GuyanaPrince said:
I've never heard of this Italian myth. I've heard Cicilian men boast of their endowments, but always attributing it specifically to Cicilians, rather than to all Italians. In America, and particularly in literature, it is the passion of Italian lovers that is most romanticized, much moreso than size.
The only real difference between mainland Southern Italians (Neapolitans for example) and
Sicilians is that the latter are on an Island. Remember most Northern Italians (anyone living south of Rome) consider all Southern Italians "negri" or "blacks". Like it or not, they see themselves that differently.
In truth with the boot of Italy protruding so obviously into the Mediterranean it's logical and historically accurate to assume the Siciliani (Sicilians) and the Napolitani (Neapolitans) are descended from the same people. Both areas were immensely involved in ancient trade with North Africa, the East, the Phoenicians, etc. and in fact the Vikings made their way down (though infrequently) through the Straights of Gibraltar and account for the few red-headed Southern Italians/ Sicilians today.
When someone says "I'm NOT Italian, I'm SICILIAN" today they're simply distinguishing themselves from the mainland Italian. Hereditarilly there's no substantive difference in the genetic mix.
The Sicilians from an Italian standpoint (again I'm only recounting
my experience) are considered the poor cousins to mainland Italians and of course the legends surrounding that island and its inclination to corruption are lore.
The early works of the German hedonist/libertine Baron Wilhelm Von Gloeden (1856-1931) show Sicilian young men often nude. These boys, dressed in neo-Classical settings, look predominantly Arab by genetics as do many of today's residents. Additionally Von Gloeden's photogrphs show mostly small to average endowments.
The Baron's work was groundbreaking in its day. Mussolini destroyed many of his negatives (roughly one third) during the 1930s and 1940s but much remains of his work. And indeed many descendants of Von Gloeden's boys today speak of "mio nonno, modello per il barone" (my grandfather a model for the Baron) with great pride. Oddly, there's no apparent prejudice for the German aristocrat who was openly paying for these boys to model for him and have sex with him.
See an example:
http://www.gej.net/images/erotyka/mistrzowie/gloeden/5.jpg