WHY IS ITALY CALLED ITALY ?

✅The name has nothing to do with Rome, the Renaissance, or even Italians.

It comes from… cows. 🐮

Yup. Ancient Italy was once called Viteliu by a local tribe (the oscan) . It meant: “land of young cattle.”

Cows were sacred. A symbol of strength, wealth, and survival.

Then the Greeks showed up, heard “Viteliu,” and turned it into “Italia.”

At first, it just meant a tiny part of the south—around Calabria.

But when the Romans took over, they made the name official for the whole peninsula.

So the next time you're walking through Naples  or sipping wine in Campania , remember this:

You're in the Land of Calves.

That’s the original name. And it stuck for over 2,000 years.

Because in the beginning, before gladiators or gondolas and red horns…

There were cows. #italy #origins #roots #naples #visitnaples #amalficoast