The United States is a nation of diverse heritages. Consequently, we are not a homogeneous society. However, Americans tend to think of Italy as precisely that. A “show stopper” when discussing linguistic and geographic trivia with friends is the following question, “What language is predominantly spoken in parts of northern Italy?” The obvious answer is Italian. What else should it be? Since the correct answer of  “German” is so often met with incredulity….(particularly when discussing the issue with Italian-Americans)…it bears some explanation. The region known as South Tyrol was formerly a part of the Austrian Hapsburg monarchy. The official language was German. That monarchy was, of course, dissolved after its defeat in World War I. The Allied victors of World War I redrew the boundary of the defeated Austria. The main part of the Tyrol remained in the now much smaller, empire-less Austria. The portion of it known as South Tyrol was ceded to Italy. Since then, the province has been officially “Italian”, but the language has remained German by popular choice. Over the years, the indigenous folk resisted Italianization, at times stubbornly. In the 1920s and 30s, the Fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini attempted to solve the problem by instituting mandatory Italian instruction in the region’s school system. However, within families and friends, the language of choice remained German and remains so until today. In normal circumstances, this bit of trivia is invisible to the outside world. It frequently comes to the fore during the Winter Olympics.