kittygutz!

Italian Toes

‘Venus and Cupid’, oil on canvas painting
by Battista Dossi (Battista de’ Luteri),
c. 1540, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Random fact: I have unusually long toes. My 2nd toe is the longest on both feet, measuring almost as long as my pinkie finger.

My mother also has unusually long toes, with the 2nd one being the longest. Clearly I inherited this trait from her.

My mother is also of Italian heritage. My dad has always had a stronger sense of pride for my mothers heritage vs. his own. He also has an interesting sense of pride in our toes - especially the unique feature of the 2nd toe.

“Just look at old Italian paintings of women,” he would say. “Their 2nd toe is always the longest!”

Believe it or not, he had a point. If you look up Italian Venus paintings for instance, you’ll often notice lengthy toes, with the 2nd toe being longest.

I was convinced this had to be an Italian trait. A trait to be proud of! It’s cool to be Italian!

I use to think it was a fact certain knowledgeable people were aware of. I would envision being a plastinate at the Bodyworlds exhibit. Medical students point at my toes and say “She must have been of Italian heritage.” Because everyone dreams about being on display at Bodyworlds one day!

What did you say? You don’t have that dream? ….umm, yeah me neither.

I digress… my dad’s sense of pride for the toes that my mother and I shared had rubbed off on me. So, I’m sure you can imagine my disappointment when I noticed a friend of mine of English and German heritage has unusually long toes with the 2nd toe being the longest. I was crushed! She had to have a tiny bit of Italian in her.

I proceeded to research the link between toe length and ancestry. But guess what? My dad and I are the only ones with a toe length fetish. *sigh*