Not exactly Italian
You know, when I tell people I'm a fourth sicilian, they're like, oh cool, I love Italy. But to be quite honest, anyone who really knows sicily knows its alot different than Italy. It might as well be its own country. The Bronx is to New York as Sicily is to Italy. Plus, most sicilians aren't exactly "caucasian" either, unlike mainland italians. While there is a common misconception that sicilians are of african descent (anyone who's actually seen a scilian knows THAT's not true) we're more of a mix of alot of different peoples, the Romans, Phoenecians, Greeks, Egyptians, take your pick, I've got more, and yes, probably some Nubian in there too somewhere, but certainly not to the extent most people think. Mostly Phoenecian/Roman. Really, the whole culture in Sicily is different than Italy, and the food is alot less flashy, as well as the people. Two words: head scarves.
If you've ever listened to sicilian throat singing, it sounds a helluva lot like Islamic prayer...again, harkening back to middle eastern influences.
Even my sister gets the whole italian/sicilian thing confused, but I really don't think they should be used interchangably. I can kind of see the allure in wanting to say "oh I'm italian" rather than "oh I'm sicillian" because sicily is known for its crime and the media kind of portrays it as "oh look the quaint little peasants" kind of place, rather than Italy with its romance and mopeds. But to be quite honest, I'd rather be sicilian than mainland italian, we can look at basically any country and culture surrounding Italy and be like, hey, I've got distant family there.
If you've ever listened to sicilian throat singing, it sounds a helluva lot like Islamic prayer...again, harkening back to middle eastern influences.
Even my sister gets the whole italian/sicilian thing confused, but I really don't think they should be used interchangably. I can kind of see the allure in wanting to say "oh I'm italian" rather than "oh I'm sicillian" because sicily is known for its crime and the media kind of portrays it as "oh look the quaint little peasants" kind of place, rather than Italy with its romance and mopeds. But to be quite honest, I'd rather be sicilian than mainland italian, we can look at basically any country and culture surrounding Italy and be like, hey, I've got distant family there.