When you think of Italy, what immediately comes to mind is a
charming, womanizing, and fashionable individual, someone who’s full of smiles,
laughter, silly pranks, and overall joy.

On the other hand, I don’t see Italy’s anxious, flighty, and
insecure side depicted all that much. Italy isn’t always confident and flashy,
as he’s often low on money, but, nevertheless, there are brief moments in the
strips that reveal how truly broken he is on the inside.

This post will go over some of these insecurities, traumas,
and intrapersonal conflicts.

What you’ll see is that several people leaving Italy over
the course of his life has affected and devastated him in more ways than one;
he’s clingy, but is afraid that he’s being a burden; he keeps lots of private
secrets; and, perhaps most important of all, he’s terrified of being alone.

In “Axis Powers Jokes,” Italy lets his anxiety best him and
worries that his contribution in his alliance with Germany isn’t up to par. He
claims that there isn’t any reason for Germany to like him, and is unable to
get any sleep because of this.

Italy’s worry grows, and he crosses over the border into
Switzerland – in the middle of the night, mind you – to confirm whether Germany
likes him or not. When asked, Germany reassures Italy and puts the latter’s
mind at rest. What I want people to pay attention to is this isn’t the first
time Italy’s asked Germany this question.

There
are some real self-esteem issues present in Italy, and as the strip progresses
this becomes even more evident. Immediately after, Italy gets Germany to repeat
his answer again, except this time more clearly. If that wasn’t enough, he then
requests that Germany say this several times over. 

Notice now how uncertain and unsure Italy is of himself. He
wants to make sure that he’s liked by the people around him. That way, from his
perspective, they won’t have any reason to leave him.

In Chapter 7-8 of World Stars (the webcomic), Italy gains some
weight, and of course, this rouses him into another fit of panic. Despite
Germany’s reassurances, Italy still worries to the point that Germany has to
pull out a poll which concludes that most people don’t care if a “handsome
Italian man” has a bit of stomach fat.

Italy’s trouble with relationships didn’t start with Holy
Rome, either. Italy and Romano don’t exactly have the greatest brotherly bond.
Albeit complimenting Italy when the former can’t hear him, Romano explicitly
puts down his brother, often enough to cause quite a large rift between them.

There’s also the fact that Romano left Italy during the second Industrial Revolution, just so he wouldn’t have to rely on him. Which
leads me to my next point…

During this same time, England comes to Italy for help on
attaining better designs for his manufactured goods. Italy’s reaction here is
crucial.

It seems that Romano leaving Italy has deeply hurt him, even
if he doesn’t vocalize these feelings. It’s also important to mention that
Italy hasn’t even met Germany at this point, as this time period ends just
before WW1.

With Ancient Rome and
Holy Rome dead and Romano overseas, as well as not having the best relations with Austria and Hungary, Italy likely grew very lonely during this period. He didn’t
really have any support.

That said, there’s a lot more to Italy than reveals the eye.