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I can't speak for him., but in my case I found that most Americans have no little or no grasp of the distinction you describe, so since it's close enough I just tag myself as 'Italian' or 'Italian-American' rather than 'Sicilian' or 'Sicilian-American.'

The norther-southern Italian rivalry back in the motherland is very real, but it was probably more of a big deal 50 years ago than now. Many authentic northern Italians don't consider Sicily to be Italy, and in fact look down their noses at all Southern Italians. Many authentic Sicilians don't consider themselves Italian, either. Many Southern Italians have an extended cultural link with Sicilians, but don't care too much either way.

Italy is an odd country - there has never really been much of a national identity in the last several hundred years, anyway. Garibaldi came closest in his goal to unify Italy under one national identity. The folks there identify more with family, town, and maybe extended region, than they do with a national Italian identity.

Based on looks and some cultural aspects, Sicilians have more in common with Greeks and Maltese. Indeed, in the pictures of my mom and her side of the family back home as children, you can clearly see the folks playing around in ancient Greek ruins and architecture (clearly not roman architecture).

I'd like to say it's all one big happy family, but it isn't. Doesn't matter to me, much. So to answer your question, if I know that the person doesn't know much about Italy, I identify myself as Italian. If they are visitors from Italy, or Italian themselves, I make the distinction more in the interest of clarity rather than sensitivity or anything else.

Thanks for a fantastic and informative reply. Coming from a milk-toast white, midwestern Protestant, Scots-blood family and raised in a Denver suburb, 'ethnicity' itself was an exotic concept until I floated off to Boulder to waste a year at college. Ethnic pride and Old Country history were non-entities to me. (Gotta thank Mel Gibson for Braveheart. It gave me a little scrap o' blood-pride to hang on to.)

I reckon we can both be thankful we're just Americans in the final analysis. The rest is just interesting history and circumstantial occurrences to me. Ain't never even seen Yurrup. Prolly ain't gunna.

Thanks again.