Which language is closest to classical Latin?

Italian
Italian is the closest national language to Latin, followed by Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese, and the most divergent being French.

Is Latin easy for Italian speakers?

No, it is very hard for native Italians speakers to understand a Latin text if they haven’t study the language. They may be familiar with some Latin proverbs, but not the language. The reason is that: modern Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, French, Romanian, etc.)

Is Italian Basically Latin?

The Italian language stems directly from Latin, just like other Romance languages like Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, French, Romanian, and other minority languages (Occitan, Provençal, Galician, Ladin and Friulan).

Does modern Italian have anything to do with Latin?

Modern Italian has little to do with Latin. Classic Latin – that is not a spoken language but only written – is unintelligible to most of us. Yes, French, Spanish, Italian , Portuguese, Catalan and Languedoc/oil are all derived from Latin and are called “romances”.

Is it hard for Italian speakers to understand Latin proverbs?

No, it is very hard for native Italians speakers to understand a Latin text if they haven’t study the language. They may be familiar with some Latin proverbs, but not the language. The reason is that:

Why is the Italian language not considered a Romance language?

The reason is that: modern Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, French, Romanian, etc.) do not descend directly from Latin, but through proto-Romance or vulgar Latin — the language spoken in the many territories of the late Roman empire.

Is Italian the closest language to Latin?

Of all Latin derived languages, I presume Italian is the closest to Latin. This is just an assumption which I presume is correct. For this reason, I’ve always wondered whether an average educated Italian can read and understand a text in Latin.