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The Italians are a Latin ethnic group primarily associated with Italy and the Italian language.

There are around 62 million autochthonous Italians in Italy, around 550,000 in Switzerland, as well as some smaller groups in Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.

There is a notable Italian diaspora in the United States (Italian-Americans), Brazil, Argentina, Canada and other countries.

The history of Italy shows that historically, dozens of ethnic groups have poured into the Italian peninsula and Sicily since Roman times. Almost all of these ethnicities came from Europe with the notable exception of a small number of Arabs who invaded Sicily in the 9th century. The northern Italians of the Po Valley were historically recognized as Gauls/Celts by the Romans. Central and Southern Italians labeled themselves as Latins and other linguistically related tribes (and are related to the Celts in the north). The main outsiders who came into Italy in the last 2000 years were the Greeks who colonized southern Italy before the 1st century BC. Next came the Ostrogoths in the 5th century AD, and finally the Lombards in the 6th century AD. Both of these groups were German tribes who had come from the north of Europe seeking land, wealth, and living space. Other later groups such as the Franks, Byzantines, Normans, and the French Angevins ruled parts of Italy but only settled in small number throughout the country.

The Italian phenotype is essentially European, but profoundly varied within this context. Sicilians tend to have the darkest complexions, but yet many native people with Nordic features can be found throughout the island. The peninsula contains people mainly descended from the prehistoric waves of migration from the north during the last ice age, but also immigrants from throughout the Roman Empire during that period, and then Germans from the medieval period. The resulting varied appearance of Italians shows that there is no typical Italian 'look' as some claim for other European countries. The shape of the Italian peninsula predicates that any land travel into the peninsula would have to down from the main body of the European continent, which is exactly what happened during the last ice age. Later, sea travel and facilitated contact and possibly migration around the Meditteranean.

See also

• List of Italians
• Demographics of Italy

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