I have an inferiority complex towards Italy and Italians, any help/advice please?

Who is the Leonardo Da Vinci of the Pakistanis?

Answer: Leonardo Da Vinci.

Da Vinci was not Italian. Not in the modern sense. The language he spoke would hardly be understood by modern day Italian speakers. He lived in a state that would be overthrown by the state that was overthrown by the state that was overthrown by the modern state of Italy. He never even tasted tomatoes, polenta, gnocchi or most of the foods we consider Italian.

My parents are Sicilian which wasn't even considered part of Italy (the geographical expression) when Da Vinci was alive. What gives me any more right to claim him than a Pakistani?

As for the many famous Italian Americans today: If we seem numerous it's only because:

  1. Horrific famines and overpopulation caused giant out migrations from Italy starting in the late 1800s. This was sustained for generations.

  2. A ton of those Italians fortuitously ended up in the US right before it became a super power after WWII.

  3. Italians integrated in the US just enough to benefit from the post war boom, but not so much that they stopped identifying as Italians.

Pakistan is a young country that - like Italy in the 1850 - is subject to some unfortunate political/economic issues that are driving a lot of people to immigrate out. With luck, in 50 years time Pakistani immigrants will make their mark internationally the way Italian immigrants did and Pakistan will become place people don't want to immigrate away from the same way Italy did.

You are in a position to make that happen. Good luck!

/r/italy Thread