Italians

Italians are a European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common culture, history, ancestry and language. Their predecessors differ regionally, but generally include populations such as the Etruscans, Rhaetians, Ligurians, Adriatic Veneti, Ancient Greeks and Italic peoples, including Latins, from which Romans emerged and helped create and evolve the modern Italian identity. Legally, Italian nationals are citizens of Italy, regardless of ancestry or nation of residence and may be distinguished from ethnic Italians in general or from people of Italian descent without Italian citizenship and ethnic Italians living in territories adjacent to the Italian peninsula without Italian citizenship. The Latin equivalent of the term Italian had been in use for natives of the geographical region since antiquity.