Italian

A member of a white (yes white to the folks who keep saying otherwise) European ethnic group indigenous to Italy in southern Europe. The Italian language and culture is largely derived from that of the ancient Romans (i.e. Latin-based Romance language, Catholic Christianity, etc.) and Italians also launched the Renaissance, a period of enlightenment and learning that brought Europe out of the Dark Ages. People, "Latin" and "white" are not mutually exclusive terms. One may be culturally Latin but racially a white European. Italians, Spaniards, French, Portuguese, and Romanians are all European Latins. In America, "Latin" has become synonymous with Latin Americans (i.e. Mexicans). Italians are indeed white, just not WASPs (white Protestants of northern European descent), it's really no more complicated than this. Take it from me (I'm Italian-American btw), it's also mainly the Sicilians and Calabrians who tend to have the stereotypical black-haired olive-skinned dark-eyed look that most Americans associate with Italians (these areas saw heavier Greek, Phoenician, and Arab settlement), but even in these places you can still find folks with lighter hair, light eyes, and pale skin. The most common hair color for Italians is some shade of brown, with all eye colors from blue, green, hazel, and brown well-represented (with hazel/brown a bit more common), and skin that typically ranges from pale to light olive.