History did not happen to make us feel good, and a few realities overlooked by many Italians and Italian Americans have spawned misconceptions. We have seen individuals claim a monopoly on what is or is not Italian, ranging from “the correct way” to make recipes to how to pronounce words.

Multiculturalism is a good place to start. Italy is multicultural. For example, Aosta and Alto Adige/South Tyrol, languages other than Italian, are spoken, exemplifying how Italy is polycultural. For a historical example, Christians, Muslims, and Jews cohabitated in medieval Sicily. Sicilians are an eclectic mix of haplogroups, while the Sicilian language and even the cuisine reflect diverse influences (including the Arab delights cannoli and arancini).