Italians
Italiani

1st row: Alessandro Volta, Rita Levi-Montalcini, Vittorio Gassman, Caravaggio 2nd row: Carlo Goldoni, Martino Martini, Dario Fo, Elena Cornaro Piscopia 3rd row: Leonardo da Vinci, Alessandro Del Piero, Maria Montessori, Galileo 4th row: Giordano Bruno, Fiorella Mannoia, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Umberto Boccioni 5th row: Grazia Deledda, Luigi Pirandello, Valentino, Antonio Gramsci
Total population
c. 124 million
Regions with significant populations
Italy        56,113,514 [1]
Brazil 28,000,000 (Italian ancestry) [2]  United States 18,086,617 (Italian ancestry) [2][3]  Argentina 15,000,000 (Italian ancestry)[4]  Uruguay 1,500,000 (Italian ancestry) [5]  Canada 1,445,335 [6]  Venezuela 900,000 [7]  Australia 852,418 [8]  Switzerland 800,000b [9]  Germany 611,000 [10]  Peru 500,000 [11]  France 340,000 [12]  Belgium 290,000 [13]  Spain 153,700 [14]  Chile 150,000  United Kingdom 100,000[15]  Paraguay 90,000 [16]  Romania 40,000 [17]  South Africa 35,000  Croatia 19,636 [18]  Luxembourg 18,996 [19]  Mexico 15,000 [2]  Monaco 8,200 [20]  San Marino 3,000 [21]  Armenia 1,500b [22]
Languages
historically Latin, nowdays Italian and other languages (Sicilian · Southern Italian languages · Corsican · Catalan · Sardinian · Northern Italian languages · Friulan) languages of resident countries
Religion
predominantly Roman Catholic, others
Related ethnic groups
Greeks • French • Portuguese • Sardinian • Sicilian • Spanish • Romanians • Croats
Footnotes
a Italians by birth, not including an indeterminable number of Frenchmen of Italian ancestry numbering as much as five million.[23] b includes 291,200 permanent residents;[24] not including about 500,000 Italian-speaking Swiss people,

Italians (Italian: italiani) are an ethnic group native of Southern Europe that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence (though the principle of jus sanguinis is used extensively and arguably more favorably in the Italian nationality law), and are distinguished from people of Italian descent and, historically, from ethnic Italians living in the unredeemed territories adjacent to the Italian Peninsula.^[25]

In 2012, in addition to the 60 million Italians in Italy and 3,000 in San Marino,^[26] Italian-speaking, autonomous groups are found in neighboring countries: about 500,000 in Switzerland, a large, but undefined population in France (Nice, Corsica),^[23] and smaller groups in Slovenia and Croatia, primarily in Istria. If regarded as an ethnic group, they constitute one of the world's largest.

Because of wide-ranging and long-lasting diaspora, about 4 and half million Italian citizens and over 70 million people of full or part Italian ancestry live outside of Italy, most notably in South America, North America, Australia and parts of Europe.

Italians have greatly influenced and contributed to science, the arts, technology, culture, cuisine, sport and banking^[27] abroad^[28] and worldwide. Italian people are generally known for their localism, both regionalist that municipalist,^[29] attention to clothing, family values^[30] and devoutness to the Christian faith and association with the Catholic Church.^[31]

History[link]

End of the Western Roman Empire[link]

For nearly 1,500 years, starting about 1000 BC., the history of Italy was partially the history of the Etruscans and mostly the one of ancient Rome.

The Etruscan civilization, a great maritime, commercial, and artistic culture, reached its peak about the 7th century, but by 509 BC, when the Romans overthrew their Etruscan monarchs, its control in Italy was on the wane.

By 350 BC, after a series of wars with both Greeks and Etruscans, the Latins, with Rome as their capital, gained the ascendancy by 272 BC, and they managed to unite the entire Italian peninsula.

Bust of Julius Caesar.

Unification of Italy in Roman times

This period of unification was followed by one of conquest in the Mediterranean, beginning with the First Punic War against Carthage. In the course of the century-long struggle against Carthage, the Romans conquered Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. Finally, in 146 BC, at the conclusion of the Third Punic War, with Carthage completely destroyed and its inhabitants enslaved, Rome became the dominant power in the Mediterranean. From its inception, Rome was a republican city-state, but four famous civil conflicts destroyed the republic: Lucius Cornelius Sulla against Gaius Marius and his son (88–82 BC), Julius Caesar against Pompey (49–45 BC), Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus against Mark Antony and Octavian (43 BC), and Mark Antony against Octavian.

Octavian, the final victor (31 BC), was accorded the title of Augustus by the Senate and thereby became the first Roman emperor. Augustus created for the first time an administrative region called Italia with inhabitants called "Italicus populus", stretching from the Alps to Sicily: for this reason historians like Gentile called him Father of Italians.

Under imperial rule, Rome undertook a series of conquests that brought Roman law, Roman administration, and Pax Romana to an area extending from the Atlantic to the Rhine, to the British Isles, to the Iberian Peninsula and large parts of North Africa, and to the Middle East as far as the Euphrates.

After two centuries of successful rule, in the 3rd century AD, Rome was threatened by internal discord and menaced by Germanic and Asian invaders, commonly called barbarians (from the Latin word barbari, "foreigners"). Emperor Diocletian's administrative division of the empire into two parts in 285 provided only temporary relief; it became permanent in 395. In 313, Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity, and churches thereafter rose throughout the empire.^[32] However, he also moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople, greatly reducing the importance of the former. The last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed in AD 476 by a Germanic foederati general in Italy, Odoacer. His defeat marked the end of the western part of the Roman Empire. During most of the period from the fall of Rome until the Kingdom of Italy was established in 1861, the peninsula was divided into several smaller states. These states were frequently conquered by other countries.

The Middle Ages[link]

Odoacer ruled well for 13 years after gaining control of Italy in 476. Then he was attacked and defeated by Theodoric, the king of another Germanic tribe, the Ostrogoths. Theodoric and Odoacer ruled jointly until 493, when Theodoric murdered Odoacer. Theodoric continued to rule Italy with an army of Ostrogoths and a government that was mostly Italian. He brought peace to the country, but after his death in 526, the kingdom began to grow weak. By 553, Justinian I, the Byzantine emperor who ruled the eastern part of the Roman Empire, expelled the Ostrogoths. The old Roman Empire was mostly united again, even if at the price of the total destruction of the Italian peninsula (Rome -under Augustus the first "one million inhabitants" city in the world- was reduced to a small village of just one thousand inhabitants). But Byzantine rule in Italy collapsed by 572 as a result of invasions by another Germanic tribe, the Lombards.

During the 5th and 6th centuries, the popes increased their influence in both religious and political matters in Italy. It was usually the popes who led attempts to protect Italy from invasion or to soften foreign rule. For about 200 years the popes opposed attempts by the Lombards, who had captured most of Italy, to take over Rome as well. The popes finally defeated the Lombards with the aid of two Frankish kings, Pepin the Short and Charlemagne. Using land won for them by Pepin in 756, the popes established political rule in what were called the Papal States in central Italy.

The Lombards remained a threat to papal power, however, until they were crushed by Charlemagne in 774. Charlemagne added the Lombard kingdom to his vast realm. In recognition of Charlemagne's power, and to cement the church's alliance with him, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in 800.^[33]

After Charlemagne's death in 814, his son Louis the Pious succeeded him. Louis divided the empire among his sons, who fought each other for territory. Such battles continued until Otto the Great, the king of Germany, was crowned emperor in 962. This marked the beginning of what later was called the Holy Roman Empire.

Rise of the city-states[link]

Italy in early 1494.

From the 11th century on, Italian cities began to grow rapidly in independence and importance. They became centers of political life, banking, and foreign trade. Some became wealthy, and many, including Florence, Genoa, Milan, Pisa, and Venice, grew into nearly independent city-states. Each had its own foreign policy and political life. They all resisted the efforts of noblemen and emperors to control them.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, some Italian city-states ranked among the most important powers of Europe. However, the city-states were often troubled by violent disagreements among their citizens. The most famous division was between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Guelphs supported supreme rule by the pope, and the Ghibellines favored the emperor. City-states often took sides and waged war against each other. This weakened the city-states and resulted in their capture by foreign invaders.

Venice, in particular, had become a major maritime power, and the city-states as a group acted as a conduit for goods and learning from the Byzantine and Islamic empires. In this capacity, they provided great impetus to the developing Renaissance, which between the 13th and 16th centuries led to an unparalleled flourishing of the arts, literature, music, and science.

During the Renaissance, Italy became an even more attractive prize to foreign conquerors. After some city-states asked for outside help in settling disputes with their neighbors, King Charles VIII of France marched into Italy in 1494. The city-states could not hold back the French army. Charles soon withdrew, but he had shown that the cities of Italy could be conquered because they were not united. After the Italian Wars, Spain emerged as the dominant force in the region. Venice, Milan, and other city-states retained at least some of their former greatness during this period, as did Savoy-Piedmont, protected by the Alps and well defended by its vigorous rulers.

The French Revolution and Napoleon[link]

Italian women dance the tarantella, 1846

Economic hardship, waves of the plague, and religious unrest tormented the region throughout the 17th century and into the 18th.

The French Revolution and Napoleon influenced Italy more deeply than they affected any other country of Europe, except France. The French Revolution began in 1789 and immediately found supporters among the Italian people. The local Italian rulers, sensing danger in their own country, drew closer to the European kings who opposed France. After the French king was overthrown and France became a republic, secret clubs favoring an Italian republic were formed throughout Italy. The armies of the French Republic began to move across Europe. In 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte led a French army into northern Italy and drove out the Austrian rulers. Once again, Italy was the scene of battle between the Habsburgs and the French. Wherever France conquered, Italian republics were set up, with constitutions and legal reforms. Napoleon made himself emperor in 1804, and part of northern Italy became the Kingdom of Italy under his rule. The rest of northern Italy was added to France. Only Sicily and Sardinia remained free of French control.

French rule lasted less than 20 years, and it differed from previous foreign control of the Italian peninsula. In spite of heavy taxation and frequent harshness, the French introduced representative assemblies and new laws that were the same for all parts of the country. For the first time since the days of ancient Rome, Italians of different regions used the same money and served in the same army. Many Italians began to see the possibility of a united Italy free of foreign control.

The Kingdom of Italy[link]

The Expedition of the Thousand.

The French Revolution was brought to the Italian peninsula by Napoleon, and the concepts of nationalism and liberalism infiltrated everywhere. Short-lived republics and even a Kingdom of Italy were formed. But reaction set in with the Congress of Vienna, and many of the old rulers and systems were restored under Austrian domination. The concept of nationalism continued strong, however, and sporadic outbreaks led by such inveterate reformers as Giuseppe Mazzini occurred in several parts of the peninsula down to 1848–49. This Risorgimento movement was brought to a successful conclusion under the able guidance of Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour, prime minister of Piedmont.

Cavour managed to unite most of Italy under the headship of Victor Emmanuel II of the house of Savoy, and on 17 March 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed with Victor Emmanuel II as king. Giuseppe Garibaldi, the popular republican hero of Italy, contributed much to this achievement and to the subsequent incorporation of the Papal States under the Italian monarch. Italian troops occupied Rome in 1870, and in July 1871, it formally became the capital of the kingdom. Pope Pius IX, a longtime rival of Italian kings, considered himself a "prisoner" of the Vatican and refused to cooperate with the royal administration. Only in 1929 the Roman Pope accepted the unified Italy with capital in Rome.

In the following decades Italy started to create colonies in Africa (and even a small one in Asia) and with Benito Mussolini's fascism founded in 1936 an Italian Empire. World War I completed the process of Italian unification, with Istria, Trentino-Alto Adige and Zara added to Italy. The Italians grew to 45 millions in 1940 and started developing a huge industrial power, mainly in northern Italy. But WWII soon destroyed Italy and its colonial power.

The Italian republic[link]

Between 1945 an 1948, the outlines of a new Italy began to appear. Victor Emmanuel III gave up the throne on May 9, 1946, and his son, Umberto II, became king. On June 2, Italy held its first free election in 20 years (Il ventennio). Italians chose a republic to replace the monarchy, which had been closely associated with Fascism. They elected a Constituent Assembly to prepare a new democratic constitution. The Assembly approved the constitution in 1947, which came into force since January 1, 1948.

Ethnicity[link]

The original indoeuropean tribes of the Italic people settled in neolitical times in the Italian peninsula. Usually these tribes were historically divided between Liguri, Veneti, Latins, Siculi, etc. Successively they were united and amalgamated by Rome, together with the Etruscans in central Italy, Celtic Gauls in the Po river plains, and Greeks in the so called Magna Grecia.

Most Italians have common Roman Latin ancestry as well as a variety of other ancestries. Many Italians have Lombard heritage as a result of the Germanic tribe of the Lombards occupying and settling most of Italy.^[34] Claims that the Lombards wiped out Roman heritage in Italy have been proven false with evidence of a mixing of Roman and Germanic names in northern Italy as well as cultural artifacts that reveal a mixing of Roman and Lombard culture, such as Lombard pottery using Roman crafting techniques.^[35]

The western part of Northern Italy has held linguistic and cultural connections with people from Occitania, particularly the Piedmontese hold such connections with Occitania.^[36]

Southern Italy has an ancestral Greek heritage alongside the Italic one.^[37] Southern Italy was influenced both by the ancient Greeks of Magna Graecia who brought Hellenic culture to Italy, and by the arrival of modern Greeks to Southern Italy in the 17th century during the rule of the Byzantine Empire.^[38]

Sicilians have a diverse ancestry. After Byzantine rule, Sicily was conquered by Arab and Berber peoples, resulting in the introduction of Islam into Sicily.^[39] However there were other ethnic influences in Sicily during its Islamic era as well from arriving immigration.^[40] The intermixing of indigenous Latin Sicilians with Arabs and Berbers did not always transmit Islamic culture to the people as many held on to Christianity as a symbol of defiance, though remained relatively positive social relations remained between Sicily's Christian and Muslim communities.^[41] After the short period of Arab rule, the island was conquered by Norman warlords. The Normans brought a new addition to Sicilian ancestry.^[42] During the subsequent Swabian rule under the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who spent most of his life as king of Sicily in his court in Palermo, the Islamic element was progressively eradicated till the massive deportation of the last Muslims of Sicily.^[43]

Furthermore, there it is a 7% of linguistic minorities (albanian, german, greek, slav, etc..) in the Italian population.^{[citation needed]}

Culture[link]

From antiquity until the late 16th century, the Italians were at the centre of the Western culture, being the fulcrum or origin of Ancient Rome, the Roman Catholic Church, the Humanism and the Renaissance.^[44] The first merchants and bankers were florentine and genoese and they created capitalism during the Renaissance.

Italy became also a seat of great formal learning in 1088 with the establishment of the University of Bologna, the first university in Europe.^[45] Other Italian universities soon followed. For example, the Schola Medica Salernitana, in southern Italy, was the first medical school of medieval Europe.^[46] These great centers of learning presaged the Rinascimento: the European Renaissance began in Italy and was fueled throughout Europe by Italian painters, sculptors, architects, scientists, literature masters and music composers. Italy continued its leading cultural role through the Baroque period and into the Romantic period, when its dominance in painting and sculpture diminished but the Italians reestablished a strong presence in music.

Fundamental contributions to science and technology were given by Italian scientists. Galileo Galilei has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy",^[47]because of his discovery of telescope and heliocentrism, and even "the Father of Modern Science".^[48]. Among the technological innovations on which today's information and communication technologies are grounded, we can mention the following: electric batteries (Alessandro Volta), radio (Guglielmo Marconi), telephone (Antonio Meucci), the microprocessor (Federico Faggin), compressed audio (MP3) and video (MPEG) (Leonardo Chiariglione).

Italian explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries left a perennial mark on human history with the modern "discovery of America", due to Christopher Columbus; furthermore, the name of the American continents derives from Amerigo Vespucci's first name.

Italy did not exist as a "political state" until its unification in 1861.^[49] Due to this comparatively late unification, and the historical autonomy of the regions that comprise the Italian peninsula, many traditions and customs of the Italians that are now recognized as distinctly Italian can be identified by their regions of origin. Despite the political and social isolation of these regions, Italy's contributions to the cultural and historical heritage of the Western world remain immense.Famous elements of Italian culture are its opera and music, its iconic gastronomy and food, which are commonly regarded as amongst the most popular in the world,^[50] its cinema (with classic films such as La Dolce Vita, Life is Beautiful, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly etc.), its collections of priceless works of art and its fashion (Milan and Florence are regarded as some of the few fashion capitals of the world).

Furthermore, Italy is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (47) to date,^[51] and one estimate says that the country is home to half the world's great art treasures.^[52]

Italian diaspora[link]

Strictly defined, the Italian Diaspora took place between the unification of the country in 1861 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914. However, large-scale migrations phenomena did not recede until the late 1920s, well into the Fascist regime, and one last wave can be observed after the end of World War II.

Over 70 million people of full or partial Italian descent live outside of Europe, with nearly 50 million living in South America (primarily Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay), about 19 million living in North America (United States and Canada) and 850,000 in Australia. Millions of others live in other parts of Europe (primarily France, Germany and Switzerland). Most Italian citizens living abroad live in other nations of the European Union.

Full or partial descent[link]

Country	Population	References
Italian Brazilians	28/35,000,000	[53][54]
Italian Argentines	15/20,000,000	[2][3]
Italian Americans	17,800,000	[55]
Italians in France	1,5/5,000,000	[2][23][56]
Italian Uruguayans	1,500,000	[5]
Italian Canadians	1,445,335	[57]
Italo-Venezuelans	900,000	[58]
Italian Australians	852,418	[59]
Italian Germans	600,000/650,000	[10]
Italian Peruvians	500,000	[11]
Italian Chileans	150,000	[2]
Italian Ecuadorians	90,000	[60]
Italian Mexicans	15,000	[2]

Autochthonous Italian communities outside Italy[link]

Napoleone Buonaparte, a Corsican: he and the House of Bonaparte were of continental Italian ancestry

.

In both the Slovenian and Croatian portions of Istria, in Dalmatia as well as in the city of Rijeka, Italian refers to autochthonous speakers of Italian and various Italo-Dalmatian languages, natives in the region since before the inception of the Venetian Republic, and also to descendants of Italians that migrated to the area in the early-to-mid-20th Century when it was a part of Italy. It can also refer to Istrian Slavs who adopted the Italian culture and language as they moved from rural to urban areas, or from the farms into the bourgeoisie, since the time of the Austrian Empire through to the period of annexation to Italy. In the aftermath of the Istrian exodus following the Second World War, most Italian speakers consider themselves ethnic Italian and are today located in the south and west of Istria, and number about 32,000.^[61][62] The number of inhabitants with Italian ancestry is likely much greater but undeterminable.

The 1816 Austro-Hungarian census registered 66,000 Italian-speaking people amongst the 301,000 inhabitants of Dalmatia, or 22% of the total Dalmatian population.^[63]

In France (County of Nice, parts of Savoy), autochthonous speakers of regional languages of Italy (Ligurian and Piedmontese), are natives in the region since before annexation to France in 1860, in addition to descendants of Italians that migrated to the areas when they were part of Italian states. The number of inhabitants with Italian ancestry is generally undeterminable, and the use of French language is now ubiquitous.

In addition, Corsica was a part of the Republic of Genoa until 1770 and, until recently, most Corsicans spoke the Corsican Italian dialect and even the Italian language.

Notes[link]

1. ^ [1] Italia Ora - l'Italia in tempo reale. ItaliaOra.org Web. 10 October 2011. (Italian)
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} (Italian) http://www.migranti.torino.it/Documenti%20%20PDF/italianial%20ster05.pdf
3. ^ ^{a b} [2] Unos 20 millones de personas que viven en la Argentina tienen algún grado de descendencia italiana. asteriscos.tv 27 June 2008. (Spanish)
4. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 American Community Survey". http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-mt_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G2000_B04003&-CONTEXT=dt&-redoLog=true&-currentselections=ACS_2007_1YR_G2000_B04001&-geo_id=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en. Retrieved December 25, 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Gli Italiani in Uruguay. consultanazionaleemigrazione.it Web. 11 October 2011. (Italian)
6. ^ "Ethnic origins, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories - 20% sample data". 2.statcan.ca. 2010-10-06. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Data=Count&Table=2&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000. Retrieved 2011-05-22. 
7. ^ Santander Laya-Garrido, Alfonso. Los Italianos forjadores de la nacionalidad y del desarrollo economico en Venezuela. Editorial Vadell. Valencia, 1978
8. ^ "Australian Census 2006". http://www.abs.gov.au. 
9. ^ Die italienische Auswanderung in die Schweiz. stadt-zuerich.ch 28 June 2009.
10. ^ ^{a b} "Immigration Laws: October 2003 - Number No. 14". MigrationInt.com. http://www.migrationint.com.au/news/solomon_islands/oct_2003-14mn.asp. Retrieved 2007-05-04. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Documento sin título". Lucanidelperu.com. http://www.lucanidelperu.com/presenza%20italiana.html. Retrieved 2010-09-02. 
12. ^ (French) "Insee - Population - Enquêtes annuelles de recensement 2004 et 2005 - Près de 5 millions d'immigrés à la mi-2004" (in French). http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/document.asp?ref_id=ip1098&reg_id=0&page=graph#graphique1. Retrieved 2009-01-11. 
13. ^ "Informazioni sul Belgio / INCA BE - INCA BE" (in (Italian)). Inca-cgil.be. http://www.inca-cgil.be/informazioni_sul_belgio. Retrieved 2011-05-22. 
14. ^ (Spanish) "Demographía" (in Spanish) (PDF). Ine.es. 2006. http://www.ine.es/prodyser/pubweb/anuario06/anu06_02demog.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-04. 
15. ^ http://www.abc.com.py/nota/los-italianos-y-su-aporte-a-la-nacion/
16. ^ http://www.ambitalquito.org/ZaccariaDAniello.pdf
17. ^ "RO.AS.IT - Asociatia Italienilor din Romania". Roasit.ro. http://www.roasit.ro/html/ro/linkuri.php/. Retrieved 2011-05-22. 
18. ^ "Population by Ethnicity, by Towns/Municipalities, Census 2001". DZS.hr. 2001. http://www.dzs.hr/Eng/censuses/Census2001/Popis/E01_02_02/E01_02_02.html. Retrieved 2007-05-09. 
19. ^ "Recensement de la population: Population par nationalité 1875 - 2001". statec.lu. http://www.statistiques.public.lu/stat/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=389&IF_Language=fra&MainTheme=2&FldrName=1&RFPath=68. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
20. ^ "CIA - The World Factbook - Monaco". CIA.gov. April 17, 2007. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mn.html#People. Retrieved 2007-05-09.  Dose not include native Monegasque.
21. ^ http://www.sanmarinosite.com/eng/demografia.html
22. ^ "AM.AS.IT - Asociatia Italienilor din Armenia". Roasit.ro. http://www.roasit.am/html/ro/linkuri.php/. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
23. ^ ^{a b c} Cohen, Robin. The Cambridge survey of world migration. Cambridge University Press, 1995. pp. 142-4. Web. 22 May 2011.
24. ^ "Swiss Statistics - Nationality". Bfs.admin.ch. 2010-08-24. http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/themen/01/07/blank/key/01/01.html. Retrieved 2011-05-22. 
25. ^ [3] Italian Citizenship. www.interno.it Web. 26 March 2011.
26. ^ http://www.sanmarinosite.com/eng/demografia.html
27. ^ Macesich, George. Issues in Money and Banking. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000. p. 42. Web. 08 October 2011.
    "The first state deposit bank was the Bank of St. George in Genoa, which was established in 1407."
28. ^ [4] The essence of Italian culture and the challenge of the global age: Italian cultural identity and migration. www.crvp.org Web. 02 September 2010.
29. ^ Keating, Michael. Regions and regionalism in Europe. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2004. p. 378. Web. 08 October 2011.
30. ^ [5] Italy, People. dev.prenhall.com Web. 02 September 2010.
31. ^ The World Fact Book: People - Italy CIA.gov Web. 08 October 2011.
32. ^ George, Maya. Faith & philosophy of Christianity. Gyan Publishing House, 2009. p. 25. Web. 09 October 2011.
33. ^ McKitterick, Rosamond. The New Cambridge medieval history. Volume 4, Parte 2. Cambridge University Press, 1995. p. 105. Web. 10 October 2011.
34. ^ Timothy W. Potter. Roman Italy. University of California Press, 1987. Pp. 218.
35. ^ Timothy W. Potter. Roman Italy. University of California Press, 1987. Pp. 218.
36. ^ David Lowenthal. George Perkins Marsh, Prophet of Conservation. University of Washington Press, 2003. Pp. 260-261.
37. ^ Giovanna Ceserani. Italy's Lost Greece: Magna Graecia and the Making of Modern Archaeology. Oxford University Press, 2012. Pp. 34.
38. ^ Giovanna Ceserani. Italy's Lost Greece: Magna Graecia and the Making of Modern Archaeology. Oxford University Press, 2012. Pp. 34.
39. ^ Alex Metcalfe. The Muslims of Medieval Italy. Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: Edinburgh University Press, 2009. Pp. 39.
40. ^ Alex Metcalfe. The Muslims of Medieval Italy. Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: Edinburgh University Press, 2009. Pp. 39.
41. ^ Alex Metcalfe. The Muslims of Medieval Italy. Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: Edinburgh University Press, 2009. Pp. 39.
42. ^ Alex Metcalfe. The Muslims of Medieval Italy. Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: Edinburgh University Press, 2009. Pp. 88.
43. ^ David Abulafia, Mediterranean encounters, economic, religious, political, 1100-1550, Ashgate Publishing, 2001, p. 236.
44. ^ Landau, Sarah. Renaissance (1300s-1600s). Department of Fine Arts New York University. Web. 25 Sep. 2011.
45. ^ Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization: Volume I: A Brief History. Cengage Learning, 2010. p. 186. Web. 22 Sep. 2011.
46. ^ Windsor, Laura Lynn. Women in medicine: an encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2002. p. 202. Web. 27 Sep. 2011.
47. ^ Singer, Charles (1941). A Short History of Science to the Nineteenth Century. Clarendon Press. http://www.google.com.au/books?id=mPIgAAAAMAAJ&pgis=1  (page 217)
48. ^ Finocchiaro, Maurice. The Galileo Affair: A Documentary History (http://books.google.com/?id=wKCZFJuMCaQC&printsec=frontcover&q= )
49. ^ "Risorgimento." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2011. Web. 25 Sep. 2011.
50. ^ Mariani, John F. How Italian Food Conquered the World. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. p. 15. Web. 25 Sep. 2011.
51. ^ [6] UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Web. 25 Sep. 2011.
52. ^ Abbot, Charles. Italy. Morellini Editore, 2006. p. 101. Web. 24 Sep. 2011.
53. ^ Gli Italiani in Brasile. consultanazionaleemigrazione.it Web. 22 May 2011. (Italian)^{[dead link]}
54. ^ [7] Storia. ambbrasilia.esteri.it Web. 30 May 2009. (Italian)
55. ^ [8] United States. factfinder.census.gov Web. 08 May 2008.
56. ^ "italiani in Francia, storie di " ritals "". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1994/gennaio/26/italiani_Francia_storie_ritals__co_0_9401267517.shtml. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
57. ^ [9] Ethnic origins, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories - 20% sample data. statcan.gc.ca Web. 22 May 2011.
58. ^ Santander Laya-Garrido, Alfonso. Los Italianos forjadores de la nacionalidad y del desarrollo economico en Venezuela. Editorial Vadell. Valencia, 1978.
59. ^ [10] Australian Census 2006. abs.gov.au Web. 11 October 2011.
60. ^ La inmigración italiana en Ecuador en los años 20. ambitalquito.org Web. 12 October 2011. (Italian)(Spanish)
61. ^ [11] Languages of Croatia. ethnologue.com Web. 10 October 2011.
62. ^ [12] Population by ethnic affiliation, Slovenia, Census 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2002. stat.si Web. 10 October 2011.
63. ^ Montani, Carlo. Venezia Giulia, Dalmazia - Sommario Storico - An Historical Outline

Bibliography[link]

• Finocchiaro, Maurice A.The Galileo Affair: A Documentary History. University of California. Berkeley, 1989 ISBN 0-520-06662-6
• Montanelli, Indro. L'Italia del Risorgimento. Editore Rizzoli. Milano, 1972

See also[link]

Italy portal

• List of Italians
• List of Sardinians
• List of Sicilians

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Eddie Murphy
Murphy at the Tribeca Film Festival for Shrek Forever After in 2010.
Birth name	Edward Regan Murphy
Born	(1961-04-03) April 3, 1961 (age 51) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Medium	Film, television, stand-up, music, books
Nationality	American
Years active	1976–present
Genres	Observational comedy, musical comedy, black comedy, satire, physical comedy, Dance Pop
Subject(s)	African American culture, race relations, racism, marriage, everyday life, current events, pop culture, human sexuality
Influences	Bill Cosby,[1] Richard Pryor,[1] Peter Sellers, Redd Foxx[1] Robin Williams,[1]
Spouse	Nicole Mitchell (1993–2006) (divorced) 5 children Tracey Edmonds (2008) (unofficial)
Domestic partner(s)	Melanie Brown (2006–07) 1 child
Notable works and roles	Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop Various on Saturday Night Live Shrek series

Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician.

Box office takes from Murphy's films make him the second-highest grossing actor in the United States.^[2][3] He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984 and has worked as a stand-up comedian. He was ranked #10 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.^[4]

He has received Golden Globe Award nominations for his performances in 48 Hrs, Beverly Hills Cop series, Trading Places, and The Nutty Professor. In 2007, he won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of soul singer James "Thunder" Early in Dreamgirls.^[5]

Eddie Murphy's work as a voice actor includes Thurgood Stubbs in The PJs, Donkey in the Shrek series and the dragon Mushu in Disney's Mulan. In some of his films, he plays multiple roles in addition to his main character, intended as a tribute to one of his idols Peter Sellers, who played multiple roles in Dr. Strangelove and elsewhere. Murphy has played multiple roles in Coming to America, Wes Craven's Vampire In Brooklyn, the Nutty Professor films (where he played the title role in two incarnations, plus his father, brother, mother, and grandmother), Bowfinger, Norbit, and Meet Dave.

Early life[link]

Murphy grew up in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick.^[6] His mother, Lillian, was a telephone operator, and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer and an amateur actor and comedian.^[1][7][8][9] His father died when he was young. When Murphy's single mom became ill, the eight-year-old Eddie Murphy and his older brother lived in foster care for one year.^[10] In interviews, the actor and comedian says that his time in foster care was influential in developing his sense of humour. Later Murphy and his older brother Charlie were raised in Roosevelt, New York by his mother and stepfather Vernon Lynch, a foreman at an ice cream plant.^[1] Around the age of 15, Murphy was writing and performing his own routines, which were heavily influenced by Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor.^[1]

Career[link]

Stand-up comedy[link]

Murphy performed stand-up at the same Bay Area Comedy Club as Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. His early comedy was characterized by frequent swearing and sketches lampooning a diverse group of people (including WASPs, African Americans, Italian Americans, overweight people, and gay people). This racy content was akin to that of Richard Pryor, whom Murphy has credited as his inspiration to enter comedy;^[1] however, in his autobiography, Pryor Convictions, Pryor wrote that he found Murphy's comedy at times excessively insensitive. Murphy later apologized for insensitive jokes about gay people and HIV. The stand-up shows Delirious and Raw have been recorded and released.

1980s acting career[link]

Murphy in 1988

Murphy first earned attention as a regular actor at Saturday Night Live, and was credited with helping revitalize the series during its first true slump in quality in the early 1980s.^[11] Some of his notable characters included a grown version of the Little Rascals character Buckwheat,^[12] impoverished but street-wise children's show host Mr. Robinson (a spoof of Fred Rogers, who found it amusing),^[13] and Gumby,^[12] a harshly cynical version of the animated character; Murphy's take on the latter character spawned one of SNL's many catchphrases, "I'm Gumby, dammit!" Although Buckwheat was his most popular character, Murphy asked that he be retired because the actor grew tired of people asking him to "Do Buckwheat! Do Buckwheat!"; the character was assassinated on camera in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.^[14]

In 1982, Murphy made his big screen debut in the film 48 Hrs. with Nick Nolte.^[1] 48 Hrs. proved to be a hit when it was released in the Christmas season of 1982. Nolte was scheduled to host the December 11, 1982 Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live, but became too ill to host, so Murphy took over. He became the only cast member to host while still a regular. Murphy opened the show with the phrase, "Live from New York, It's the Eddie Murphy Show!" The following year, Murphy starred in Trading Places with fellow SNL alumnus Dan Aykroyd.^[1] The movie marked the first of Murphy's collaborations with director John Landis (who also directed Murphy in Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop III) and proved to be an even greater box office success than 48 Hrs. In 1984, Murphy starred in the successful action comedy film Beverly Hills Cop.^[1] The film was Murphy's first full-fledged starring vehicle, originally intended to star Sylvester Stallone (who later tweaked the script as his own starring vehicle Cobra in 1986).^[1] Beverly Hills Cop grossed over $230 million at the box office and is 40th in the list of all-time total U.S. box office grosses (4th-highest amongst "R" rated films), after adjusting for inflation, as of March 2011^[update].^[15]

In 1984, Murphy appeared in Best Defense, co-starring Dudley Moore. Murphy, who was credited as a "Strategic Guest Star", was added to the film after an original version was completed but tested poorly with audiences. Best Defense was a major financial and critical disappointment. When he hosted SNL, Murphy joined the chorus of those bashing Best Defense, calling it "the worst movie in the history of everything". Murphy's Trading Places co-star Dan Aykroyd had originally written the character of Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters specifically for Murphy, but he was unable to commit at the time due to the Beverly Hills Cop shooting schedule. The part ultimately went to Ernie Hudson. Murphy was also offered a part in 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, a role that, after being heavily re-written from comic relief to love interest, ultimately went to future 7th Heaven star Catherine Hicks. By this point^[16] Murphy's near-exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures rivaled Star Trek as Paramount's most lucrative franchise.

In 1986, Murphy starred in the supernatural comedy, The Golden Child.^[1] The Golden Child was originally intended to be a serious adventure picture starring Mel Gibson. After Gibson turned the role down, the project was offered to Murphy as it was subsequently rewritten as a partial comedy. Although The Golden Child (featuring Murphy's "I want the knife!" routine) performed well at the box office, the movie was not as critically acclaimed as 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop. The Golden Child was considered a change of pace for Murphy because of the supernatural setting as opposed to the more "street smart" settings of Murphy's previous efforts. A year later, Murphy reprised his role of Axel Foley in the Tony Scott-directed Beverly Hills Cop II. It was a box office success, grossing over $150 million. Producers reportedly wanted to turn the Beverly Hills Cop franchise into a weekly television series. Murphy declined the television offer, but was willing to do a film sequel instead.

Murphy was one of the last movie actors to sign an exclusive contract with a studio. In this case, it was Paramount Pictures, which released all of his early films.

Singing career[link]

Murphy is also a singer and musician, having frequently provided background vocals to songs released by The Bus Boys, which their song "The Boys Are Back in Town" was featured in 48 Hrs. and Murphy's comedy special Eddie Murphy Delirious. As a solo artist, Murphy had two hit singles, "Party All the Time" (which was produced by Rick James) and "Put Your Mouth on Me" in the mid-1980s (although he actually started singing earlier in his career, with the songs "Boogie In Your Butt" and "Enough Is Enough", the latter being a parody of Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer's 1979 song, "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)". They both appear on his 1982 self-titled comedy album.) "Party All the Time" was featured on Murphy's 1985 debut album How Could It Be, which included a minor follow-up R&B hit in the title track, a duet with vocalist Crystal Blake. This track was written by Rusty Hamilton and was produced by Stevie Wonder's cousin Aquil Fudge after a brief falling out and bet with Rick James. In 2004, VH-1 and Blender voted "Party All the Time" number seven among the "50 Worst Songs of All-Time." Sharam used a sample of the song for the UK #8 hit "PATT (Party All The Time)" in 2006.

Murphy recorded the album Love's Alright in the early 1990s. He performed in a music video of the single "Whatzupwitu", featuring Michael Jackson. He recorded a duet with Shabba Ranks called "I Was a King". In 1992, Murphy appeared in Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" alongside Magic Johnson and Iman.

Though uncredited, Murphy provided vocal work on SNL castmate Joe Piscopo's comedy single, "The Honeymooners Rap."^{[citation needed]} Piscopo impersonated Jackie Gleason on the single, while Murphy provided an imitation of Art Carney.

In Coming to America, he imitated Jackie Wilson when he sang "To Be Loved", but because the character he was playing had a thick accent, he had to sing it in character. In later years, Murphy performed several songs in the Shrek film franchise. In the first film, he performed a version of "I'm a Believer" in the film's final scene; in Shrek 2 he performed Ricky Martin's hit "Livin' La Vida Loca" along with co-star Antonio Banderas.

Murphy's all-time favorite singer is Elvis Presley.

Early 1990s career[link]

From 1989 until the mid 1990s, box office results and reviews for Murphy's films dropped, hitting a low point with the critically panned Beverly Hills Cop III (1994),^[17] a movie Murphy would ultimately denounce during an appearance on Inside the Actors Studio,^[1] although he did find box office success with Boomerang and Another 48 Hrs. Harlem Nights featured Murphy, who had previously been known only as a performer, as director, producer, star, and co-writer, with his brother, Charlie Murphy, as well as supporting roles for Murphy's comic idols Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor.^[1]

During this period Murphy was criticized by filmmaker Spike Lee for not using his show business stature to help black actors break into film, despite Murphy's films (especially those he produced) often being populated with predominantly black casts (Coming To America, Harlem Nights, Boomerang, Vampire In Brooklyn, Life). Many black actors who would later gain wider recognition make early appearances in Murphy films such as Damon Wayans in Beverly Hills Cop, Halle Berry and Martin Lawrence in Boomerang, Samuel L. Jackson and Cuba Gooding Jr. in Coming to America, Dave Chappelle in The Nutty Professor and Chris Rock in Beverly Hills Cop II.

Although Murphy has enjoyed commercial success since Saturday Night Live, he has never attended cast reunions or anniversary specials, nor did he participate in the making of the Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live retrospective book by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller (2002).

Comeback and image makeover[link]

Murphy's box office results began to recover in 1996, starting with The Nutty Professor. He followed with a series of very successful family-friendly movies like Mulan, Dr. Dolittle and its sequel, the Shrek series, Daddy Day Care, and The Haunted Mansion, along with Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. However, most of his movies meant for more adult audiences performed moderately; Metro, I Spy, and Showtime all ended to gross less than $40 million domestically, Holy Man performed poorly, grossing less than $13 million, and The Adventures of Pluto Nash is on record as one of the biggest theatrical money-losers of all time, grossing just $7 million worldwide on a reported $110 million budget. A notable exception to this run of poorly received adult-themed films was the Frank Oz comedy Bowfinger, also starring Steve Martin. The film garnered generally positive critical reviews, and grossed $98 million at the box office.

In 2006, he starred in the motion picture version of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls as soul singer James "Thunder" Early. Murphy won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award in that category. Several reviews for the film highlighted Murphy's performance while he received some pre-release Academy Awards buzz.^[18] Murphy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on January 23, 2007, but lost to Alan Arkin for his performance in Little Miss Sunshine. Dreamgirls was the first film distributed by Paramount Pictures to star Murphy (who once was on an exclusive contract with the studio) since Vampire in Brooklyn in 1995.

In 2007, Murphy was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.^[19] As a result of Viacom's acquisition of Dreamworks SKG, Paramount distributed his other 2007 releases: Norbit and Shrek the Third. He starred in the 2008 film Meet Dave and the 2009 film Imagine That for Paramount Pictures.

Murphy co-starred in Tower Heist, directed by Brett Ratner. Murphy played a thief who joins a group of hardworking men who find out they have fallen victim to a wealthy businessman's Ponzi scheme, and conspire to rob his high-rise residence. Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, and Casey Affleck also starred in the film, released on November 4, 2011.^[1][20][21]

It was reported in late 2011 that Murphy would host the 84th Academy Awards in 2012. However, he dropped out of his hosting duties on November 9, 2011, in the wake of the Brett Ratner scandal.^[22]

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

Eddie Murphy in Hollywood Walk of Fame

Murphy began a longtime romantic relationship with Nicole Mitchell (born January 5, 1968) after meeting her in 1988 at an NAACP Image Awards show. They lived together for almost two years before getting married at the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel in New York City on March 18, 1993.^[23] Murphy and Mitchell had five children together: Bria L. Murphy (born November 18, 1989), Myles Mitchell (born November 7, 1992), Shayne Audra (born October 10, 1994), Zola Ivy (born December 24, 1999) and Bella Zahra (born January 29, 2002). In August 2005, Mitchell filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences". The divorce was finalized on April 17, 2006.^[24]

He also has a child by Tamara Hood: son Christian Murphy (born on 29 November 1990).^[25]

Murphy as of 2008 resided in Long Island, New York.^[26]

Following his divorce from Mitchell, in 2006, Murphy began dating former Spice Girl Melanie Brown, who became pregnant and stated that the child was Murphy's. When questioned about the pregnancy in December 2006 by RTL Boulevard, Murphy told Dutch reporter Matthijs Kleyn, "I don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn't jump to conclusions, sir". Brown gave birth to a baby girl, Angel Iris Murphy Brown, on Murphy's 46th birthday, April 3, 2007. On June 22, 2007, representatives for Brown announced in People that a DNA test had confirmed that Murphy was the father.^[27] Brown has stated in an interview that Murphy has not sought a relationship with Angel.^[28][29]

Murphy exchanged marriage vows with film producer Tracey Edmonds, former wife of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, on January 1, 2008, in a private ceremony on an island off Bora Bora.^[30] On January 16, the couple released a statement saying, "After much consideration and discussion, we have jointly decided that we will forego having a legal ceremony as it is not necessary to define our relationship further," and called the Bora Bora wedding a "symbolic union". The two had planned on having a legal ceremony upon their return to the U.S. but did not, and their wedding was never official.^[31]

Legal problems[link]

According to Murphy's childhood friend Harris Haith in his book, Growing Up Laughing With Eddie, long before Murphy did any writing for Coming to America, Art Buchwald had approached Paramount Pictures with the idea for a similar film. His material was rejected, but the information was retained by Paramount. They liked Buchwald's idea but did not see fit to pay him and saved it for use later down the road. Some years later, Paramount presented the idea of Coming to America to Eddie and gave him the contract. Murphy wrote a screenplay that came to light exactly as it aired on the silver screen. In 1988, Buchwald sued Murphy and Paramount Pictures, but Murphy was not found liable because Paramount had received the material.

Philanthropy[link]

Murphy has donated money to the AIDS Foundation, and cancer, education, creative arts, family/parent support, health and homeless charities. He has donated to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, various cancer charities and $100,000 to the Screen Actors' Guild's strike relief fund.^[32]

Filmography[link]