The characteristics and national soul of the various Mediterranean peoples
Posted: April 6th, 2023, 7:49 am
I love Mediterranean Europe. The Mediterranean basin is by far my favorite part of Europe with its pleasant climate, charming architecture, outgoing people, delicious cuisine, and supremely beautiful and musical languages.
The Mediterranean peoples with whom I have the greatest familiarity are Spaniards and Italians. I lived in Spain for a considerable period of time and also became acquainted with the sizeable Italian community in my city of residence. I've known some Portuguese people too and know a bit about their culture. I also encountered groups of French students while I was enrolled in immersive language school in Valencia and even lived with some for a brief while. I know much less about Greeks. My experience of Greek culture is limited to a family vacation to Cyprus when I was 17 but Cypriot culture might be somewhat different to mainland Greek culture.
What are the characteristics of the various Mediterranean peoples? How do their respective national souls differ?
I'd like to hear @publicduende's observations in particular. He's from a little town in Southern Italy and has met people from a lot of different nationalities and therefore knows a lot about Mediterranean culture.
Below are my own perceptions:
Italians - Friendly, highly sociable, expressive and histrionic. Quite extravagant and over the top in comparison to Spaniards. Prone to bragging and exaggeration. Even fascist philosopher Julius Evola wrote about this contrasting the stoic Roman character with the histrionic character of modern Italians. I don't know enough about Italy to identify regional differences of character although I've heard that Southern Italians are quite different from Northern Italians. My uncle married an Italian lady from the southernmost point of Italy's boot and she was histrionic as heck.
Spaniards - More reserved than Italians and a bit more serious too. Extremely assertive and prone to anger. The women are quite brash too.
Portuguese - Friendly and laid-back in comparison to Spaniards. My Peruvian ex-girlfriend moved to Portugal after living in Spain for about 5 years. She goes into great depth about the difference in friendliness and laid-backness between Portuguese and Spaniards.
French - Very sophisticated and intellectual but at the same time stuck-up divas.
Greeks - I have no idea. I remember publicduende saying that Greeks are gloomier and edgier than other Mediterraneans or something like that. Maybe he could be kind enough to elaborate.
The Mediterranean peoples with whom I have the greatest familiarity are Spaniards and Italians. I lived in Spain for a considerable period of time and also became acquainted with the sizeable Italian community in my city of residence. I've known some Portuguese people too and know a bit about their culture. I also encountered groups of French students while I was enrolled in immersive language school in Valencia and even lived with some for a brief while. I know much less about Greeks. My experience of Greek culture is limited to a family vacation to Cyprus when I was 17 but Cypriot culture might be somewhat different to mainland Greek culture.
What are the characteristics of the various Mediterranean peoples? How do their respective national souls differ?
I'd like to hear @publicduende's observations in particular. He's from a little town in Southern Italy and has met people from a lot of different nationalities and therefore knows a lot about Mediterranean culture.
Below are my own perceptions:
Italians - Friendly, highly sociable, expressive and histrionic. Quite extravagant and over the top in comparison to Spaniards. Prone to bragging and exaggeration. Even fascist philosopher Julius Evola wrote about this contrasting the stoic Roman character with the histrionic character of modern Italians. I don't know enough about Italy to identify regional differences of character although I've heard that Southern Italians are quite different from Northern Italians. My uncle married an Italian lady from the southernmost point of Italy's boot and she was histrionic as heck.
Spaniards - More reserved than Italians and a bit more serious too. Extremely assertive and prone to anger. The women are quite brash too.
Portuguese - Friendly and laid-back in comparison to Spaniards. My Peruvian ex-girlfriend moved to Portugal after living in Spain for about 5 years. She goes into great depth about the difference in friendliness and laid-backness between Portuguese and Spaniards.
French - Very sophisticated and intellectual but at the same time stuck-up divas.
Greeks - I have no idea. I remember publicduende saying that Greeks are gloomier and edgier than other Mediterraneans or something like that. Maybe he could be kind enough to elaborate.