South Italy (S. Italy)

**South Italy** (南イタリア, *Minami Itaria*), often referred to as **Romano** (ロマーノ, *Romāno*), is a character in the series *Hetalia Axis Powers* and the older brother of North Italy.

His name is actually **Lovino Vargas** (ロヴィーノ・ヴァルガス, *Rovīno Varugasu*) while his country's (actually his half of the country of Italy) is called Italian Republic (Reppublica Italiana), Southern Italy.

Both Romano and his brother both share the same birthday which is March 17th.

## Appearance

South Italy has dark brown hair and has more of an olive complexion than his younger brother in earlier artwork, but there is a tan tone to his skin. His eyes were originally green, but became colored hazel or dark brown in most of the later colored art.

Like his brother, he has a wild long curl that acts as his erogenous zone, though it rests on the right side of his head, as opposed to the left. In most artwork and merchandise, he is shown to wear a khaki uniform in a different style than Italy's (and more similar to Spain's), with three-quarter-length sleeves. But in the published manga and anime, he instead wears a virtually identical uniform. In his very first appearance in the webcomic, South Italy's shirt and belt were colored white, but were later shaded in dark. The actual color of the uniform is unknown due to it only appearing in black-and-white art, though fanworks often depict it as being a lighter blue.

As a child, he did not usually wear a maid dress like his brother but simply the apron, as seen in early strips of **Boss Spain's Control of Southern Italy**. But in some strips like the ones in **Comic Diary 9**, he is depicted wearing a dress of an unknown color.

A chibi image by Himaruya, as well as a figurine, also show that South Italy has a casual sailor outfit like Italy, but with the blue accents replaced by green.

## Personality

South Italy is friendly and kind to women, but is strict and less social towards men. In particular, he is openly rude to both Germany and France. Despite appearing to be tougher than his younger brother, he is just as cowardly and ineffectual, if not more. Though he is not very skilled with his hands, it is said that he is a good pickpocket. He is also has a habit of speaking in profanity, particularly the words "bastard" and "dammit".

As a child, he often slacked off and slept when it came to chores, though he was rather clumsy when he actually tried to do them. In **Comic Diary 10** and blog illustrations by Himaruya, as well as in the first part of **Boss Spain's Control Of Southern Italy**, it is revealed that the younger South Italy had a bed-wetting problem and often had trouble finding the toilet due to the vast size of Spain's mansion. In *Hetalia: Axis Powers* volume 1, it is also revealed that he had the disease chorea as a child, and that it played a part in his clumsiness. Spain attempted to heal him by making him dance the Tarantella; South Italy appeared to recover from the disease, whether due to those efforts or not.

When using grenades, he seemingly has no clue of the correct way to throw them (throwing the pin rather than the actual grenade, a habit shared by his brother). In the strip **In Two Minutes, You Can Grasp The Exterior Of The European Economy**, it is shown that he is often controlled and led around by his own mafia. It is partially due to the influence of the mafia that his view of the world is more biased and bleak than Italy's.

While Italy eats a variety of foods other than pasta or tomato, South Italy refuses to eat any foreign foods, especially if it happens to be either cheese or potatoes. He has the verbal tic of making a "Chigi" (or "Chigigi") sound when he is agitated or when his haircurl is pulled.

Like his younger brother, he loves pasta, siestas, and flirting with girls. His hobbies are farming and cooking.

## 2P Side

**Main Article:** 2P South Italy (Flavio Vargas)