Would I be considered Napolitan?

Question

Ok, I know I'm half Sicilian. But I had grown up being told the other half was from a town outside of Naples. NOW I find out (from a very nice person on Yahoo Answers) that the town of Sant'Andrea is in Avellino and not as close to Naples as I had always thought. Outside of why I was told that, what then would my non-Sicilian half be?? I remember being there when I was around 12 (about 38 yrs. ago), and looking down off the mountain onto what I was told was the town of Naples. Any help? Thanks!!

Answer 1

The mountain area around Avellino, really not so far from Napoli, is called Irpinia (from the ancient Oscan  -pre Latin word "Hirpus" , wolf, an animal still diffused in the area.. So basically you can define yourself as 50% Irpino, and for sure as Campano (from Campania, being Campania the same region of Napoli and Avellino). From nearby Sant'Andrea di Conza may be you can see Napoli

Answer 2

You are a Napolitan if you were born in Napoli. Ancestry doesn't matter! Similarly, you are not Italian if you were born in the USA - you are American with Italian roots - the fact your ancestors came from a certain place doesn't mean YOU come from there!

I'm English, not German, even though all 4 of my great grandparents on my fathers side were born and raised in Germany. There's a big differance, which Americans seem to overlook, between heritage (roots) and actual nationality!