Italophilia

Italophilia is the admiration, appreciation or emulation of Italy, its people, its ideals, its civilization or its culture. Its opposite is Italophobia.

The extent to which Italian civilization has shaped Western civilization and, by extension, the civilization of the whole world, is widely recognized and acknowledged. Appreciation of the legacy of Italic ideals, civilization and culture has existed for many centuries, into the present day.

Roman era

Rome was the center of an empire that stretched across a large segment of the then-known world, and later became the center of the Christian faith. Roman civilization was transplanted to most parts of Europe, the Mediterranean basin and the Near East in the form of law, architecture, engineering, roads, aqueducts, public baths, sanitation, trade, literature, art, libraries, hospitals and agriculture. It was possible for the people in the provinces to attain Roman citizenship, rise to the Senate, and even to become Roman emperor. The Roman provinces, having received much of the benefit of Roman civilization, became Romanized to a large degree. Winston Churchill states: