Italy: Conflicting Identity In The World Of Italy

Italy is located in Europe and is part of the European Union. It is along the borders of France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. Italy is on the Italian peninsula, which means it is surrounded by water on three sides. The seas surrounding Italy are the Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Ligurian Sea, and Tyrrhenian Sea. The islands of Sicily and Sardinia which are part of Italy are located in the Mediterranean Sea as well. In the past, due to rough terrain, there were few major roads between cities causing the individual cities to become self- sufficient. This isolation lead to mistrust from city to city that still exists today. (Signoretta)

Italy’s national self image was disjointed in the past and remains this way today. According to Neapolitan historian Luigi Blanch, “The patriotism of the Italians is like that of ancient Greeks, and is love of a single town, not of a country; it is the feeling of a tribe not of a nation. Only by foreign conquest have they ever been united. Leave them to themselves and they split into fragments.” (Koellhoffer) In “Conflicting Identity is Part of Italy’s History”, Patriarca, who grew up in the region of Piedmont says “The Northern League has attacked the idea of Italian unity by asserting that the south is different and a burden on the population.” Patriarca agrees with Blanch that there is no unity and blames the northern part of the country. She claims that the north is responsible for splitting the nation after the Cold War due to economical differences. (Sassi) However, there has been occasional unity. Unity can be brought about by a strong leader like Machivelli or Dante. Many people still will not join even the strongest political leader in order to support their country beca...

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...shment illegal, but occasionally excessive force is used against immigrants or citizens with psychological disabilities. There is no law that criminalizes torture directly, but one can be found guilty of violence under a criminal code article. However, this is only if the criminal is denounced by the victim. (US Department of State)

Italy may be one country, but it has many different regions, which are diverse in dialect, and views of the country. (D’Alessandro)Throughout the country there are rarely times of unity and instead hostility is often held between cities. (Sassi) This non-unity could hinder the necessary changes to the infrastructure and transportation services. Another thing that could lead to more economic trouble is the lengthy processes of the courts that cause many criminals to be detained longer than necessary and therefore spend more money on them.