I have an old Italian friend who has asked me to wear red at his
funeral. What does this mean?

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Request for Question Clarification by denco-ga on 15 Oct 2004 14:14 PDT

Howdy meliabella-ga,

Does your friend have some Romani (Gypsy) heritage?  Thanks!

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Question by meliabella-ga on 15 Oct 2004 15:48 PDT

No. He's first generation in America Italian all the way.

Are you certain that this had specifically to do with your friend's
Italian heritage? A late friend of mine asked me to wear red to her
funeral as a gesture of defiance against death, and to indicate a
refusal to be sad, since red is a joyful, exhuberant color. My friend
was not Italian.

"... red at a funeral is a sign of contempt for the dead."
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22red+at+a+funeral%22&hl=en&lr=&selm=60e99a%24hia%40necco.harvard.edu&rnum=1

Interesting discussion of wearing red at funerals:
http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=16957

"...wearing red to a funeral was a symbol of disrespect for the deceased."
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22red+*+a+funeral%22&hl=en&lr=&selm=garst-2209971637020001%40garst.chem.uga.edu&rnum=1

Also:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22red+*+a+funeral%22&hl=en&lr=&selm=20010630131326.17741.00002775%40ng-cg1.aol.com&rnum=7

"Wearing red to a funeral, Singleton says, "shows disrespect to the dead."
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/projects/hmuseum/themes/identity/hallelujah_door.html

"... red is a funeral colour in certain countries ..."
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/archives/9910/techwhirl-9910-00320.html

Meliabella,
Following from Pinkfreud's comment, it does look like your Italian
friend is basing the color on a personal decision, not following
tradition at all. If your friend wants you to wear red at a funeral,
that may signify that even if your friend is dead, you may still
remain happy while alive and shake your fist in defiance at death
itself through wearing this color.

It's a long shot but perhaps wearing Red is tied to the colors of the
Flag of Italy.

The 19th-century patriotic poet Francesco Dall'Ongaro saw the colors
as a visual description of Italian territory. As he put it:
"White the Alps, red two volcanoes
"Green the plains of Lombardy."
Source: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/5747044.htm?1c

I figure there are more deaths from Volcanoes than Alps or Plains.

However, a search for Rosso (Red) and Funerale (Funeral) doesn't
return many relevant results so it's possible wearing red has no
cultural significance