Viggen's Blog

I don't know about those Italians still living in the boot, but many of the ones here in the States that I know of and have read about don't honestly make the connection. Like, they know that the Romans lived in Rome, and that they covered the peninsula, etc....but can't necessarily connect with their subculture (Italian) with the historical culture (Roman). And I find this odd, not only as an Italian-American, but as a history afficionada. There are just too many parallels, both linguistically and culturally, to ignore it, or to forget about it. I don't think you'd ever hear a Greek (particularly from near one of the great city-states) neglect to recall about the connection with their current culture and the one from the past.

 

Maybe the answer has to do with the fact that the people now are so focused on the present, and maybe to a lesser extent the recent past, that anything more than a few hundred years ago is too far to connect with. And that may not necessarily be a bad thing, nor an abnormal thing. It could be that, unless it is ingrained in the person or culture from the get-go, humans don't necessarily make strong connections with the cultures of the distant past.

Well, there are so many variables involved..there are those who simply don't care, those who are not even aware of their cultural roots, those who are aware but don't want to be associated with it and so on...

Next time you meet these people ask them what they think of Rome and the Romans, the answer is all there really.

Perhaps for many modern Italians the connection with Ancient Rome has been ruined by Mussolini. After all, didn't he link his own fascist Italy of the 30's and 40's with Ancient Rome?

 

Maybe the connection between ancient Rome and Fascist Italy is too much for some modern Italians. I'm not saying that this is the case, but it might be a possible factor.

This may be a matter of preference or education. How many people in Austria are on Austrian sites or even care about their history? I would guess that the same goes for all the nations. Other peoples may be fascinated with America. I've never thought of looking for an American site. Doesn't mean that I don't care.

 

Many Americans have never heard of the Korean or Spanish-American wars. Never heard of Tom Paine or Alexander Hamilton.

...oh, we austrian cherish our Habsburg tration with a passion, not for nothing, some people even call the whole of Vienna a sort of Habsburg-Disneyland

...oh, we austrian cherish our Habsburg tration with a passion, not for nothing, some people even call the whole of Vienna a sort of Habsburg-Disneyland

 

 

I have taken a keen interest with Hapsburg Austria and its assertion as a European power. I love to read about the Austro-Ottoman Wars, and Austrian involvement in wars.

 

You certainly have a lot to be proud of Viggen!