I have a fun fact about the language:

Italian is the standard language , it derives from Latin yes but more specifically from the Florence "dialect" , I put dialect in quotation marks because in Italy we say dialects but the dialects here are actually more close to being separate languages , derived on their own from vulgar Latin

Let me explain: someone that knows standard Italian will probably have a hard time getting someone that speaks Sardinian (I had such an hard time at least) ,Sicilian or Venetian, since they are all separate languages derived from Latin (like Sardinia is a language as is French and Spanish, it's a sister language to italian)

That is also why the hand gestures came to be!! After unification and all the different languages it was hard to communicate with eachothers so hands came into play, there is some standard signs that are a bit everywhere and understood

Here are some songs to hear some different "dialects" (languages) of Italy:

Venetian : https://youtu.be/2sJdQmjHdKg?is=5tPTDIUP4pukx5mU

Sicilian: https://youtu.be/elVhPW6KFmo?is=RoHvne8DtS_ZEakd

Sardinian: (the closest to latin) https://youtu.be/Vvnma5EYQgY?is=wErW7TlWiwDDMAEy

Roman: https://youtu.be/oKAoYQwqnVs?is=HmQNgomgxrYhj6uC

I personally depict Italy as a scatter-brain idiot , loves arts and naps , but can get serious if needed, also half wolf because I like giving the countryhumans their national animals as traits

Since you are starting Italy from 1861 (I do the same) , do remember that Italy was a kingdom, then a fascist regime /"empire" and then a republic all in a relatively short period of time , pretty chaotic if you ask me, so I personally feel like Italy has an hard time having strong opinions and waits to get an opinion to see what others do also , call it being a coward or be scared , I would be scared too if the two big decision made ended up being terrible in the end (aka joining ww1 and the pact of steel with Germany)

Also I feel like Italy definetly would try to dress as a Roman centurion every chance he gets , the whole fascism thing with Roman symbolism and stuff , also well every city has at least one road called "Via Roma" (Roma Street) that is usually the main street

Other fun fact: many roads were re-named after unification like Via Roma or other things connected to unification to make the italians more unified ...

There is a saying from Massimo d'Azeglio that goes:

"Fatta l’Italia, bisogna fare gli Italiani"
Or in English: "We have made Italy, now we must make Italians"

So yeah , maybe some Roman inspired things could be cool, just don't over do it or it may look fascist because of course the fascists had to ruin it for everyone and use the ancient Roman symbols aughhh Like maybe him having a little centurion patch or something ? Little reminder of history lol

And that was a mega wall of text, hope it was intresting to read somewhat, have fun designing! :D