The Latin Europe (in French : Europe latine ; in Romanian : Europe Latin ; in Catalan : Europe llatina ; in Spanish : Latin Europe ; in Italian : Latin Europe , and in Portuguese : Europe Latin ) corresponds to the nations and regions of Europe where they are Romance languages are spoken , that is, languages of Latin origin . Corresponds to the linguistic concept ofRomania (not to be confused with Romania ), which refers to the set of peoples or territories where any of the romance languages is spoken .
Generally speaking, Romania, as a linguistic area, is divided into western Romania and eastern Romania , although there are disagreements among scholars as to the geographical delimitation of one and the other. In general, eastern Romania comprises present-day Romania and, eventually, also the southern Italian Peninsula . Western Romania corresponds to the Iberian Peninsula , to Recia and to the territories of Gaul Cisalpina (north of present-day Italy ) and of Transalpine (present-day France plus a part of the territory of Belgium and the west of Germany). Scholars believe that such a division was already established at the end of the novel period , [ 1 ] which corresponds to the linguistic state of transition between Latin and Romance languages. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ]
These are generally Catholic countries (with the exception of Romania and Moldova ), which, due to their Roman and Mediterranean legacy , have different cultural characteristics from the peoples of Germanic and Slavic Europe . In fact, there is talk of Latin, Germanic and Slavic civilizations to designate the three major cultural areas of Europe.
The cultures of the countries of Latin Europe were largely forged by the heritage of the Roman Empire , from which the expression “Latin” arises. Latin Europe mainly includes Italy , France , Portugal , Romania and Spain , as well as small states like San Marino , the Vatican , Andorra , Moldova and Monaco . The French – speaking regions of Belgium ( Wallonia ), Luxembourg and Switzerland can also be included, as well as Ticino ( Italophone ) in Switzerland and regions where they use the Romansh language also in Switzerland. Most of these countries are members of the Latin Union .
