‘Abbiamo fatto l’Italia, ora dobbiamo fare gli Italiani’ (we have made Italy, now we have to make the Italians) said Italian writer and politician Massimo d’Azeglio shortly after the unification of Italy in 1861. Over a century and a half later we still haven’t got ‘standard’ Italians, but rather an eccentric collection of regional cultures. Here are some of the most common stereotypes that we like to joke about when talking about people from different parts of Italy.

Il Piemontese = the person from Piemonte: according to the famous proverb, Piemontese falso e cortese, the Piemontese is typically very polite, but cold and untrustworthy.

Il Milanese = the person from Milan: the real hard worker, he believes he is the only Italian who works in Italy. He’s generous because he likes spending to show that he’s got a lot of money

Il Veneziano = the person from Venice: è signorile nei modi, dolce nel tratto e nell’accento, is refined in his ways, gentle in his features and accent, says the popular proverb

Il Genovese = the person from Genova: moans a lot, to the point that the Genovese sailor traditionally has il diritto al mugugno (the right to moan) when he’s out sailing. Very stingy, he is considered the ‘Scotsman’ of Italy. There are plenty of jokes about Genovese avarizia (the greed of the Genovese), such as these two below:

Entra un genovese in un autobus e chiede al conducente:
– Scusi, si deve pagare il biglietto per un fiore?
– Certamente no.
– Dai Rosa, entra.

A person from Genova boards a bus and asks the driver:
– Excuse me, does one have to pay for a flower?
– Of course not.
– Come on Rosa, get in.

– Perché i genovesi guardano i film porno al contrario?
– Perché gli piace il lieto fine, quando la prostituta restituisce i soldi al cliente.

– Why do people from Genova watch porn films backwards?
– Because they like the happy ending where the prostitute gives the money back to the client

Tagliaerba genovese: non consuma carburante e produce cibo! Genovese lawn mower: it doesn’t use any fuel and it produces food (roast rabbit!)

L’Emiliano = the person from Emilia Romagna: is very friendly, cheerful, and a braggart. He loves eating rich food (tortellini, lasagne, tagliatelle, prosciutto, mortadella, ragù and Parmigiano: all come from Emilia Romagna!)

Il Toscano = the person from Toscana: has great command of the Italian language (Italian was ‘born’ in Florence!), a sense of humour, and sarcasm. He’s very attached to his historical past, of which he is very proud.

Il Napoletano: is very superstitious, he strongly believes nel malocchio (the evil eye) and in miracles. He’s also very inventive, a real master ‘nell’arte di arrangiarsi’ (in the art of making do). My uncle Mario, who was originally from Napoli, once told me a story that happened to him when he was a young officer in the tribunal in Napoli:

“The police brought in a man they had arrested for fraud” he recounted, “I had to file the crime.
Occupation? I asked the man.
Pintore d’occhi (eye painter) he replied.
Pintore d’occhi? Never heard of it, I said, what does it mean?
The man explained to me proudly: Every morning I go to the fish market, and I touch up the eyes of the fish from the day before to make them look nice and fresh”

Il Siciliano: very reserved, he is always suspicious about il Continente (the Continent), as he calls the Italian peninsula. His jealousy regarding his wife and daughters is legendary.

Un siciliano va dal medico.
– Dottore, me la faccio sotto tutte le notti!
– Incontinente?
– No, no, qui a Catania!

A Siciliano goes to the doctor.
– Doctor, I soil myself every night!
– Incontinent? (on the continent)
– No, no, here in Catania!

Not surprisingly, many stereotypical jokes about the Siciliano allude to his Mafia connection.

Un camionista siciliano viene fermato da agenti della Polizia Stradale per un controllo del carico trasportato. Un agente domanda:
– Che cosa trasporta?
L’autista risponde:
– Calcolatrici.
L’agente invece trova pistole, bombe, coltelli e altre armi; quindi domanda:
– Sarebbero queste le calcolatrici?
E il camionista:
– Noi in Sicilia così facciamo i conti!

A Sicilian lorry driver is stopped by the police to check what he is carrying. A police agent asks:
– What are you transporting?
The driver replies:
Calculators.
The agent, however, finds pistols, bombs, knifes and other weapons, so he asks:
– And these would be the calculators?
And the lorry driver replies:
–  We Sicilians do our ‘accounts’ in this way!