How did the unique visual vocabulary of Italian hand gestures develop, and what made them survive to this day?

by spermwhalejail

Here's a video that makes some claims and perhaps starts to answer my question:

https://youtu.be/DW91Ec4DYkU?t=25

And here's another post on /r/askhistorians that seems to reference a different claim:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2j2bqw/hand_gestures_of_the_ancient_romans_and_the_rest/

Searocksandtrees

If you don't get an answer here, you may want to try /r/AskSocialScience