Uniform Guide: South Italy

This is a listing of outfits worn by South Italy (also known as Romano) in Hetalia: Axis Powers. Changes made to them in other adaptations, such as the anime, are noted where applicable.

First Appearance

Webcomic

Romano first made a cameo in a dream sequence in Hetalia Chapter 4: Pact Of Steel, where he told his brother that friendships don't matter in war, and only winning does. He appeared later in the chapter, clearly displeased with his brother (who he had barely wanted anything to do with anyway) and his decision to ally with Germany.

In this appearance, Romano wore a uniform that looked almost similar to his brother's, though he had a different style of lapel, and it appeared to be shaded somewhat lighter. His shirt and belt seemed to be white, though as no official colored picture was done, the exact color scheme of this uniform remains a mystery.

In later strips of the webcomic, Romano's uniform was changed to look more like his brother's, with the shirt and belt becoming black and the lapels altered.

Appearances

Hetalia Chapter 4: Pact Of Steel

Published Manga

Romano's first appearance in the published manga came in two strips of the Axis Powers arc, respectively titled Meet My Big Brother! and Good Luck, Big Brother!.

In these strips, his uniform was drawn and shaded exactly the same as Veneziano's, which lead fans to assume that Romano wore the same colors as his brother. But in the anime adaptation, Romano's jacket and pants are colored tan, while his shirt is a deep red and his tie is navy blue.

A deleted production sketch of this uniform showed that Romano wore a pair of simple shoes, while in the anime turnaround he wears tall boots like his brother's.

Appearances

Axis Powers
Episode 07

Jacketless Uniform

When Veneziano introduced Romano, he was first shown to be wearing a lighter colored BDU shirt, with matching pants and a dark tie. In the anime, both the shirt and pants are colored tan, and his tie is black.

Appearances

Axis Powers
Episode 07

Alternate WWII Uniform

In his original site profile, Romano was shown in a much different military uniform that resembled Spain's more in appearance (with 3/4-length sleeves and the overall style of the jacket). This outfit has also appeared in merchandise for the series, most notably in the trading card game and figurines. Romano finally appeared in this uniform in the actual webcomic, in the strip Can't Escape From Italy.

The style of his boots for this uniform vary, depending on the reference picture. In the site profile, they were black and had no white cuffs, while in the trading card game they are dark brown and have rounded white cuffs.

In another chibi image depicting him in this uniform, he has full-length sleeves instead of 3/4-length.

Appearances

Original Profile (2006-2007)
Hetalia trading card game
Can't Escape From Italy

Common Clothes

When not in uniform, Romano is usually dressed in a loose shirt with a drawstring closure, and a pair of dark pants. The style of shirt resembles the type that Spain wears, though Veneziano is shown to have a shirt like it as well. It is colored white in the manga, though it was changed to light blue in the anime (as seen in Episode 43).

The child version of Romano also once wore this style of outfit.

Sailor Suit

An outfit that has only appeared in a chibi image so far, which was also used as the basis for a figurine of Romano.

Romano's sailor suit resembles the one worn by Veneziano, though with a green collar and cuffs instead of blue.

As a teenager/adolescent

Unlike his brother, Romano has rarely been shown in any stage between his childhood and adulthood. However, a teenage version of him is briefly shown from behind in Maria Theresa And The War Of Austrian Succession.

In response to a request from a fan, Hidekaz Himaruya drew a "sort of young" Romano, who still wasn't a child or an adult (presumably in his early teens or late preteens). This version of Romano appears to wear a black vest over a white dress shirt, with a ribbon tied around his neck.

Though the bottom part of his outfit was never detailed, fanart tends to depict him as wearing black pants or khaki shorts, and his vest is sometimes drawn as being a button-down (and having tuxedo tails in the back). The ribbon is usually colored red.

"Chibitalia"

As a child, Romano first wore a white outfit similar to what Veneziano wore as "Chibitalia", with a white tunic, cloak, and beret. In some sketches, he is also shown to have worn a long white nightshirt (with a ribbon at the neck) during this period of time.

After the Italian Wars ended, Romano became property of Spain and began to dress in servant clothing. He initially wore an apron over a long-sleeved blouse and breeches, though he also appeared in a maid dress in some of the Comic Diary strips, as well as the omake strip to the published version of the Chibitalia storyline. Though the color of the dress is not yet known, it has usually been colored pink, green, red, brown, or blue in fanart. He often wore a white headscarf with either outfit.

In the manga, the blouse of his first servant outfit is a light green, while the breeches appear to be violet. But in the anime adaptation, his blouse is a light pink and his breeches are blue. In the revised published version of the Boss Spain strips that appear in volume 3, his servant outfit is changed to a dress or a long tunic worn over a pair of breeches, with a white bib collar and the headscarf.

In Boss Spain Doesn't Understand, Romano wore a smaller version of his casual outfit, though he also wore his nightshirt towards the end of the unfinished strip.

World Meeting

Though Romano does not appear in the published version of Meeting Of The World, he is shown to wear a teal suit with a pink tie while appearing at a meeting in It's Sealand-kun!.

In the prototype webcomic version of the world meeting, he is shown to wear a simple black suit and tie.

Gallery

These are all the outfits that Romano has worn. Please note that this list is incomplete. Please click for larger viewing.

Romano's first appearance in the webcomic.
Romano in volume 1.
Romano in his jacketless uniform, telling Germany to "eat bullets".
Full lineart of Romano's first military uniform (manga version).
First "chibi" appearance of Romano's tan WWII uniform (2007).
Romano in WWII uniform (Trading card game, 2008).
WWII uniform (2009)
Preteen/Teenage Romano.
Romano as a child wearing his Renaissance outfit
Romano as a child, in his first servant outfit.
Chibiromano vol3.JPG

Romano in his servant outfit from volume 3.
Romano in a dark, short cape over a white dress shirt at his late preteens/early teens.
Romano in a suit with his brother, at a world meeting.
Romano's clothes in anime.
Romano's clothes in anime.
Official figurine of Romano wearing a green and white sailor suit, from Himaruya's blog.
Romano from the Halloween Event 2011.