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# 81 JULY 18 , 2016
space and time, and which has changed or the blood, but it rather refers to a senthe concept set during the Peace of We- timent, a feeling of belonging.
stphalia (1648), concerning the notion of
what is national and international.
It is a concept which goes much beyond
the Italian Republic (only united 150
We should be aware we live in a world in years ago) and which is linked to other
which the concepts of “global” and “lo- grandiose historical moments, such as
cal” have changed. For instance, in Italy the Roman Empire, (the) Renaissance…
the idea of “local” exclusively refers to This whole idea lies on a common senwhat happens and lives within the bor- se of belonging to a series of values and
ders of the country: Italy. On the con- characteristics we consider typical of the
trary, we think that the community of the “italicità”.
potential "italici" is wider, and includes
not only those living in Italy, but it goes In “Svegliamoci italici! Manifesto per
much over, beyond.
un futuro glocal” I affirm that the idea
beyond “italicità” consists of: “sharing
In fact, as I state in my book, the “italici” values, manners, behaviors but also a
are not only Italian citizens or Italians li- way of moving, do business, eat, feel,
ving abroad; “italici” are also those living live art, fashion, design, taste, beauty,
in the Ticino (Switzerland), in Dalmatia, and pleasure: a unique way of being a
the Republic of San Marino, the Italian “community”, which has shown the capaAmericans and those living in North and bility of being “Italian” and “Italic” in difSouth America, Australia; and, to go on, ferent circumstances, and, especially, on
also the Italian-speakers, those having or a global scale”.
not having any Italian descendant, but
who decided to have an Italian lifestyle It is for this reason that I insist there are
which shares the way of being Italian. We several ways of being Italic.
are talking about more than 250 million
people: a community that transcends For instance, the Italian Americans are
from the mere concept of italianness basically Americans with Italian origins,
and goes beyond.
some of whom also have the Italian pasThis is my idea: according to the way the sport. But there are also some other caworld has changed, we should try to find ses in which for example a wife of an
some political strategies (like the idea of Italian-American – who usually speaks
“civilization” by Huntington) in order to English – has a son who is half Italian and
aggregate all the 250 million people be- half American, and that now, as a third
longing to this new idea of “italicità”.
generation, may supposedly speak Italian. Then we can also have the friend of
The aggregation I am talking about does an Italic family who has discovered abronot refer to the passport, the language, ad an Italian way of eating (which is not
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# 81 juLY 18 , 2016
the way we cook in Italy, because New an American invention, and that, mayYork spaghetti are different than Naples be, he did not even know it came from
spaghetti).
another country: Italy. In his mind, ‘pizza’
sounded “American”. Well, it is true that
All these examples are described in my pizzas are made in many different ways,
book. For instance, the Italian cuisine but a pizza is a pizza. This reminds me of
is not necessarily the same around the a day in Naples. I found some pizza maworld: there is the Venezuelan pizza, the kers to whom I asked: “what do you think
Indian pizza, the Italian pizza… They are about the pizzas made in Venezuela, whiall different, but they are all pizzas. In my ch are clearly very different from yours?”
book there is a story of a pizza, which is “It’s fine,” they replied “in this way,” they
important for me.
explained, “when the Venezuelans come
here, to Naples, they realize the NeapoliI was returning from an experience at the tan pizza is better!”
Cornell University, and on board of the
Vulcania, I was sitting with two “paisà”, You launched the www.italicos.com
two Italian Americans.
website, which is dedicated to the italics speaking Spanish. How should it be
When they found out I was Italian, one of translated for the English speakers?
the two shyly asked me: “how do you say
‘pizza’ in Italian?” It took me a while be- This is a little problem, as ‘italics’ in Enfore I realized that in his mind ‘pizza’ was glish can recall the font, the writing sty-
10 | WE THE ITALIANS
WE THE ITALIANS | 11
www.wetheitalians.com
www.wetheitalians.com