Ethnicity vs. skin tone

[darkerhorse]

What would you guess about the ancestry of Louie Prima?

[MarcuccioV]

What would you guess about the ancestry of Louie Prima?

I don't have to guess; I already knew he was Sicilian. His features could possibly favor a Greek influence...

[darkerhorse]

I was thinking North African.

[MarcuccioV]

I was thinking North African.

I couldn't rule either one out...

[darkerhorse]

Hair texture among other features.

[adam213]

I used to think you could figure out someone’s eye color — or even question biological relationships — by looking at the eye colors of their father, grandparents, and other relatives. But I recently learned that the old “one gene” explanation for eye color is outdated. Eye color is now understood to be controlled by multiple genes, making it more of a gradient than a simple dominant/recessive trait. While you can calculate general probabilities, unexpected results aren’t really anomalies — they’re just how genetics works. For example, in my family, I have brown eyes (which had about a 66% chance), one sibling has blue eyes (17% odds), and the other has hazel eyes (also 17%).

Interestingly, the woman who cut my hair today told me I have “Italian skin.” She’s Italian too, but fair-skinned with cool blue undertones, while mine has more of an olive tone. We even compared the color of our veins — mine looked bluish green at first, but next to hers (which were greenish blue), mine appeared clearly green. I think without a leftover summer tan, they’d look a bit more bluish green again. Either way, I took her comment as a nice compliment.

[darkerhorse]

I've had a couple of inquiries. No, my screen name has nothing to do with my own skin complexion, despite my interest in the topic.

[MaddalenaNYC]

I am of 100 percent Italian ancestry. But some of the family, fifty percent, came from the North Liguria and Emilia Romagna, and fifty percent from Benevento.
None of us have olive toned skin.

Not a one.

Our skin tone is pale. Our hair coloring runs from chestnut brown to light brown to blonde.

Our eye colors range from blue to Hazel green to chestnut brown.

Now, if only we had a red hair, life would be complete.

Wait, we did have a redhead, my daughter was a redhead when she was born but it quickly changed to a dark blonde.

[MaddalenaNYC]

In fact I have in my possession, my great grandfather, Guglielmo’s passport. He was my father’s maternal grandfather.

This Nonno of mine had blond hair, blue eyes and a red beard.
He was from Soragna and was often indicated as Swiss on ships’ manifests coming to the New World.

[MaddalenaNYC]

My daughter is not of 100 percent Italian ancestry. She has English and Mexican ancestry as well.

She clearly looks like a northern Italian with very, very pale porcelain skin, dark blonde hair and chestnut brown eyes. Then there are the cheekbones.
I must confess that everyone in my family has the “cheekbones”.

Italians are a handsome people whether they are pale skinned or olive toned.

But we must admit that Italy had had many others coming to the country from France, Germany, and even Scandinavia.

My godfather, an uncle of mine through marriage, god rest his soul, he was from Palermo, and had opined that his family way back when was from the Middle East.

Now, he did have olive toned skin.







She is often mistaken as Northern Italian when she travels through Italy.