Monthly Archives: November 2022

Foreigners Admire Beautiful Spanish Women

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The physiognomy of faces, their shape and color, and the shape and complexion of bodies are fascinating and frequently contested topics in anthropological discussions of national physical beauty. The beauty of Spanish men and women astounded many anthropologists, tourists, and other people.

Many people all over the world recognized Spain’s beauty. Foreign visitors remarked on the black eyes and long black eyelashes of Spanish women. They are all in agreement that “Spain’s dark-glancing daughters” are the most beautiful women.

The French, German, Italian, English, and American observers all agree that Spanish beauty has excellent anthropological qualities. Many Europeans consider Italian and Spanish people to be particularly attractive.

Scholars in the 19th century thought that the unique features of Spanish faces and bodies came from the mixing of many different cultures and body types that moved to Spain over time. 

What Do Foreign Travelers Think of Beautiful Spanish Women?

Here is an interesting observation of a writer in “Macmillan’s Magazine” (1874), a literary periodical that published non-fiction and fiction articles from mostly British authors. The author refers to “the stately upright walk of the Spanish ladies and the graceful carriage of the head.”

Then the author of the article notes that a mother would not let her daughter carry a basket. Otherwise, this would

“destroy her “queenly walk”; and “her dull eye too will grow moist with a tear, and her worn face will kindle with absolute softness and sweetness, if an English señor expresses his admiration of her child’s magnificent hair or flashing black eyes.”

The same author also describes a scene he saw along the Guadalquiver, which may explain why Spanish women are so physically fit and full of life:

“An old mill-house, with its clumsy wheel and a couple of pomegranates, shaded one corner of this part of the river; and under their shade, sitting up to their shoulders in the water, on the huge round boulders of which the bottom of the river is composed, were groups of Spanish ladies. Truly it was a pretty sight! They sat as though on chairs, clothed to the neck in bathing-gowns of the gaudiest colours—red, gray, yellow, and blue; and, holding in one hand their umbrellas, and with the other fanning themselves, they formed a most picturesque group.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 518).

Washington Irving, an American writer and historian from the early 1800s, wrote the following about a beautiful Spanish woman he saw on a coast steamer: 

“A young married lady, of about four or five and twenty, middle-sized, finely-modelled, a Grecian outline of face, a complexion sallow yet healthful, raven black hair, eyes dark, large, and beaming, softened by long eyelashes, lips full and rosy red, yet finely chiselled, and teeth of dazzling whiteness. Her hand … is small, exquisitely formed, with taper fingers, and blue veins. I never saw a female hand more exquisite.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 519).

When the husband of this young woman saw that Washington Irving seemed to be drawing her, he asked him what was going on. Irving read his sketch to the man, who was very appreciative. This episode sparked a wonderful, albeit brief, friendship between the two.

In another letter to a friend, Washington Irving writes:

“There are beautiful women in Seville as … there are in all other great cities; but do not, my worthy and inquiring friend, expect a perfect beauty to be staring you in the face at every turn, or you will be awfully disappointed. Andalusia, generally speaking, derives its renown for the beauty of its women and the beauty of its landscape, from the rare and captivating charms of individuals. The generality of its female faces are as sunburnt and void of bloom and freshness as its plains. I am convinced, the great fascination of Spanish women arises from their natural talent, their fire and soul, which beam through their dark and flashing eyes, and kindle up their whole countenance in the course of an interesting conversation. As I have had but few opportunities of judging them in this way, I can only criticise them with the eye of a sauntering observer. It is like judging of a fountain when it is not in play, or a fire when it lies dormant and neither flames nor sparkles.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 519).

The English poet Lord Byron (1788–1844), in his poem “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,” extols the Spanish woman’s”fairy form, with more than female grace”:

“Her glance how wildly beautiful! how much

Hath Phœbus wooed in vain to spoil her cheek,

Which glows yet smoother from his amorous clutch!

Who round the North for paler dames would seek? How poor their forms appear! how languid, wan, and weak!”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 520).

However, in a letter written from Cadiz, Byron describes both the strengths and weaknesses of Spanish women’ physicality.

 “With all national prejudice, I must confess, the women of Cadiz are as far superior to the English women in beauty, as the Spaniards are inferior to the English in every quality that dignifies the name of man…. The Spanish women are all alike, their education the same…. Certainly they are fascinating; but their minds have only one idea, and the business of their lives is intrigue…. Long black hair, dark languishing eyes, clear olive complexions, and forms more graceful in motion than can be conceived by an Englishman used to the drowsy, listless air of his countrywomen, added to the most becoming dress, and, at the same time, the most decent in the world, render a Spanish beauty irresistible.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 520).

The Remarkable Spanish Beauty

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Anthropologists have been long interested in exploring the physicality of personal beauty by examining the physiognomy of faces, their shape and color, as well as the expressions on people’s faces. They emphasized the special anthropological features of certain nationalities.

International Recognition of Spanish Beauty

Anthropological issues of national physical beauty—the shape and complexion of bodies, the physiognomy of faces, their shape and color—are intriguing and often debated questions. Many anthropologists, travelers, and other people were amazed by how beautiful Spanish men and women were.

Many international travelers emphasized the black eyes and long black eyelashes of Spanish women. They all agree that “Spain’s dark-glancing daughters” are the most beautiful women in the world. French personal beauty appears apparent to French eyes, yet not always to other nationals. The opinions of people regarding Italian personal beauty vary.

However, the French, German, Italian, English, and American observers all agree regarding the excellent anthropological qualities of Spanish beauty. Among many Europeans, Italian and Spanish people have a longstanding reputation for being especially beautiful.

Scholars of the 19th century concluded that the distinctive features of Spanish faces and bodies resulted from the significant mixing of many cultural and physical types of people who came to Spain at different times in history.

Eyewitness Accounts of Beautiful Spanish Women?

In his fascinating book about Spain, Edmondo de Amicis (1846–1908), an Italian novelist, poet, and journalist, writes about the women of Madrid, saying that

“They are still the same little women so besung for their great eyes, small hands, and tiny feet, with their very black hair, but skin rather white than dark, so well-formed, erect, lithe, and vivacious.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 517).

However, like most other travelers, Edmondo De Amicis reserves most of his special comments and compliments for Andalusian women. The region of Andalusia in Spain provides the most beautiful descriptions in terms of its landscape, architecture, and women. Regarding the women and girls of Seville, as exemplified by the large tobacco factory that employs 5,000 women, he says:

“There are some very beautiful faces, and even those that are not absolutely beautiful, have something about them which attracts the eye and remains impressed upon the memory—the colouring, eyes, brows, and smile, for instance. Many, especially the so-called gitane, are dark brown, like mulattoes, and have protruding lips: others have such large eyes that a faithful likeness of them would seem an exaggeration. The majority are small, well-made, and all wear a rose, pink, or a bunch of field-flowers among their braids…. On coming out of the factory, you seem to see on every side for a time, black pupils which look at you with a thousand different expressions of curiosity, ennui, sympathy, sadness, and drowsiness.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 517).

Edmondo de Amicis also found that

“The feminine type of Cadiz was not less attractive than that celebrated one at Seville. The women are a little taller, a trifle stouter, and rather darker. Some fine observer has asserted that they are of the Greek type; but I cannot see where. I saw nothing, with the exception of their stature, but the Andalusian type; and this sufficed to make me heave sighs deep enough to have blown along a boat and obliged me to return as soon as possible to my ship, as a place of peace and refuge.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 518).

An American poet and novelist, George Parsons Lathrop (1851–1898), in his book “Spanish Vistas” (1883), described the Spanish girls in the Seville factory. He has a slightly lower pitch in his writing than Edmondo de Amicis. In particular, he writes,

“Some of them had a spendthrift, common sort of beauty, which, owing to their southern vivacity and fine physique, had the air of being more than it really was…. There were some appalling old crones…. Others, on the contrary, looked blooming and coquettish. Many were in startling deshabille, resorted to on account of the intense (July) heat, and hastened to draw pretty pañuelos of variegated dye over their bare shoulders when they saw us coming…. The beauty of these Carmens has certainly been exaggerated. It may be remarked here that, as an offset to occasional disappointment arising from such exaggerations, all Spanish women walk with astonishing gracefulness, and natural and elastic step; and that is their chief advantage over women of other nations.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 518).

Beautiful Black Eyes of Spanish Women

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Exploring the physicality of personal beauty, anthropologists look at the physiognomy of faces, their shape and color, as well as the expressions on people’s faces. The remarkable beauty of Spanish women and men became a topic of special interest for many researchers and other observers. Scholars of the 19th century concluded that the unique features of Spanish faces and bodies evolved from the considerable mixing of many cultural and physical types of people who came to Spain in various periods of history.

Spanish men and women, like Italians, have had a long reputation as beautiful people among many Europeans. Scholars of the 19th century concluded that the evolutionary mixing of different physical types could be the reason why modern Spaniards are so attractive. Spanish personal beauty has evolved from the long history of cultural mixing.

The Evolutionary Origins of Spanish Beauty

Moors, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Goths, Suevi, Gypsies, and Jews have migrated to Spain in different historical periods and for different reasons. People in those ancient civilizations had different types of human physicality. Sexual selection and intermarriage both contributed to the cultural evolution of Spanish physical beauty.

For example, the brunette type of Spanish appearance likely evolved from the physical traits of Arabs and Gypsies. Migrants from those cultures contributed to the formation of modern Spanish physical traits of Arabs and Gypsies. Migrants from those cultures contributed to the formation of modern Spanish women’s and men’s faces. Among those national features are dark skin tones, oval faces, glossy, dark hair, small mouths, white teeth, straight lines separating the nose and forehead, gracefully arched feet, and delicate extremities.

The Black Eyes and Long Black Eyelashes of Beautiful Spanish Women

The black eyes and long black eyelashes have become among the most distinctive features of Spanish women’s beauty. Many poets praised women’s eyes, describing their beautiful appearance. As an English playwright and poet, William Shakespeare, wrote, no author in the world “teaches such beauty as a woman’s eye.” (As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 516).

In this respect, Andalusian women are especially beautiful. Even ordinary travelers can become poetic when describing the Andalusian woman’s “black eye that mocks her coal-black veil.”

“Large and round are these eyes, like those of Oriental Houris; long and dense their black lashes, which yet cannot smother the mysterious fire and sparkle which their iris appears to have borrowed of the Gypsies. In many cases there is a vague, piquant indication of the almond-shaped palpebral aperture—one of the Semitic traits derived from the Phœnicians, Jews, and Saracens. And then, what woman can make such irresistibly fascinating use of her eyes as the Spanish brunette?”

(Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 517).

A French scientist and author from the 19th century, Louis Figuier, described the physical traits of the Spanish woman this way: 

“She is generally brunette, although the blonde type occurs much more frequently than is usually supposed. The Spanish woman is almost always small of stature. Who has not observed the large eyes, veiled by thick lashes, her delicate nose, and well-formed nostrils? Her form is always undulating and graceful; her limbs are round and beautifully moulded, and her extremities of incomparable delicacy. She is a charming mixture of vigour, languor, and grace.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 517).

A German author of the 19th century, Bogumil Goltz (1801-1870), wrote that

“The appearance of a Spanish woman is the expression of her character. Her fine figure, her majestic gait, her sonorous voice, her black, flashing eye, the liveliness of her gesticulations, in a word, her whole external personality indicates her character.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 517).

People from many countries commonly praise “Spain’s dark-glancing daughters.”

Cultural Evolution of Spanish Beauty

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Many people, especially anthropologists, want to know if the characteristics of beauty are cross-culturally universal or they are culturally specific to certain nations.  The attributes of special scholarly interest are people’s physicality, including various features of their faces and bodies. Anthropologists examine the shape and complexion of bodies, the physiognomy, and the expressiveness of faces.

Both biological and cultural evolution play vital roles in the formation of physicality, appearance, and beauty in a specific culture. Let us consider the case of Spanish nationality, which developed based on the considerable mixing of many cultural and physical types of people who came to Spain in various periods of history.

A Cultural Mix Favored Spanish Beauty

Spain has an unusually happy mixture of nationalities of various origins. As Henry Finck noted, the goddess of beauty blended the national colors that comprise the Spanish type of physical appearance. It was a vital factor contributing to Spanish beauty.

As an English historian, Edward Freeman (1823–1892), noted in the late 19th century, when Spain was added to the Roman dominion,

“the only one of the great countries of Europe where the mass of the people were not of the Aryan stock. The greater part of the land was still held by the Iberians, as a small part is even now by their descendants the Basques. But in the central part of the peninsula Celtic tribes had pressed in, and … there were some Phœnician colonies in the south, and some Greek colonies on the east coast. In the time between the first and second Punic Wars, Hamilcar, Hasdrubal, and Hannibal had won all Spain as far as the Ebro for Carthage.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 516).

Adding blood from ancient civilizations like Rome and Greece to the original Spanish stock have been obviously advantageous.

The Goths, Vandals, Suevi, and Moors were among the other nations that successively conquered Spain. Large numbers of Jews and Gypsies also immigrated to Spain. In the 19th century, there were still about 50,000 Gypsies.

Most of these cultures had some beneficial physical traits that evolutionary sexual selection picked up on and passed on. The mixing of races, on the other hand, neutralized and eliminated some of the evolutionary disadvantages in physical characteristics.

And it’s important to remember that this mixing of nations happened very long ago. So it’s no longer a physical mix of different physical types but rather a true “chemical” or physiological fusion. Dissonances and oddities are less likely to occur in Spain as a result of this long story of Spanish cultural evolution. That is a different evolutionary stage than in countries where the mixing of cultures happened more recently.

How Did Different Cultures Shape Spanish Beauty?

Romans, Greeks, Moors, Vandals, Goths, Suevi, Jews, and Gypsies have all contributed to the formation of the Spanish physical type of beauty.

The Goths contributed their robust vigor and masculinity. Gypsies added their intense qualities as brunettes. Arabs contributed their oval faces, dark skin tones, and straight lines separating the nose and forehead. Besides, the Arab impact was evident in small mouths, white teeth, glossy, dark hair, delicate extremities, and gracefully arched feet. And most importantly, their black eyes and long black eyelashes also added to the Spanish physical type of beauty.

So, this evolutionary mixing of various physical types can explain why modern Spaniards are so beautiful.

What Was Special About French Women’s and Men’s Physicality?

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Many people, and anthropologists in particular, are interested in learning whether the qualities of beauty are shared by all cultures or whether they are unique to particular countries. They focus on the people’s physical constitution, bodies, and faces. They examine the shape, color, physiognomy, expression, and expressiveness of faces. Additionally, they focus on the bodies’ shape, color, and expressiveness.

Some observations revealed differences in the natural personal beauty of people in European countries. Henry Finck referred to many authors of the 19th and previous centuries to characterize Italian, French, Spanish, and other European cultures.

In other articles, I summarized Henry Finck’s portrayals of personal beauty in Italian and French cultures.

Let us continue looking in more detail at what is special about French personal beauty as it was characterized in the 19th century.

French Women’s Beauty in Graceful and Charming Manners

As Henry Finck asserts, French women often lack natural beauty. After the adolescent years, women have a general tendency to either become too lean or too stout. It seems to be more noticeable in France than in other countries in Europe. As he continues, there is no doubt that French women of supreme beauty definitely exist in France. However, such cases are as scarce as “strawberries in December.”

Nevertheless, French women strive to compensate for their lack of grace in beauty with their good manners and fashion. French women are naturally bright and quick-witted. They endear grace with their charming manners. French women typically captivate with their delicate little ways and movements.

French girls know how to use their eyes to their advantage from a young age. A witty newspaper writer once remarked that French girls

“can say more with their shoulders than most girls can with their eyes; and when they talk with eyes, hands, shoulders, and tongue at once, it takes a man of talent to keep up.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 507).

French Men’s Constitutional Features

Men, meanwhile, are easy to recognize by their simians’ hairiness or their diminutive stature. Henry Finck, in particular, remarked on a difference in general manliness and stature between French and German or English soldiers. The English soldiers are superior to the French in terms of vitality and attractiveness. And it is more than “skin deep.” It appears to go all the way down to the chemical composition of their tissues.

French Professor Paul Topinard commented in his Anthropologie (1885) that he articulated in the early 1860s a fact that was generally supported by others, namely,

“that the mortality after capital operations in English hospitals was less by one-half than in the French. We attributed it to a better diet, to their better sanitary arrangements, and to their superior management. There was but one serious objection offered to our statement. M. Velapeau, with his wonderful acumen, made reply, at the Academy of Medicine, that the flesh of the English and of the French differed; in other words, that the reaction after operations was not the same in both races. It is, in effect, an anthropological character.”

(As cited in Henry Finck, 1887/2019, p. 508).

French Beauty in the 19th Century

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Many people, and anthropologists especially, are curious whether the features of beauty are universal across cultures or are culturally specific to certain nations. They pay attention to faces and bodies. They look at the form, complexion, expressiveness, and physiognomy of faces. They also pay attention to the form, complexion, and expressivity of the bodies.

Many people, like Italians, tend to believe that, compared to other cultures, people of their own country are more beautiful than those in other nations. The mere exposure effect and prototypic effects may play their roles. Standards of beauty can be disputable and subjective. Other people may think differently.

Foreign visitors often have different perspectives on how prevalent beauty is in various nations. Anyway, any of these views are subjective, and some people can argue in different ways.

Therefore, only the frequency of certain opinions can provide an objective perspective. And the historical perspective of cultural evolution can be of interest as well.

How Beautiful Were French People in the 19th Century?

Let us look into the historical legacy of love scholarship (Finck, 1887/2019). Here is how Henry Finck and other authors he cited portrayed French beauty in the 19th century.

Henry Finck noted in his writings of the 19th century that for many authors, personal beauty in France is seemingly more rare than anywhere else in Europe. He wrote that people in France had less pronounced forms, complexions, and physiognomy compared to Italians.

What Did Foreign Authors Think about Personal Beauty of French People?

British novelist William Thackeray (1811–1863), for example, wrote that nature has

“rather stinted the bodies and limbs of the French nation.”

British anthropologist Alexander Walker (1779–1852), in his book “Beauty” (1845), commented that

“the women of France are among the ugliest in the world.”

And Sir Lepel Griffin (1838–1908), a British author, mentioned that

“National vanity, where inordinately developed, may take the form of asserting that black is white, as in France, where the average of good looks, among both men and women, is perhaps lower than elsewhere in Europe. If a pretty woman be seen in the streets of Paris, she is almost certainly English or American; yet if a foreigner were to form an estimate of French beauty from the rapturous descriptions of contemporary French novels, or from the sketches of La Vie Parisienne, he must conclude that the Frenchwoman was the purest and loveliest type in the world in face and figure. The fiction in this case disguises itself in no semblance of the truth.”

(as cited in Finck, 1887/2019, p. 507).

What Did French Authors Think of Personal Beauty in France? 

Still, some French writers also thought that people in their nation had shortcomings in personal beauty.

Louis Figuier, a 19th-century French scientist and author, characterized French men’s love as “the love of the graceful rather than the beautiful.”

Characterizing French country women, Louis Figuier also emphasized their grace and expressiveness rather than their beauty:

“There is in her face much that is most pleasing, although we can assign her physiognomy to no determinate type. Her features, frequently irregular, seem to be borrowed from different races; they do not possess that unity which springs from calm and majesty, but are in the highest degree expressive, and marvellously contrived for conveying every shade of feeling. In them we see a smile though it be shaded by tears; a caress though they threaten us; and an appeal when yet they command. Amid the irregularity of this physiognomy the soul displays its workings. As a rule the Frenchwoman is short of stature, but in every proportion of her form combines grace and delicacy. Her extremities and joints are fine and elegant, of perfect model and distinct form, without a suspicion of coarseness. With her, moreover, art is brought wonderfully to assist nature”.

(L. Figuier “The Races of Man,” as cited in Finck, 1887/2019, p. 507).

The Expressive Nature of Italian Beauty

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The value of Italian mental culture certainly enhances Italian beauty. As Henry Finck noted, Italian women of all social classes are known for their intellectual indolence. However, their extreme emotional sensitivity compensates for this quality in large part. A natural love of music, beautiful scenery, and blue skies have trained and softened their feelings.

The Italian Cultural Tendency for Expressive Emotions

The Italian climate does not appear to foster a deep artistic culture, but it does foster Italian expressive beauty. Italy’s climate warms the blood and shapes cultural features to express every passing mood. This tendency toward emotional expressiveness gives the Italians a distinct cultural charm and the capacity for graceful modulation.

According to the observations of the German artist Otto Knille (1832-1898) regarding the Italians,

“They pose unintentionally. Their features, especially among the lower classes, have been moulded through mimic expression practised for thousands of years. Gesture-language has shaped the hands of many into models of anatomic clearness. They have a complete language of signs and gestures, which each one understands, as, for instance, in the ballet. Add to this the innate grace of this race … and we see that the Italian artist has an abundance of material for copying, as compared with which the German artist must admit his extreme poverty. Whoever has lived in Italy is in a position to appreciate these advantages…. Think of the neck, the nape, and the bust of Italian woman, the fine joints and the elastic gait of both men and women. Nor are we much better endowed as regards the physiognomy. The German potato-face is not a mere fancy—the mirror which A. de Neuville has held up to us, though clouded with prejudice, shows us an image not entirely untrue to life. We artists know how rarely a head, especially one which lacks the enchanting charm of youth, can be used as a model for anything but flat realism. Most German faces, instead of becoming more clearly chiselled and elaborated with age, appear more spongy, vague, and unmeaning.”

 (As cited in Finck, 1887/2019, p. 515). 

The German archaeologist and art historian Johann Winckelmann (1717-1768) commented on Italian beauty in the same vein:

“We seldom find in the fairest portions of Italy the features of the face unfinished, vague, and inexpressive, as is frequently the case on the other side of the Alps; but they have partly an air of nobleness, partly of acuteness and intelligence; and the form of the face is generally large and full, and the parts of it in harmony with each other. The superiority of conformation is so manifest that the head of the humblest man among the people might be introduced in the most dignified historical painting, especially one in which aged men are to be represented. And among the women of this class, even in places of the least importance, it would not be difficult to find a Juno. The lower portion of Italy, which enjoys a softer climate than any other part of it, brings forth men of superb and vigorously-designed forms, which appear to have been made, as it were, for the purposes of sculpture.”

 (As cited in Finck, 1887/2019, p. 515).

Here Henry Finck (1887/2019) once again comments that the “brunette type” of Italians attracts the most admiration from foreigners.

Furthermore, Henry Finck (1887-2019) mentions German poet Heinrich Heine (1797-1856), who wrote about the women of Trent, a northern Italian city. Trent is a town in Austrian Tyrol that used to be part of Austria. However, practically, it consists of an Italian community.

Heinrich Heine claims in his book “Journey from Munich to Genoa” (1828) that he would have felt tempted to stay in this town where

“beautiful girls were moving about in bevies. I do not know,”

and then Heine adds,

“whether other tourists will approve of the adjective ‘beautiful’ in this case; but I liked the women of Trent exceptionally well. They were just of the kind I admire—and I do love these pale, elegiac faces with the large black eyes that gaze at you so love-sick; I love also the dusky tint of those proud necks which Phœbus already has loved and browned with his kisses; … but above all things do I love that graceful gait, that dumb music of the body, those limbs with their exquisitely rhythmic movements, luxurious, supple, divinely careless, mortally languid, anon æthereal, majestic, and always highly poetic. I love such things as I love poetry itself; and these figures with their melodious movements, this wondrous concert of femininity which delighted my senses, found an echo in my heart, and awoke in it sympathetic strains.”

(As cited in Finck, 1887/2019, p. 515).

What Is Unique About Italian Typological Beauty?

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Many Italians believe their people are the most beautiful compared to other cultures and other regions of their own country. The Milanese, for example, claim that the men and women in their cities are the most beautiful. But the Venetians, Florentines, Romans, and Neapolitans all extol their own virtues of beauty. We can’t trust what Italians say about their own region or country because local pride makes them biased. Anyway, we shall acknowledge the unique qualities of Italian beauty. What is unique about it?

The origins of the unique Italian beauty can be traced back to times of cultural mingling with Greeks and Africans in the south and barbarian invasions in the north of the country.

What Makes Italian Beauty So Special?

In one of his letters, the English poet Lord Byron (1788-1824) extols an Italian beauty of oriental type. He also portrayed Italian culture as natural: “the garden of the world,” where “even the weeds are beautiful.” In Italy, the cosmetic value of fresh air and sunshine is striking. Italians live in a garden, where the sun is mellow and the air is balmy.

What Characterizes Italian Personal Beauty?

Many commonly acknowledge that Italian beauty is of the brunette type. The origin of this Italian type goes back to the cultural mingling that occurred as a result of contacts with Greeks and Africans in the south and barbarian invasions in the north of the country. With the exception of Rome and the Roman Campagna, the natural type of the Latin population is extremely rare.

The Brunette Beauty Type

As Henry Finck and other authors of the 19th century noted (Finck, 1887/2019), the mixture of races created the brunette type of Italian beauty. He compares it to the brunette German beauty type. 

Henry Finck says that according to general consensus, in Germany, brunettes are much more common in the south than they are in the north. Therefore, we can conclude that mixing in the brunette type enhances the blonde type.

It is still unclear whether the admixture of northern blondes improves the brunette type of northern Italy.

Henry Finck commented that according to others’ opinions, it is true that beautiful women abound in Venice, Milan, and Bologna. Naples and Capri, the brunette paradise, are also widely regarded as the regions where Italian beauty is at its best. Here, mostly dark-skinned people have mixed, so the eyes are always a deep brown color.

Many people do not express much admiration for Italian blondes. In Northern Italy, the introduction of blonde blood created lighter tints of the iris. Many people do not favor this type of beauty.

In the same way, these features are also present in South Germany. But the dark eyebrows, long black lashes, and more flexible and rounded limbs typical for this region neutralize the impression of these characteristics.

Italian people are also well-known for their emotional expressiveness. In another article, I show how the climate and cultural traditions of Italy make Italian brunettes so expressively beautiful.

The Italian Value of Beauty and Love

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Many cultural characteristics distinguish national beauty standards. In this and previous articles, I describe Italian beauty based on many sources from the last several centuries. Let us explore the archival legacy of love scholarship (Finck, 1887/2019). Here are some of the ways that Henry Finck and other writers of the 19th century described the beauty of Italy. 

The origin of Italian beauty is in the mixture of cultures that evolved from the contacts with Greeks and Africans in the south and the barbarian invasions in the north of the country.

What Makes Italian Beauty Natural?

An English poet, Lord Byron, characterized Italy as “the garden of the world” and said that its “very weeds are beautiful.” These unique qualities can be due to the race as well as the soil. It is because they live in a garden, where the air is balmy and the sun is mellow. Italians can, to some extent, disregard personal hygiene laws. They can thrive in the conditions that would torture others to death.

The cosmetic value of fresh air and sunshine is striking in Italy.

Miss Margaret Collier notes in her book “Our Home by the Adriatic” that in rural Italian communities, even among the wealthy, requesting a bath raises concerns about one’s health.

And Berlioz referred to Italian peasant girls in one of his writings:

 “Carrying heavy copper vessels and faggots on their heads; but all so wretched, go miserable, so tattered, so filthily dirty, that, in spite of the beauty of the race and the picturesqueness of their costume, all other feelings are swallowed up in one of utter compassion.”

Berlioz also spoke of “the beauty of the race,” notwithstanding the national indifference to the laws of cleanliness.

Italian Beauty, Love, and Marriage

The value of beauty and love in matrimonial relationships in the 19th century varied across social groups of Italians.

In rural regions, French cultural practices regarding marriage appear to be prevalent. Miss Collier recalls a young woman who came to see her to wish her luck in her upcoming wedding. When Miss Collier asked the girl the name of her future husband, the girl answered naively, “I don’t know; papa has not yet told me that.”

The peasants, on the other hand, had the freedom to choose their own mates. So, the value of Italian beauty was most prevalent among them. Individual mate selection was also more permissible in nineteenth-century France. Instead of being cynical and making fun of it, the Italians worshiped love as if it were a law.

Italian Beauty: The 19th Century’s View

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The question of research interest is whether the standards of beauty are cross-culturally universal or culturally specific to certain nations. Let us investigate the archival legacy of love scholarship (Finck, 1887/2019).  Let us look at how Henry Finck and other authors he cited portrayed Italian beauty in the 19th century.

The form, complexion, and physiognomy in different parts of Italy are more pronounced than in France.

What Are the Origins of Italian Beauty?

As the 19th-century French scientist and writer Louis Figuier noted,

“The barbarian invasions in the north, and the contact with Greeks and Africans in the south, have wrought much alteration in the primitive type of the inhabitants of Italy. Except in Rome and the Roman Campagna, the true type of the primitive Latin population is hardly to be found. The Grecian type exists in the South, and upon the eastern slope of the Apennines, while in the North the great majority of faces are Gallic. In Tuscany and the neighbouring regions are found the descendants of the ancient Etruscans…. The mixture of African blood has changed the organic type of the Southern Italian to such an extent as to render him entirely distinct from his Northern compatriots, the exciting influence which the climate has over the senses imparting to his whole conduct a peculiar exuberance.”

Some scholars have claimed that the aesthetic intoxication that comes from meeting a new type of person causes the raptures and ecstasies of some writers. A few years of living in a place is enough to get rid of these illusions. We can’t trust what the Italians say about their own country because they are biased by local pride. For example, the Milanese say that their city is the most beautiful, while the Venetians, Florentines, Romans, and Neapolitans all toot their own horns.

In one of his letters, an English poet, Lord Byron praised an Italian beauty of the Oriental variety that he had met and adds:

“Whether being in love with her has steeled me or not, I do not know; but I have not seen many other women who seem pretty. The nobility, in particular, are a sad-looking race—the gentry rather better.” In another place he writes that “the general race of women appear to be handsome; but in Italy, as on almost all the Continent, the highest orders are by no means a well-looking generation.”

Are Italian Men More Handsome Than Italian Women?

An Italian anthropologist and physiologist, Professor Paolo Mantegazza, believed that the men were more handsome in Italy than the women.

A Scottish scholar of the 19th century, Sir Charles Bell, noted that

“Raphael, in painting the head of Galatea, found no beauty deserving to be his model; he is reported to have said that there is nothing so rare as perfect beauty in woman; and that he substituted for nature a certain idea inspired by his fancy.”

In the late 1600s, French philosopher Michel de Montaigne traveled to Italy. He was surprised by how few beautiful women and girls he saw. At the time, women and girls were kept in more isolation than in France.

A German author, Dr. J. Volkmann, said in 1770 that,

“there are few beautiful women in Rome, especially among the higher classes; in Venice and Naples more are to be seen. The Italian himself has a proverb which says that Roman women are not beautiful”

(quoted by Ploss, P. 512).