Italy and sicily...?

Question

i know sicily is apart of italy..

but some people ive come across that are italian..

& i say im sicilian..

they get "offended" i guess you could say??

basically they just get all crazy about it.

whats the deal?

Answer 1

In Italy there 20 regions and everybody is proud of living in his region.. Sicilians and Sardinians are even more proud of that cause they live on islands.. its offensive dont worry!

Answer 2

people, art and culture in Sicily is different from the others leaves of Italy, but is interesting equally.

i'm italian.

Answer 3

It's a region that often doesn't like to be associated with the rest of Italy. It's akin to parts of the South that don't like being associated with the rest of the U.S.A.

Answer 4

Italians aren't Italian.  They are Sicilian, Tuscanan, Calibresi, etc.  They only become Italian when they leave Italy.

Answer 5

WHAT???????????

I have many relatives in Sicily and I travel there quite often, and I never heard such a story!

Answer 6

a little of that probably has to do with the fact that Sicily is an island and not "connected" to Italy - hence they are Sicilians.

But Ive lived in Italy for 5 years and you know that the North and South are kind of at odds with each other.

Sicilians ARE Italians.

Also, Sicilians are the most giving hospitable people I have ever met in my life so be happy that you are Sicilian!

Answer 7

I love Rodney H's answer.  It's true.  I'm American of Italian (Sicilian actually) descent and it seems that I'm more aware of my Italian heritage than my husband is of his Ecuadorian heritage (and he just came here 20 years ago).  I actively work to keep my heritage alive for my children.  Sicily only recently (considering how long Italy's history is) became part of Italy proper.  It was always it's own, so Sicilians think of themselves first and foremost Sicilian.  My father still considers himself Sicilian and when speaking he's clear it's Sicilian not Italian.   They have been conquered so many times by so many different cultures, yet kept there own identity throughout.  It was the other cultures that assimilated into Sicily, not the Sicilians becoming them.  This is something for a small island to be proud of and we are.

Answer 8

Hello,

Your question is really interesting.I'm from Sicily , but i never heard about that.

When i'm in italy i say i'm sicilian because it's obvious that i'm italian...

if i'm out of italy i usually say "i'm italian"...

However in italy culture is different in each region, so sometimes you can hear "i'm sicilian" instead of "i'm italian"

Answer 9

Non so, alcune persone sono pazzo! Solo lasciarli essere che sono! ha ha

hey si può rispondere a questa domanda?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 10

Rodney's answer should be considered the best. Italians are only Italians when they leave Italy. My relatives are from Puglia (on the Adriatic).