“Vivi Pericolosamente”: Christie Davies, Italians and dangerous things"

Jokes about Italians concern food, family, gesticulation and military cowardice. The latter jokes have existed since well before the 18th century and were, until recently, extremely popular in the oral traditions of English speaking countries. Today these same jokes can be found on line in the form of "image macros" or so-called memes. Formally different from the traditional joke form, the content and meaning of these memes are similar to the oral tropes, what has changed is the way these messages are diffused. This article provides an overview of memes that target Italians present in a variety of digital spaces.