Italy has a not-insignificant amount of fair-haired people. Around 10% of the population around Rome today has blonde hair, and the words used for graying or white hair are very different. Germanic peoples are referred to as very commonly having blonde hair (‘flavum’), and some noble families in Rome notably had fair-hair running through the bloodline.
Meh, to put it another way 90% of the modern population don’t even have fair hair (and that’s with global travel being involved), and only some of the noble families had any in their bloodline.
I just think there’s an obvious bias involved when artists make these kinds of choices. Historical depictions should aim for what’s most likely: Italians looking like Italians.
Italy has a not-insignificant amount of fair-haired people. Around 10% of the population around Rome today has blonde hair, and the words used for graying or white hair are very different. Germanic peoples are referred to as very commonly having blonde hair (‘flavum’), and some noble families in Rome notably had fair-hair running through the bloodline.
Meh, to put it another way 90% of the modern population don’t even have fair hair (and that’s with global travel being involved), and only some of the noble families had any in their bloodline.
I just think there’s an obvious bias involved when artists make these kinds of choices. Historical depictions should aim for what’s most likely: Italians looking like Italians.