"Well, I just had some of the best mousaka and it was made by an Italian client who runs a Greek pizza restaurant..."
Funny, I have several Greek clients who run Italian pizza restaurants, but, you know, "Una Facia Una Racia"!
"with pictures of these armless Greek gods all over his walls that he said were his Italian ancestors that went to Greece to improve the breed."
You know why we keep all those statutes around? Its to remind us what Orthodoxy rescued us from (we also really like the Italians)! :)
My ex partner is a proud Italian, now a Federal Judge here in Connecticut and he is from Assisi. He had some of the pictures of Greek statues that were found in the Adriatic Sea. I looked at them and remarked half facetiously that they reminded me of his father and brothers. His chest pumped up and he spent about two hours telling me how proud he was of his Families Greek heritage and how the Greeks settled the area around his home. I could not have given him a better compliment.