A European ethnicity that is distinctly Mediterranean and therefore carries a phenotype similar to people from Spain,
Greece, the Middle East, and northern Africa. This means that Italians can blend in a lot of places. Oddly enough, I noticed that many Italians have one eyebrow straighter (on the left) while the other is curved and sits lower down (on the right). Italians are generally considered attractive, although it is
easy for us to get
ugly with our hairy tendencies. People are usually on the short side (women 5'2"-5'6", men 5'8"-6'0"), although they were much shorter during the
Roman times. According to a tour guide at the Flavian Ampitheater at Pozzuoli, a 5'5" man would be considered very
tall and gladiator material. Northern and southern Italians tend to have distinctly different norms of appearance. Lighter
skin, eyes, and
hair are common in the north (think auburn hair with hazel eyes). Black hair, dark
brown (or
blue!) eyes, and midtone olive
skin are common for the south. Southerners are generally shorter than their fellow northern countrymen. More on the Mediterranean people: search for "gracile mediterranid" for anthropological concepts specific to
Italy.
Personality, behavior, and levels of maturity are relevant only on an individual basis and are separate from ethnicity.
Italians at first glance are commonly mistaken for:
•Iranians (especially in California)
•Greeks
•Armenians
•Hispanics
