question more directly: No, however the degree of change is way way out've proportion compared to what some have said.

Answer 2

I remember "Colliers Encyclopedia" once saying that "Italians have always been a mixture of peoples." I think this is a fair statement. While there is indeed probably some Roman in the Italian population today, Italians are not, and never have been "pure Roman."

Other Italic tribes like the Samnites and Siculi were in Southern Italy before the Romans, and so were Dorian Greek colonists from the Peleponnesis. Then to the north of the Romans lived the Etruscans (a non-Indo European people), the Veneti (another Italic tribe) and the Cisalpine Gauls, a Celtic people related to the Irish, Scots and Welsh.

The Roman slave trade also brought many foreign elements into Italy. Several Greek and Carthaginian names like Philocomasius and Numeri Vei Barcha turn up in the Pompeiian inscriptions. I also read recently about an Italian-American who was found to have ancestry related to the Armenians after he was DNA tested.

So, like all other Europeans today, including the English, the Italians are a melting pot of all the peoples who have lived there in the past to a greater or lesser degree.

There is no doubt, however, that all Italians are united by a common language and culture reinforced over the centuries by the Roman Catholic church. In fact, that almost holds true today for all western European nationalities and even the Czechs, Poles and Hungarians.

Answer 3

Well, the Italians in Rome are certainly of direct Roman descent. You can't say the same for the Northern Italians who got all mixed up with the Lombards and such, or the Sicilians, etc.

Actually Thomas Cahill's new book has a whole chapter devoted to just this question. The chapter is called "How the Romans Became the Italians." The book is called Mysteries of the Middle Ages. I've put an amazon link for you to take a look if you're interested. You should be able to get the book at any public library if you don't want to shell out the money for it.

Cheers!

Answer 4

True, Spanish descent. Come With Me - Drake Maybe.

Answer 5

Good Question

Answer 6

yes

Answer 7

Yes, sure.

Answer 8

yes.