Feliciano Vargas

Francis Bonnefoy (Adopted Older brother)

**Feliciano Vargas** is another close ally to Kiku Honda and Ludwig in the manga/anime series *Hetalia* and the *Tea Leaves* series. He forms the Axis powers with Kiku and Ludwig and is the personification of Northern Italy.

## Appearance and Personality

### Appearance

He has short brown hair and brown eyes, with a curl on the left side of his head, which acts as his erogenous zone when stroked or pulled. He is 172 cm tall, despairing at the 8 cm difference between him and Germany, as seen in episode 11. He wears a blue WWII military uniform, a black shirt and tie, and black boots. In earlier strips, his hair was shown smoother, and his curl was drawn smaller, a change which was noted in a gag illustration. Italy's eyes were depicted as gray in the earliest artwork of him, but quickly changed to brown.

In his first appearance in both versions of the manga, and the first two episodes of the anime, he wore a tan uniform that looked almost similar to his brother's, aside from being drawn as a jumpsuit in the manga (though it was shown as a two-piece suit in the anime).

As a child, he wore dresses, and was often mistaken for a girl by Holy Roman Empire, Austria, and numerous others. When not in uniform, he can often be seen dressed in a white sailor suit-style top (with blue collar, necktie, and sleeve bands) and blue shorts.

### Personality

Feliciano is a cheerful, energetic man, who went from being the kin of Ancient Rome, to an irresponsible crybaby. He loves pasta, pizza, gelato, and cheese. Although he relies on Ludwig a lot, Feliciano doesn't really listen to what he says and instead daydreams or wanders off. His hobbies include cooking, siestas, painting, singing and also flirts with any cute girl he sees.

In the webcomic and the first drama CD, it is noted that he frequently gets stomach pains due to overindulging on gelato. Italy is shown to have a compulsion of stripping off all of his clothes for his daily 3PM "siestas", and usually forgets to put his pants back on after he wakes back up (causing Germany to have to lend him a pair of his own). His public nudity has become notorious enough to where Switzerland will fire upon him if he catches him streaking throughout his homeland.

He also has the verbal tic of making a "Ve" sound (really said by Italians, above all in Emilia-Romagna, whereas you could hear a "Be" in other Italian regions, which is an abbreviation of "bene", "good", and it has the same function of the English interjection "well" at the beginning of a sentence), though in the anime adaptation, he makes other onomatopoeic sounds as well, a more notable one being a chant of "Herahera" (a Japanese onomatopoeia which means "acting foolishly" or "frivolous") .

Though he was relatively weak and timid as a child, he was able to take on Turkey single-handedly at one point.

## Back Story

Feliciano appears in Episode 01, in the anime, towards the end of the meeting. He offers to speak, but when he is called upon, he lets out a cry of "PASTA~!" instead of presenting data.

He is formally introduced in Episode 02, after Ludwig finds him hiding in the tomato crate, and is taken captive, but eventually kicked out and sent back home after he annoys the other man with a stereotype-filled song about Germans. Feliciano later returns to work for Ludwig after becoming poor, and eventually becomes his ally in the lead-up to WWII.

In the anime adaptation, Feliciano's hair is changed to auburn, while his tie is colored blue. His eyes were also changed to amber, a more "golden" shade than what they appear as in manga illustrations.

## Storyline History

### Tea Leaves and Red Silk

Feliciano and Ludwig visit Kiku in the hospital. Kiku finally breaks down and tells them about his dreams and the Woman in Red. Feliciano couldn't keep up with the conversation and didn't understand what was going on.

### Tea Leaves and Silk Rings

Feliciano and Ludwig stop by Gilbert's house for a visit. Both men promised not to talk about what Kiku had told them in the hospital. However, Feliciano lets the story about the Woman in Red slip, sending Gilbert into a panic and making a phone call to Antonio in his bedroom.

Later, Gilbert asks him if he was sure that the Woman in Red was back. After Feliciano confirms it, the Prussian man tells him to forget about it and walks out of his house. The next day, the Italian man calls Elizabeta asks about Gilbert, telling her about the Woman in Red, sending her and Roderich into panic.

Feliciano has nightmares about Lovino killing him because he didn't want him to see the world like this. He and his brother talk briefly on the phone. Feliciano asks if Lovino would even kill him. His brother said no and asks why. The younger Italian wouldn't tell him why and hung up.

### Tea Leaves and Opal Necklaces

Feliciano starts to freak out when he hears that Ludwig is talking to invisible people. Though he doesn't know the extent of how bad things are, he sense something isn't right. Over lunch, the German lays down everything that's been happening to him. The Italian man is more freaked out by what he learned.

Because he is confused and isolated, Feliciano goes to confessional and tells this alleged priest everything. Feliciano goes by Heracles' house to visit and meets Dio for the first time. He learns of the potential war and the that Dio is the Great Beast Heracles and Sadik have to calm him down, but the Italian man tells them everything that is going on with Kiku and Ludwig, causing everyone to be alarmed.

### Tea Leaves and Diamond Bracelets

Feliciano starts to fear Lovino because of his nightmares of being killed by him. He pleads with his brother not to murder him and asks why he believes that he is too pure for this world. His words stir something inside of Lovino, causing him to push the younger brother away. Feliciano starts to get the feeling that something is wrong. Despite everyone trying to keep him in the dark, he is starting to piece it together. On top of that, Feliciano is also having strange dreams about himself being a young rich girl in Venice suffering from depression.

### Tea Leaves and Sapphire Earrings

Feliciano is worried about Ludwig while he's still in a catatonic state. The Italian man still visits him. But Ludwig's condition doesn't change. Feliciano meets a strange man with an offer to help Ludwig.

### Tea Leaves and Purple Robes

Things get worse for Ludwig. Feliciano becomes desperate. Pushed up against the wall, he turns to Dr. Faust for help. They meet up in an abandoned church. The men talk and go through the deal. Feliciano goes through with the deal and sells his soul to save Ludwig. Since then, he comes across as cold. Feliciano doesn't even go to see Ludwig. The other countries notice and don't like it.

## Relationships

### Ancient Rome

The heir apparent to Rome's fortune, the young Feliciano spent an indeterminate amount of time living and traveling with his grandfather until Rome eventually grew weak and died due to his empire crumbling.

Due to what happened to his grandfather, Feliciano refused to become a new Roman Empire when Holy Roman Empire offered him the chance to do so. Though he didn't emulate Rome's military success, he did pursue the same instinctive talent for art.

### Roderich Edelstein

*Main Article: Roderich Edelstein*

Roderich took control over a younger Italy after Ancient Rome fell and helped raise him with the assistance of Hungary in Holy Roman Empire's house. In the strip In Vienna, it is revealed that Roderich had originally thought Italy to be a girl along with most others; when he and Elizabeta learn of Feliciano's voice maturing, he states that he expected something like this to happen, and buys Feliciano boy's clothing from then on.

### Francis Bonnefoy

*Main Article: Francis Bonnefoy*

Feliciano (still a child) grew up with a teenage Francis. The two got along well until Feliciano was taken to spend time with Ancient Rome. When he returned, Francis only wanted to gain control of him. They are still on rather good terms, as Feliciano still refers to Francis as his big brother and has visited him a number of times. Francis is also unwilling to harm Italy despite being enemies.

### Ludwig

*Main Article: Ludwig*

After being found in a orange crate (a crate of tomatoes in the published manga and anime adaptations), Feliciano became his prisoner, then ally. With Kiku, they formed the Axis Powers. Despite their differences, Feliciano and Ludwig are rather close\*

It is hinted, though not outright confirmed, that Ludwig may be Feliciano's long-lost childhood love, Holy Roman Empire.

* Feliciano is openly affectionate towards Ludwig, always trying his best for him and the Axis Trio as a whole - despite failing most of the time. It is shown repeatedly that Italy has no problem crawling in Ludwig's bed at night or publicly asking how he (Ludwig) feels about him (much to Arthur's dismay), as shown in Episode 41 of the anime.

* It is speculated that Ludwig is actually the Holy Roman Empire. This can be supported using the unfinished comic Buon san Valentino, basing off a fiasco in which Ludwig misinterprets Italy's affection toward him. After the date he set up for them had gone wrong, Ludwig has visions of himself giving Chibitalia flowers from what may be Holy Rome's perspective, leading to increased fan speculation.

### Holy Roman Empire

As a child, Holy Roman Empire would frequently chase Feliciano about, demanding that he should become part of the Holy Roman Empire. After Austria gained control of Feliciano, they resided in Holy Roman Empire's house. Holy Roman Empire was excited, but had a hard time interacting with Feliciano as he had a crush on him (believing him to be a girl). As a result of HRE's quiet and intense gazes, Feliciano became very afraid of him at times.

Feliciano later revealed that the reason he refused HRE's offer to join him in becoming part of a new Roman Empire was because he saw the effects a long life of war had on his grandfather. Heartbroken, HRE leaves his home to go to war after other members of the Holy Roman Empire begin turning against him and Roderich. As he leaves, he runs into Feliciano, and the two say their goodbyes as Italy gives HRE a token of his affection (his underwear in the webcomic version and his broom in the anime). The two share a goodbye kiss and HRE promises that he will return.

In Chibitalia in the 15th Century, HRE does return, but without Italy's knowledge, and only to see if Feliciano is doing okay before going back to war. HRE's fate has been touched over in a scrapped comic where Francis claims Feliciano must move on, as "The Holy Roman Empire is no more".

### Elizabeta Héderváry

*Main Article: Elizabeta Héderváry*

Elizabeta helped raise Feliciano when they were both under Roderich's rule, and is considered to be an older sister figure to him. She is also one of the few who knew of Feliciano's true gender.

### Kiku Honda

*Main Article: Kiku Honda*

Kiku is shown to often be unnerved by Feliciano's "shameless" and unusual behavior, even going as far as to order him to "take responsibility" and marry him after having been hugged and kissed by Feliciano as a greeting. When Feliciano once drove Kiku to his house, his erratic driving skills inspired Kiku to invent safer cars. The two have been shown to have a mutual respect of each others' history and artwork, and seem to be friends.

### Feliks Łukasiewicz

*Main Article: Feliks Łukasiewicz*

Feliciano and Feliks are shown to be good friends in a few of the "Extra Stories" and Comic Diary strips, and have known each other since they were small children due to their long history of good relations. The two countries even reference each other in their national anthems, and Feliks once asked Toris what he thought of Feliciano. It was Feliks who gave Italy the idea to make an ejectable seat in Ludwig's Kubelwagon, as he had previously designed an airplane with one (which backfired on him).

### Gilbert Beilschmidt

*Main Article: Gilbert Beilschmidt*

Gilbert is shown to like Feliciano very much, considering him "cute" and going as far as to ask him on a date, only for Feliciano to be oblivious to his question (as he was fixated on Gilbert's bird).

### Lovino Vargas

*Main Article: Lovino Vargas*

The two brothers grew up knowing of each other, but they never actually met face to face. Feliciano eventually went off to live with their grandfather for some time, while Lovino stayed behind. After Grandpa Rome had died and Feliciano came back, Lovino and the other boys became bullies to him. The two were separated again at the end of the Italian War, when Feliciano was claimed by the Holy Roman Empire and Roderich, while Lovino was sent to live with Spain because he was too difficult to deal with.

In the present day, the two brothers do not get along very well; Lovino occasionally refuses to acknowledge his brother's existence, though Italy is more than eager to be around his older brother. As a child, Lovino often felt jealous and inferior to Feliciano, due to the younger brother inheriting their grandfather's talent for art and cleaning, while he could do neither well. He also felt that his brother took after their grandfather in appearance more. Despite this though, he is shown to have at least a subconscious care for him, becoming upset when his brother implies he does not admire him, and sharing a bed with him. Usually, when it is hinted that he cares about Feliciano, something happens that angers him and he instantly reverts back.

Although Lovino seems tougher than Feliciano, both are actually cowardly and ineffectual. Lovino refers to Feliciano as Veneziano, and Feliciano and others refer to Lovino as Romano, in order to avoid confusion.

## Trivia

* The birthdate given in his profile, March 17th, corresponds with the date of the formation of the "Kingdom Of Italy" (Regno d'Italia) in 1861. As Italy is shown in the strips to have existed for centuries before, it is likely that the brothers use the date of the Italian Unification to celebrate their birthdays with, as a unified Italy. The formation date of the Italian Republic (Repubblica Italiana) is actually June 2nd. South Italy is confirmed to be the elder of the two; despite this, some fans continue to mistake them for twins due to having similar hairstyles.
* Though Italy was represented with the flag for the Kingdom Of Italy in the original webcomic, the published manga and later media use the modern Italian flag.
* His full nation name, Italy Veneziano (or just "Veneziano") is derived from Venezia, the Italian name for Venice, a city in Northern Italy. In the strips, he is simply referred to by the others as Italy, with his brother only referring to him as Veneziano. The name North Italy is also used to differentiate him from his brother. In Italian, the word Veneziano has the meaning of "venetian", "native of Venice", but, unlike his brother's second forename, it is no existent male first name. Veneziano can also be seen as a sort of pun for the similar-sounding Japanese phrase "Venezia no", which would mean "of Venice".
* Though his name is derived after Venice, he only seems to represent the Republic itself in the strip where he fights the Ottoman troops. In footnotes to strips such as The War of Austrian Succession, it is shown that he has also been used to represent other northern areas of Italy such as Milan and Piedmont-Sardinia, before the unification of Italy.
* In the strip *Let's Assist The French Economy!*, his right nipple is revealed to represent Corsica and winds up claimed by France. His right pectoral area is also said to represent both Savoy and Nice.
* In Contrary To The Italian Image, it is revealed in a footnote that Italy suffers from the medical condition phimosis (which makes it difficult for the foreskin of the penis to be retracted), due to Italy ranking #2 in frequent cases of it.
* In the webcomic strip *Italy's Big Brother*, Germany reveals that Italy happens to share Germanic blood with him (presumably due to the German conquests of Italy after the fall of the Roman Empire). This noticeably angers South Italy, who was later said to be of Arabic blood by Himaruya.
* In a note, Himaruya stated that Italy was not entirely weak, but due to him being cowardly and scared, he does not use his strength. However, as Chibitalia, he was shown at one point to be strong enough to defeat Ottoman forces that were invading the Adriatic Sea (referencing how Italian naval troops were thought to be stronger than the ones on land). In another illustration, the female version of Italy is shown to display an incredible bout of strength when angered, much to the surprise of her male counterpart.
* In the special booklet included with the third volume of the published manga, it was revealed that Italy's personality was originally intended to be modeled after that of Noto Kanazawa (an unlucky, often-bullied character from a previous Kitayume comic), and that his curl was a last-minute addition to the design to make him look cuter. As the manga progressed though, the character of Italy became more carefree and absent-minded.

## Source

* Basic Information: http://hetalia.kitawiki.net/index.php?title=Italy