L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano T h e R o m a n Empire is often associated with the most glorious m o m e n t i n t h e history of the Italian peninsu- la, but are we, modern-day Italians, the genetic descen- dants of the old inhabitants of the Eternal City? A short disclaimer before delving deeper into the sub- j e c t : c u l t u r a l l y , e t h i c a l l y , philosophically, we all are t h e d e s c e n d a n t s o f t h e Ancient Romans and of their oriental cousins, the Ancient Greeks, at least in the west- ern part of the world. While the influences on our own culture from other civiliza- tions are important – from the Chinese to the Arabic to the Scandinavian – our cul- tural, ethical and spiritual backbone comes from the Mediterranean basin. B u t h e r e , w e ' r e t a l k i n g genetics and things get a bit more complicated than one may expect. T o u n d e r s t a n d i t , w e should try to clarify who the Romans were genetically. Ancient Rome was the capital o f a n e m p i r e t h a t w a s immense to those times' stan- dards and still is to modern ones: back then, more than 7 0 m i l l i o n p e o p l e a c r o s s Europe, the Middle East and Africa called Rome their capi- tal. We know Rome never imposed its culture, and that often the contact between the conquerors and the subdued created a mutual passing of knowledge, habits and tradi- t i o n s t h a t e n r i c h e d T h e E t e r n a l C i t y i m m e n s e l y . Recent studies carried out by the Universities of Stanford, V i e n n a a n d R o m e L a Sapienza showed that the very same variety and inter- mingling happened at genetic level. Hannah Moots, co- author of the paper Ancient Rome: A Genetic Crossroads o f E u r o p e a n d t h e Mediterranean, published in Science, said that her study "Shows how dynamic the past really is" and how "In Rome we're seeing people come from all over, in ways that corresponds with historical political events." This means that, throughout the cen - turies, Roman DNA changed, becoming more varied and heterogeneous, taking in the genetic characteristics of the many people who composed the empire. You know… in many a way, it's not so differ- ent from what we say today about the USA: a great uni- fied nation made of many cultures, languages, ances- tries, and it's not a case the popular expression "melting pot" is often used in relation t o b o t h t h e S t a t e s a n d Ancient Rome. So, if we modern Italians c o m e f r o m t h e A n c i e n t Romans, then our DNA is certainly a colorful "mix-and- match" of genes, because this i s h o w C o n s t a n t i n e a n d Tiberius', Virgil and Cicero's DNA was. But when we think about o u r g e n e t i c h e r i t a g e , w e shouldn't forget one essential factor: time. Between the years of the Roman Empire and those in which we live today, two millennia have passed, two millennia where history made and destroyed countries, invasions and con- q u e s t s t o o k p l a c e , t r e n d s developed and faded, lan- g u a g e s c h a n g e d . M a c h i a v e l l i , o n e o f o u r most enlightened political thinkers, used to say that the first real Italians were the Lombards who, yes, van- quished the Romans, but also fully embraced their culture and mixed with them through marriages: the fall of their kingdom to the Franks of Charlemagne was considered by our Niccolò as the first of the many foreign invasions that plagued the Belpaese throughout its history. Now, Machiavelli couldn't know about genetics, but his observations can tell us a lot about them, as they underline how, especially in the Early and mid-Middle Ages, history re-shaped Europe, moving people around the continent and bringing to our shores people from other lands. In Italy, we always called them "Barbarians," embracing the d e m e a n i n g n a m e t h e Romans had for those men and women, coming from central and eastern Europe, but also from the north and Scandinavia who, little by lit- t l e - - a n d a l s o t h r o u g h a bunch of bloody wars -- of course, made of Italy their home. Powerful in the battle- field, but perhaps a bit rough around the edges when com- pared to the Romans, they soon embraced a lot of what Rome had to offer culturally and socially, keeping however alive much of their own uses and habits: they -- the Goths a n d t h e L o m b a r d s , t h e Franks and the Normans -- are, indeed, as much as our ancestors as the Romans are and their DNA is present in our veins just as much as theirs. S o , d o m o d e r n I t a l i a n s c o m e f r o m t h e R o m a n s ? Well, yes, of course: but the Romans were a genetically mixed bunch and so were medieval Italians, who are closer ancestors to us than them. That's why we can say we are, today, as genetically varied and beautiful as varied and beautiful is the land we come from! Q u a l u n q u e ( k w a h - l o o n - k w a i ) i s today's word. I n E n g l i s h , y o u c a n t r a n s l a t e i t w i t h m a n y a t e r m , i n c l u d i n g , " a n y , " " w h a t e v e r " o r "whichever," as in sentences like qualunque cosa tu fac- cia, ti appoggerò ("whatever you do, I'll support you"), or andare all'università non è una passeggiata, qualunque facoltà tu scelga ("whichev- er subject you choose, going to university is not simple"). I n i t s a r c h a i c f o r m q u a l u n q u a , i t w a s f i r s t attested in the mid-12 th cen- tury and derived from the Latin qualiscumque, com- pound of qualis ("which" or "what") and cumque ("for everything"). Qualunque belongs to all r e g i s t e r s a n d c a n b e a l s o found in some interesting, very familiar expressions, s u c h a s l a q u a l u n q u e ( " w h i c h e v e r t h i n g " o r "everything"), which should b e , m o r e c o r r e c t l y , qualunque cosa. The expres- s i o n w a s b o r n a n d m a d e p o p u l a r b y c o m e d i a n Antonio Albanese and by his c h a r a c t e r C e t t o L a Qualunque and it is today so c o m m o n t h a t e v e n t h e Accademia della Crusca underlined its use, at least in the spoken language, should n o l o n g e r s u r p r i s e . B e aware, though: it's consid- e r e d p r e t t y l o w I t a l i a n ! However, you may still hear someone say sono andato a c e n a f u o r i i e r i s e r a e h o mangiato la qualunque ("I w e n t o u t f o r d i n n e r l a s t night and I hate anything and everything"). L a s t b u t n o t l e a s t , w e s h o u l d n ' t f o r g e t t h a t qualunque is also often used as a synonym for "ordinary," just like in the sentence è un uomo qualunque, non ha nulla di speciale ("he is an ordinary man, there is noth- ing special about him"). Qualunque cosa dica, non gli credere! Whatever he says, don't believe him! Per qualunque necessità, chiamami Call me, if you need any- thing Qualunque tipo di pasta preparerai, lo mangerò I'll eat whichever pasta you make LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the day: qualunque, or the word of impossible choices Are today's Italians the real descendants of the ancient Romans? A military reenactment near the Colosseum: are we still genetically linked to the Ancient Romans? (Photo: Markzeta/Dreamstime) © Kiosea39 | Dreamstime.com

• Cover