While characterizations depicting Romano as an easily irritated and rude person isn’t in whole inaccurate, it’s nonetheless one-sided and uncontextualized. By that I mean that this type of characterization erases the fact that Romano’s incredibly sensitive from a lifetime full of pestering insecurities and fears. He’s bottled up a lot of these emotions and lashes out as a result. Likewise, it also erases Romano’s loyalty in spite of his poor way of expressing it.
Let’s unpack what I mean by this.
For one thing, it’s canon that Romano is an even bigger crybaby than Veneziano.
A lot of this stems from feelings of resentment and inadequacy that he developed as a child. Rome spent the majority of his time rearing and caring for Veneziano.
Source: Hetarchive, Chibitalia.
Consequently, Romano develops an inferiority complex and feels inadequate compared to Veneziano.
Source: Boss Spain’s Control of Southern Italy pt 2.
What doesn’t help is that Romano placed second again when invading countries preferred Veneziano over him.
For example, Spain initially wanted to trade Romano for Veneziano, as Romano’s manners and housekeeping skills weren’t nearly up to par.
Source: Hetarchive, Boss Spain’s Control of Southern Italy pt 1.
It sounds horrible, but we do get a touching scene where Spain eventually reconciles with Romano, learning to accept and love him for who he is.
Source: Boss Spain Doesn’t Understand.
The two meet each other halfway and develop a strong bond in which they genuinely enjoy living together.
That bond is abruptly cut during Italian Unification, where Veneziano and Romano are forced together after centuries of separation in which they rarely saw each other.
Sources: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 20 & 73.
Since Romano still had unresolved feelings towards Veneziano, the two didn’t exactly get along. As such, Romano opts to move to America instead to look for work. The immigrant life was a scary and unfamiliar terrain for Romano to traverse. To cope with this, he calls the first person who’s ever felt familiar and homely to him: Spain.
Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 73.
Point is, even though Romano doesn’t show it, he’s very sensitive and shows it in ways that aren’t the most obvious.
While I initially rubbed this off as trivial, there are scenes during WW2 that are particularly important in showcasing Romano’s vulnerability.
Ex: He cries during the infamous failed mustache incident with Germany.
Ex: He cries and hides behind Germany from France – note that this is likely indicative of the fact that Romano is reliving the childhood fear of being conquered and attacked.
Other examples of vulnerability would include him being sensitive about his height and crying into tears of joy when Grandpa Rome visits him from heaven.
Lastly, it’s also important to recognize that while Romano may be rude, even to people he cares about, he’s loyal.
Ex: During the immigrant period of his life, he cheered on America when the latter surpassed England in industrial production.
Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 70.
Ex: While too shy to do this upfront, Romano looks out for Veneziano in WW2 by remaining skeptical towards Germany, questioning him about his intentions.
Ex: Romano tries to save Spain from illness during an economic recession, which forces him to come into conflict with the mafia, who he’s normally terrified of.
Source: Hetarchive, In just two minutes you can grasp the exterior of the European economy.
All in all, it would be unfair to say that Romano’s a prick without contextualizing this within a broader understanding of him employing a tough exterior to hide a more sensitive than normal interior.
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