Anyone remember that guy (sorry, I don't remember the specifics), who said "I'll show you how an Italian dies" when that jihadist murdered him?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabrizio_Quattrocchi
I think we’ve misjudged the Italians fighting spirit due to WWII —> the Fascists never really understood why Italians didn’t want to fight: Mussolini chose the wrong enemies and the wrong allies. Italians had distrusted the Austrians and GErmans for centuries, while they loved Americans (tons of Italian immigrants) and the upper classes loved to imitate the English. The only enemy they chose correctly was the French who robbed Nice and Marseilles from Italy in the 19th century.