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Guys, some of you need really checking what Northern Italy really is.
Maybe start with its history from Celts, to Romans, Longobards, Franks and so on.
When you'll find a "Mediterranean" (which means nothing by the way) city in Northern Italy, call me.
Remember Sicily=/= Italy, Sicily is A PART OF Italy, not viceversa.
More like the southern third of frence which is heavily mediterranean in character is closer to spain and Italy, however the french as a whole are much more diverse, when I walked around local in spain and Italy I could always tell I was in southern europe, not only because of building but for the obvious mediterranean aspect of the overwhelm population of both countries. Whereas in france I saw a lot of diversity everywhere, people who could pass for german, others for spanish/italians, and a large chunck who despite coloring looked unmistakeable french. The typical french coloring is lighter than southern europe (spain, italy, greece, portugal) but darker than germanic/central-eastern european) except in some areas of northern-east where people tends to be more similar to central-northern europeans and in the deep south where the average is closer to northern italians and northern iberians.
You're clueless about anything anyway. The lightest skin complexions are commonest in western France than in eastern regions, with those from Brittany as the lightest, most freckled, most sun-sensitive. Southeastern French have the darkest skin complexions and are similar to Italians in the nearby regions, while southwestern French including French Basques are lighter.
I study these things quite extensively and the answer to your broad question is YES, Italians are indeed more fair skinned than Spaniards, as a whole.
Italians are made up of mostly Northern Mediterranean stock (Etruscan) combined with a good dose of Germanic blood from the Gothic barbarians that invaded Italy and whom Eventually subdued Rome. Fair skinned individuals are present almost everywhere in Italy, even Sicily. Of course the further North you go the Ligher complected Italians become. I think the area with the most Light skinned Italians is the Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino, Udine and of course Alto Adige. The myth that Italians are part African is extactly that, A myth!
Spaniards on the other hand are mostly of Iberian stock (dark olive skinned) as well as some Celtic, Germanic and more importantly Moorish (North African) blood. While Spaniards are definitely Mediterranean Caucasians they are among the darkest skinned people in all of Europe. Only in a few select provinces is it common to encounter Blond hair or Blue eyes. Those are (and in descending order) Asturias, Catalunya, Navarra, Galicia, Basque Country, Cantabria, Aragon and Valencia. Basically the North and East (Areas of heavier Germanic waves) Elsewhere most people are overwhelmingly Raven haired.
Those are (and in descending order) Asturias, Catalunya, Navarra, Galicia, Basque Country, Cantabria, Aragon and Valencia. Basically the North and East (Areas of heavier Germanic waves)
This is a scientific evidence done by a specific study by the Genome-Wide Association Studies of pigmentation in four European countries. Portugal is included, it is also the country closest to Spain genetically. The Portuguese are lighter-skinned than the Italians, thus we have our answer.
The countries compared were Ireland, Poland, Italy and Portugal.
In terms of hair color from lightest to darkest: Ireland, Poland, Italy, Portugal
" " of eye color from lightest to darkest: Ireland, Poland, Italy, Portugal
" " of skin color from lightest to darkest: Ireland, Poland and Portugal, Italy.
Thus those who are saying that all Europeans are identical, are only fooling themselves. Here we see that despite the fact that Portugal is darker-haired and dark-eyed, they are still lighter-skinned than Italians.
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Portugal has lighter hair than Italy in that study, and is actually slightly lighter skinned than Poland. I think it's safe to say the science is in the bag on this one, Spain and Iberia in general are both lighter haired and skinned than Italy. Ireland is significantly lighter than all of them in all categories.
Portugal has lighter hair than Italy in that study, and is actually slightly lighter skinned than Poland. I think it's safe to say the science is in the bag on this one, Spain and Iberia in general are both lighter haired and skinned than Italy. Ireland is significantly lighter than all of them in all categories.[/quote]
You are actually right. I did a review of the study and I saw just that! Thank you, at least you took the time to do an intelligent analysis, instead of basing it on nothing. In fact Iberia(here represented by Portugal) scored lighter than Italy on all levels of pigmentation( skin,hair,eye).
I study these things quite extensively and the answer to your broad question is YES, Italians are indeed more fair skinned than Spaniards, as a whole.
Italians are made up of mostly Northern Mediterranean stock (Etruscan) combined with a good dose of Germanic blood from the Gothic barbarians that invaded Italy and whom Eventually subdued Rome. Fair skinned individuals are present almost everywhere in Italy, even Sicily. Of course the further North you go the Ligher complected Italians become. I think the area with the most Light skinned Italians is the Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino, Udine and of course Alto Adige. The myth that Italians are part African is extactly that, A myth!
Spaniards on the other hand are mostly of Iberian stock (dark olive skinned) as well as some Celtic, Germanic and more importantly Moorish (North African) blood. While Spaniards are definitely Mediterranean Caucasians they are among the darkest skinned people in all of Europe. Only in a few select provinces is it common to encounter Blond hair or Blue eyes. Those are (and in descending order) Asturias, Catalunya, Navarra, Galicia, Basque Country, Cantabria, Aragon and Valencia. Basically the North and East (Areas of heavier Germanic waves) Elsewhere most people are overwhelmingly Raven haired.
They are fairer? On what basis are you implying your myth? Sicily was also part of the Ottoman Empire, Moors occupied parts of Italy as well.
Portugal has lighter hair than Italy in that study, and is actually slightly lighter skinned than Poland. I think it's safe to say the science is in the bag on this one, Spain and Iberia in general are both lighter haired and skinned than Italy. Ireland is significantly lighter than all of them in all categories.
You are actually right. I did a review of the study and I saw just that! Thank you, at least you took the time to do an intelligent analysis, instead of basing it on nothing. In fact Iberia(here represented by Portugal) scored lighter than Italy on all levels of pigmentation( skin,hair,eye). [/quote]
Actually the only thing Italy was lighter in was eye pigment. Here's the results with lower number correlating lightness http://www.plosone.org/article/fetch...entation=PNG_M
Ireland might be compared to southern Germany or Belgium in overall lightness, but likely not eye color on it's own, being lightest in Europe outside Scandinavia and the Baltic states.
I think Italians are the best combination. I love the culture and I think they are very attractive people. When people think of Europeans they are the quintessential example of what European people are. The genetics is interesting but Europeans are all closely related whether they be Italians or Irish. Europe is a great continent and for such a small geographical area there is so many wonderful cultures and people. It does seem petty to talk about who has brown eyes and who has blue eyes. Europeans are very closely related and no European nation is better than any other. Some are better known than others but each has a rich history.
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