In central Italy (e.g. Tuscany or Umbria), still nowadays, you can experience a clearly recognizable change in accent by just moving to the next village 5-10 km

In central Italy (e.g. Tuscany or Umbria), still nowadays, you can experience a clearly recognizable change in accent by just moving to the next village 5-10 km down the road. Until not so long ago, it was normal in many places in Europe to call "foreigner" anyone who was not from the same village (my grandparents, born in the first half of the '900 in a village which is less than 30 km from Rome, called people from Rome "stranieri" which in Italian means "foreigners"). This must sound almost incredible to someone from e.g. North America, but you need to realize the feudal past left major traces in modern European culture.