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i'll preface this by saying I am nearly full-blood sicilian (which is a hodge podge of various Mediterranean peoples anyways)
The Romans' only innovations were technological in nature. As far as their architecture, art, culture - this was almost entirely imported.
The real history of roman civilization begins with italic tribal societies that grew into minor civilizations - the Latins, Etruscans..
The first rome was a collection of many small huts that were situation on the various hills of Rome, which was originally a swamp with a road through it that carried salt to the coast.
Early rome was far from impressive. In order to enlarge their collective penis, they built a massive temple to Jupiter on the top of the capitoline hill. During the time of republican rome, it was the greeks who were really the stars of the world. The Greeks had temples and colonies everywhere - some of the best preserved settlements today are in Paestum on the peninsula and at various locations in Sicily. Naples' oldest area is entirely based on an underlying greek colonial city plan (still visible)
Basically, the Romans ripped off the greek culture. They took only the aspects that would allow them to make themselves more impressive. The Romans were a very practical people. They took the beautiful greek temples, a completely 3D spatial system that provided public space and promoted openness and generally beautiful surroundings, and turned them into private, facade-based political instruments. Most roman artwork at pompeii for example, was done by artists from Greece and Egypt. There was a huge cosmopolitan culture in the Mediterranean that a lot of people don't think about - lots of cross-fertilization.
Also - you might be familiar with the typical black-glazed greek vase that is nearly synonomous with classical greek culture -
did you know that all of the examples we have of this greek pottery were discovered on italian soil? It's because the etruscans and romans imported everything and stole the greek culture.
The roman religion was another thing stolen from the greeks
Even roman catholicism is a hybridization of pagan beliefs from egypt and greece. Check out "Christianity: An Ancient Egpytian Religion, by Ahmed Osman"
so basically - romans stole most everything and re-engineered it.
italians do have to their credit:
Roads across europe
Domes
Perspective/Leon Batiste Alberti
Banking
Some of the earliest foward thinking paintings in the world (eg Giotto's Arena Chapel)
Palladio
University Culture (University of Bologna is among the earliest in europe)
Cars with soul
Cristoforo Colombo
Fellini
Fermi
and of course: Cannoli, Cavatelli, Fettucine, Gnocchi, Arancie Siciliane, Gorgonzola, Chianti, Pino Grigio, Mozzarella di Bufala, Tiramisu, Gelato, etc
but to say that that's any more than the rest of Europe is just absurd.
COR VERSION:
the romans ripped off the greeks. italians have done cool stuff, but so has everyone else.
in any case
FORZA AZZURRI!
Last edited by nefardec on Mar-02-2008 at 23:22
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