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Some Sicilians are very light, and pan-Italian looking but most can much more easily be mistaken for Greek than anything Western European. Keep in mind some parts of Sicily, like Messina and Catania, have remained very isolated.
I also have a very Greek appearance myself. Sometimes people even think I am Lebanese. But once I say I am Sicilian, people say they know at least one other who looks just like me, either a cousin or a Sicilian-American friend.
I'm of Middle Eastern descent - So many Greeks I see tend to be not just darker than me, but quite dark (I'm light skinned verging olive). It's fascinating to me since I always had the notion that Europeans will always be whiter than Middle Eastern people, but so many southern Europeans make better Middle Easterners than actual Middle Eastern people it seems.
But then again, the region I descend from has a continental climate - cold snowy/dark winters and hot dry summers. Sicily and Greek are a bit dry (just slightly wet), sunnier and with very hot summers. So I'm guessing that's why they tend to have more darker-skinned folks than those of Turkish/Caucasus regions?
I'm of Middle Eastern descent - So many Greeks I see tend to be not just darker than me, but quite dark (I'm light skinned verging olive). It's fascinating to me since I always had the notion that Europeans will always be whiter than Middle Eastern people, but so many southern Europeans make better Middle Easterners than actual Middle Eastern people it seems.
But then again, the region I descend from has a continental climate - cold snowy/dark winters and hot dry summers. Sicily and Greek are a bit dry (just slightly wet), sunnier and with very hot summers. So I'm guessing that's why they tend to have more darker-skinned folks than those of Turkish/Caucasus regions?
Do you know any Sicilians, and if so what do they look like?
I am lighter than that side of my family due to being mixed with Polish and Portuguese.
The main difference between Sicilian and Greeks are that some Greeks (like from the north) have some Slavic influence from their northern neighbors, and that Sicilians tend to be a bit more Jewish looking. Funny thing is all the Greeks I know are from Thessaloniki and all look, to my eyes, "Slavic"... in my town they get mistaken for Russian even though next to a real Russian they'd stand out. Island Greeks are much darker though.
Last edited by virulentpeach; 04-25-2014 at 01:17 AM..
Good morning people.
I have been in Sicily last summer and I have noticed many similarities, culturally, linguistically and phisically, with my people and I'm spaniard.
I also noticed the high presence of spaniard surnames, such as Martinez, Vasquez, Ruiz etc.
But sicilians considers themselves as italians and they aren't different to other italians.
Especially calabresi and salentini are very close to sicilians, but also neapolitans and the people of Basilicata.
So, the people of ancient proud kingdom of Sicily and the Magna Graecia.
I am lighter than that side of my family due to being mixed with Polish and Portuguese.
Dude you're totally wrong.
You're probably lighter than the average for the polish admixture because with my experience I also visited and I have known many portugueses and they are the darkest european to my eyes.
Good morning people.
I have been in Sicily last summer and I have noticed many similarities, culturally, linguistically and phisically, with my people and I'm spaniard.
I also noticed the high presence of spaniard surnames, such as Martinez, Vasquez, Ruiz etc.
Are you sure you didn't meet tourists or immigrants? I have never seen a Sicilian with a surname like these.
Anyway, I think Sicilians look more like Greek than Spanish. I think Spaniards look Western European (i.e. like French, British etc) but darker due to the Mediterranean sun.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Albert Vall
Dude you're totally wrong.
You're probably lighter than the average for the polish admixture because with my experience I also visited and I have known many portugueses and they are the darkest european to my eyes.
My Portuguese side does happen to be lighter than my Sicilian side. It depends on where in Portugal too -- the islands, like Madeira, have some mixture with black Africans from the slave trade.
I think Spaniards look Western European (i.e. like French, British etc) but darker due to the Mediterranean sun.
The Mediterranena sun? It doesn't make sense the Spaniards don't look like the French and the British at all. Do I have to start posting pictures of them to make comparisons?
The Spaniards look a lot like the Greeks and the Sicilians in fact.
The Spaniards look a lot like the Greeks and the Sicilians in fact.
Southern Spaniards do.. Andalusia, Valencia, Murcia area definitely. But most of the people I've seen from the north (Galicia, Asturias, Basque Country) look different and more similar to British and French.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloriaEstefan
Anectodal evidence... Very useful thanks.
Do you want a photo of my parents as proof? My mother is mixed with black African and is still lighter than my father.
Are you sure you didn't meet tourists or immigrants? I have never seen a Sicilian with a surname like these.
Anyway, I think Sicilians look more like Greek than Spanish. I think Spaniards look Western European (i.e. like French, British etc) but darker due to the Mediterranean sun.
They are sicilians, I'm sure.
Sicily have many north african immigrants but very few latin americans.
I think spaniards look mediterranean, I'm from Castellón de la Plana and I also known many Brits and they look totally different to us.
Not only for the complexion but also for physical traits.
Quote:
My Portuguese side does happen to be lighter than my Sicilian side. It depends on where in Portugal too -- the islands, like Madeira, have some mixture with black Africans from the slave trade.
Sicilians (and other italians), portugueses, spaniards, and other peoples of Europe aren't homogeneous.
I don't think that if one side of your family (who i think is part polish) is lighter than the other side as a yardstick.
I visited all Portugal, you say to a spaniard as they are made the portugueses?
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It doesn't make sense the Spaniards don't look like the French and the British at all. Do I have to start posting pictures of them to make comparisons? 
