[PemiaGefe]

Considering that he is from southern Italy and looks like a Swede. How common is it in Italy to have a phenotype as his? And how common is it in the South?

[Stappipsy]

Abate looks Italian. I've had classmates who had the same coloring and they were Italian.
His close set eyes and nosebridge/eyebrow ridge looks Italian.
But if you were to tell me he is half Italian and half Danish I'd believe it.


The person who looks less Italian to me is Mario Batali, he is an American chef, writer, restaurateur and media personality. In addition to his classical culinary training, he is an expert on the history and culture of Italian cuisine, including regional and local variations. Batali co-owns restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Singapore and Hong Kong.

I think Batali looks Scottish or British. Even both of his parents had/have dark eyes and hair, but he is fair with rosy cheeks and delicate facial features that look British to me.
And I prefer Batali's looks to Abate.


And some Sicilians are blonde. I think it's Norman genes.

[PharmACT]

Considering that he is from southern Italy and looks like a Swede. How common is it in Italy to have a phenotype as his? And how common is it in the South?

his face-shape and hair color is common here but his close-set eyes, eyeshape, nose, mouth gives a Dinaric impression.

He looks more like a blond Balkan than a blond Germanic, at least in the first pic and this pic
http://d.yimg.com/i/ng/sp/empics/201...2012093522.jpg

[pupyississido]

Not rare but not very common either.

[Master_B]

click here for wikipedia article "Norman conquest of Southern Italy"

[oliverlogo]

Not uncommon in the north, not common but not exactly rare in the south. Blondes are pretty much nonexistent in Sardinia, and very rare in Calabria or Eastern Sicily.

[LottiFurmann]

Mario Batali's mother is of French Canadian origin.

The surname Batali is now rare in Italy according to the Gens Italia site, found in one comune each in the provinces of Turin and Lucca.

[Axxflcaj]

I lived in Italy, I' ve never seen a person like him. It's clear that his ancestors weren't from Italy, he looks slavic.

[benderkoz]

Blondes are pretty much nonexistent in Sardinia.

the average of blondism among conscripted soldiers (so only males) in Sardinia according a research realised in 19th century by the anthropologist Ridolfo Livi was 2,4% in the south and 4,9% in the north of the island, not properly "pretty much nonexistent".

[xochgtlm]

I lived in Italy, I' ve never seen a person like him. It's clear that his ancestors weren't from Italy, he looks slavic.

I see Abate types almost everyday but i agree he isn't the most common phenotype.

[Gozmand]

the average of blondism among conscripted soldiers (so only males) in Sardinia according a research realised in 19th century by the anthropologist Ridolfo Livi was 2,4% in the south and 4,9% in the north of the island, not properly "pretty much nonexistent".

Livi's figures for Sardinia were 1.7 pc blond hair and 0.2pc red hair against the all-Italian average of 8.2pc blond hair and 0.6pc red hair.
4pc blue eyes and 9.9 pc grey or mixed eyes against 20.6pc and 10.3pc for all Italy.

---------- Post added 2012-07-04 at 22:51 ----------

I lived in Italy, I' ve never seen a person like him. It's clear that his ancestors weren't from Italy, he looks slavic.

Funnily enough I've never seen any light-skinned, light-eyed Moroccans in Italy.

[meteeratymn]

Livi's figures for Sardinia were 1.7 pc blond hair and 0.2pc red hair.
4pc blue eyes and 9.9 pc grey or mixed.

Livi's study used two different terms for "blond", it subdivided the "BIONDO PURO" from the "BIONDO MISTO" (this one slight darker than Biondo Puro), you are showing only the "Biondo Puro" percentage, i'm summing the two ones.
Again by livi's study the percentage of light eyes (grey and blue), mixed excluded (like hazel), was 13,9%.

[Fouttysotlalf]

Livi's mixed blond category only sums light hair and eyes.

Blond hair regardless of eye colour is as I stated above.

Pure light-eyed blondes (Livi's Biondo Puro) are just 3pc in Italy as a whole and under 0.79pc in most of Sardinia.

[Qynvtlur]

the blondism of Livi does not include light brown, did I already mention it? lol

this guy resembles Abate

[prpaims]

the blondism of Livi does not include light brown, did I already mention it? lol

According Livi in Northern Italy 20 and even 40 people in a group of 100 are blondes. This is simply impossible, I don't know how someone could consider him as a serious anthropologist.

[Jenisoisy]

he's from Benevento, I seem to remember on one of the hair colour maps of Italy that that region had an unusually high amount of blondism?

[Yb4bulVR]

I lived in Italy, I' ve never seen a person like him. It's clear that his ancestors weren't from Italy, he looks slavic.

Where did you live? I see people like him everyday.

[hacyOrgachbic]

Where did you live? I see people like him everyday.

I' ve lived in Italy for years, he's to much blonde to be a pure Italian.

[O25YtQnn]

he's from Benevento, I seem to remember on one of the hair colour maps of Italy that that region had an unusually high amount of blondism?

Can any Italian users tell me if there were post-Roman Germanic or Slavic settlers near Benevento?

[HotboTgameR]

These phenotypes probably came from all the various European slaves the Romans brought over.