Italy has the highest number of last names in Europe: 350,000. This is due to the country’s history of linguistic fragmentation. Some last names extend throughout the country, others are only typical of a region or area.

We tend to take last names for granted, because we all have one. In reality, the use of surnames in Italy is the result of a thousand-year-old complex process. The way they formed and spread reflects the country’s history, from the development of Lordships in the Middle Ages to the migrations of the 20th century.