Differences in Italian regions

Grammatica piemontese pdf vocabulario veneto

Admittedly I've yet to go to Italy myself but there are some differences that do come in handy for outsiders.

--Both Northern and Central Italy (or at least most Northern and Central Italian provinces) were influenced by
both the Holy Roman, French and Austrian empires. The Kingdom of Sardinia also extended to Piedmont and
the entire Veneto region used to be its own country though the latter eventually weakened and came under
French and Austrian rule.

--Considering that the Holy Roman and Austrian empires influenced parts of Northern Italy, it should be
unsurprising that there are German speaking enclaves there, especially in Bolzano and there's like a special
shared region between Austria and Italy. Conversely speaking, part of Veneto also has a Slovene speaking
enclave given that as a country it also used to encompass parts of Yugoslavia, namely Croatia and Slovenia.

--As I said, I've yet to go to Italy myself but I do think Central Italy does have characteristics of its own namely
being the very region where the Italian language originated from and specifically through Tuscany. That and
being ground zero for both the European Renaissance proper and capitalism as we know it. Venetian was
considered but Italian won out. Which makes sense as it grew in usage throughout the peninsula.

--Northern and Southern Italy seem more different if because the differences between them are this
pronounced both geographically and culturally. Northern Italy resembles its closest neighbours in France,
Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Slovenia to some extent. Southern Italy actually and arguably remained an
independent united kingdom much longer than the rest of Italy did. (If I'm not mistaken, Southern Italy's more
Greek-influenced which helps as Naples used to be a Greek colony and there's a Greek speaking enclave there.)

--There are also differences between regions themselves though admittedly I know more about Northern Italy.
Piedmont's near the French border and predictably's more French-influenced to boot (it could be that much of
Savoy used to be part of the Kingdom of Sardinia). Likewise, Lombardy and Veneto are more German and
Austrian-influenced and Veneto's got a bit of a Slovene influence too.

--The same could also be said of its Southern and Central counterparts. Tuscany being the epicentre of the
European Renaissance and the start of capitalism when it came to medieval guilds functioning in the same
manner as present day businesses, organisations and corporations do. Sardinia, Calabria and Naples have been
subjected to Greek influence to varying degrees as it should be unsurprising that Greek-speaking enclaves exist
there.

--Last but not the least,

Mantobha--Mantova