Culture of Italy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The culture of Italy can be found in the Roman ruins remaining in much of the country, the precepts of the Roman Catholic Church, the spirit of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, the architecture. It can also be tasted in Italy's food.

Contents 1 Education 2 Literature 3 Religion 4 Visual Art 5 Cinema and theatre 6 Music 7 Folklore 8 See also

[edit] Education

Main article: Education in Italy

Italy has a countrywide educational system, with a six-year primary stage and an eight-year secondary stage

[edit] Literature

Main article: Italian literature

Italian literature began after the founding of the Roman Empire in 773 B.C., while the first works in proper Italian date back almost ten centuries.

[edit] Religion

Main article: Religion in Italy

Roman Catholicism is the major religion — 85% of native-born citizens are nominally Catholic — there are mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community. All religious faiths are provided equal freedom before the law by the constitution. Before the arrival of Christianity in the 1st century A.D. the country was mostly pagan and worshiped the Roman gods. Eventually Christianity replaced paganism and became the majority religion of the Roman Empire and Italy. The Pope of the Roman Catholic Faith resides within Rome in what is now known as Vatican City. Anglicanism also exists in Italy and the Anglican Churches and Roman Catholic Churches in Italy have a good relationship; some Catholic Churches even allow Anglicans to use their churches for worship.

Islam was almost entirely absent in Italy from the time of that country's unification in 1861 until the 1970s, when the first few North African immigrants began arriving. These North Africans, mostly of Berber or Arab origin, came mainly from heavily Islamic Morocco, though they have been followed in more recent years by Tunisians, Albanians and to a lesser extent, Libyans, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Middle Eastern Arabs and Kurds. Some estimate the number of Italian converts to be around 10,000.

[edit] Visual Art

Main article: Art of Italy

Italian art describes the visual arts in Italy from ancient times to the present. In Ancient Rome, Italy was a centre for art and architecture. There were many Italian artists during the Gothic and Medieval periods, and the arts flourished during the Italian Renaissance. Later styles in Italy included Mannerism, Baroque and Rococo. Futurism developed in Italy in the 20th century. Florence is a well known city in Italy for its museums of art.

[edit] Cinema and theatre

Main article: Cinema of Italy

The history of Italian cinema began a few months after the Lumière brothers had discovered it. The first film was a few seconds long and was Pope Leo XIII giving a blessing to the camera. The Industry was born between 1903 and 1908 with three companies: the Roman Cines, the Ambrosio of Turin and the Itala Film. Other companies would soon have followed in Milan and in Naples. In a short time these first companies reached a fair producing quality and films were soon sold outside Italy too. The cinema was later used by Mussolini as a form of propaganda during World War II.

After the war, Italian film was widely recognised and exported until an artistic decline around 1980. World-famous Italian film directors from this period include Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Michelangelo Antonioni and Dario Argento. Movies include world cinema treasures such as La Dolce Vita, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo and Ladri di biciclette.

Later, the Italian scene has received only occasional international attention, with movies like La vita è bella directed by Roberto Benigni and Il Postino directed by Massimo Troisi.

Italian theatre can be traced back into the Roman which was heavily influenced by the Greek tradition, and, as with many other literary genres, Roman dramatists tended to adapt and translate from the Greek. For example, Seneca's Phaedra was based on that of Euripides, and many of the comedies of Plautus were direct translations of works by Menander. During the 16th century and on into the 18th century Commedia dell'arte was a form of improvisational theatre , although it is still performed today. Travelling teams of players would set up an outdoor stage and provide amusement in the form of juggling,acrobatics, and, more typically, humorous plays based on a repertoire of established characters with a rough storyline, called Canovaccio.

For more information see: History of theater and Commedia dell'arte

[edit] Music

Main article: Music of Italy

Main article: Music history of Italy

Music has traditionally been one of the great cultural markers of what it means to be “Italian” and holds an important position in society, in general, and even in politics. The music of Italy range across a broad spectrum, from her renowned opera to modern experimental classical music; and from the traditional music of the many ethnically diverse region to a vast body of popular music drawn from both native and imported source. Historically, musical developments in Italy in the Middle Ages and Renaissance helped create much music that spread throughout Europe. Innovation in the use of musical scales, harmony, notation, as well as experiments in musical theater led directly not just to opera in the late 16th century, but to classical music forms such as the symphony and concerto, and to later developments in popular music. Today, the entire infrastructure that supports music as a profession is extensive in Italy, including conservatories, opera houses, radio and television stations, recording studios, music festivals, and important centers of musicological research. Musical life in Italy remains extremely active.

[edit] Folklore

It's difficult to individuate an Italian folklore, because of the vast differences between regions.

In Italy, the following are very important in tradition:

• Proverb and tales
• Work and use
• Traditional dresses

In 1956, Italo Calvino selected and recorded a collection of folktales in Italian Folktales.

[edit] See also

• Architecture of Italy