A italian culture is steeped in the arts, family, architecture, music and food. Home to the Roman Empire and a major center of the Renaissance, the culture of the Italian peninsula has flourished for centuries.
Here is a brief overview of customs and italian traditions.
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About 96 percent of Italy's population is Italian. However, there are many other ethnic groups that live in this country. North African Arabs, Italian-Albanians, Albanians, Germans, Austrians and a few other European groups fill out the rest of the population.
The border countries of France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia have influenced Italian culture, as have the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Sicily.
The population of Italy is made up of approximately 60.665.551 population.
The official language of the country is Italian. Around 93% of the Italian population speaks Italian as a native language, according to the BBC. There are several dialects of the language spoken in the country, including:
Other languages spoken by native Italians include Albanian, Bavarian, Catalan, Cimbrian, Corsican, Croatian, French, German, Greek, Slovenian, and Walser.
Family is an extremely important value within Italian culture. Its family solidarity is focused on the whole family, rather than the Western idea of a “nuclear family” composed of mother, father and children.
Italians have frequent family gatherings and enjoy spending time with family members. Children are brought up to remain close to the family into adulthood and incorporate their future family into a larger aspect.
The main religion in Italy is Roman Catholicism. This is not surprising as Vatican City, located in the heart of Rome, is the center of Roman Catholicism and home to the Pope.
Roman Catholics and other Christians make up 80% of the population, although only a third of them are practicing Catholics. The country also has a growing Muslim immigrant community.
Muslims, agnostics and atheists make up the other 20% of the population, according to the Central Intelligence Agency.
Italy has given rise to a number of architectural styles, including Classical Roman, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical. Italy is home to some of the most famous structures in the world, including the Coliseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The concept of a basilica – which was originally used to describe an open public building, evolved to mean a Catholic pilgrimage site.
The word is derived from Latin and means “royal palace”. The word also originates from the Greek ‘basilikē’, which is the feminine of basilikos, which means “royal” or “king”.
Italy is also home to many castles such as Fort Aosta, Castle of Verrès and Castle of Ussel.
Florence, Venice and Rome are home to many museums, but art can be seen in churches and public buildings. Most notable is the roof of the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512.
Opera has its roots in Italy and many famous operas – including “Aida” and “La Traviata”, both by Giuseppe Verdi, and “Pagliacci” by Ruggero Leoncavallo – were written in Italian and are still performed in the language native.
More recently, Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti has made opera more accessible to the masses as a soloist and as part of the Three Tenors.
Italy is home to a number of world-renowned fashion houses, including Armani, Gucci, Benetton, Versace and Prada.
A Italian cuisine it has influenced food culture around the world and is seen as an art form by many. Wine, cheese and pasta are an important part of Italian meals.
Pasta comes in a wide range of shapes, widths and lengths, including penne, spaghetti, linguine, fusilli and lasagna.
For Italians, food is not just food, it is life. Family gatherings are frequent and often centered around food.
No area of Italy eats the same things as any other. Each region has its own “Italian food”. For example, most of the foods that Brazilians see as Italian, such as spaghetti and pizza, come from central Italy.
In northern Italy, fish, potatoes, rice, sausages, pork and different types of cheese are the most common ingredients. Pasta dishes with tomatoes are popular, as are many types of stuffed pasta, polenta and risotto.
In the south, tomatoes dominate dishes, and they are served fresh or simmered in sauce. Southern cuisine also includes capers, peppers, olives, olive oil, garlic, artichokes, eggplant and ricotta.
Wine is also a huge part of Italian culture, and the country is home to some of the most famous vineyards in the world. The oldest traces of Italian wine were recently discovered in a cave near the southwest coast of Sicily.
Check out more details at: Typical Italian food – 17 dishes you must try
The official currency of Italy is the euro. Italians are known for their family-centric culture and there are a number of small and medium-sized businesses.
Even many of the big companies, like Fiat and Benetton, are still mostly family-owned. many families that immigrated from Italy are traditionalist in nature, with parents maintaining traditional gender roles.
Meetings are typically less formal than in countries like Germany and Russia, and the family structure can give way to a bit of chaos. Italian business people tend to view foreigners with a bit of wariness, and prefer verbal exchanges with people they know well.
Italians celebrate most Christian holidays. The celebration of Epiphany, celebrated on January 6, is very similar to Christmas. There is the figure of Belfana, an old lady who flies on her broom, delivering gifts and treats to well-behaved children.
Pasquetta, the Monday after Easter, usually involves family picnics to mark the beginning of spring.
November 1st celebrates Saints' Day, a religious holiday during which Italians typically decorate the graves of deceased relatives with flowers.
Many Italian towns and villages celebrate their patron saint's day. September 19th, for example, is the feast of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Napoli.
April 25 is Liberation Day, marking the liberation of 1945, which ended the Second World War in Italy.
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