Italian Culture

Italy is famous for it's boot like shaped peninsula which is surrounded by they Tyrrhenian Sea on the west, the Adriatic Sea on the East and the Alps line the northern boundary of Italy. The political system in Italy varies greatly from the American Government. What is known as a bicameral parliament was established in 1948 and includes a Chamber of Deputies, a Senate, a judiciary, and an executive branch. The executive branch consists of a Council of Ministries which is lead by the prime minister. In Italy, a president is not voted by the people but instead, The President of the Italian Republic is chosen by parliament. The President remains in office for seven years. Anyone over the age of 18 years old my vote for members of parliament but not for Presidency. The judicial system is based on Roman Law.

Religion in Italy is mainly made up of Roman Catholicism which makes up nearly 90% of Italy's beliefs in religion. Roman Catholicism is such a major part of Italy in fact that it even plays a part in political affairs. Other religions that make up Italy's beliefs include Eastern Orthodox Christians, Greek Orthodox, Pentecostals, Evangelicals, Jehovah's Witness, Waldensians, Seventh-Day Adventists, Mormon's, Baptists, Lutheran's and Methodists. The Jewish people happen to be Italy's oldest religious minority group.

Cultures in Italy have had an enormous impact on Europe itself as a whole. Italy is known widely for it's visual art and has been the home for many famous artists such as Michaelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Carvaggio, Botticelli and many more. Many decorative sculptures and mosaic pictures still hang in villas all throughout Italy. Renaissance born paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper originated from the Italian artist, Da Vinci. Italian art has a reputation for being quite beautiful and often it seems quite religious in nature. Even the Mona Lisa has rumored to tie into religious meanings of the Da Vinci code. Even literature in Italy has a religious undertone. A poet who was famous for interpreting religious feeling into his poetic works was Jacopone da Todi. Perhaps the most famous of all poets of Italy was Dante Alighieri. Dante was known for writing La Vita Nuova and The Divine Comedy which is what raised the bar of his popularity.

Another famous aspect of Italy is science. Many brilliant scientists originated from Italy as well such as Galileo Galilei, who was responsible for advancing the scientific revolution, Enrico Fermi, built the first nuclear reactor, and Alessandro Volta, invented the electric battery. These are just some of the many famous scientists, mathematicians, astronomers, inventors and physicists of Italy.

When we speak of music in terms of Italy, we think of classical or operatic music. Names such as Vivaldi, Puccini, and Paganini come to mind. Italian music contains elements of various cultures which have been an influence along the way such as Arabs, Greek, French Spanish and Germanic tribes. Italy is perhaps the dominant center of European classical music. Many agree that the sound of Italian classical music is very romantic, melodic, and beautiful. Opera itself originated in Italy in the 1500's. Italy also centers around religious music for the Roman Catholic Church not only there, but in America as well. The Catholic church will at times hold a Latin mass which includes beautiful operatic, religious music which may be sung at times by a choir. Instrumental operatic music is very popular in the Italian cultures as is ballet. You also find operatic and classical music at ballets. Ballet can be compared to opera, only in ballet is more a form of dancing opera.

Just as music is important, so is dancing and of course, dancing goes right along with music. Many ancient forms of dance still exist in Italy's culture today such as harvest dances. Perhaps one of the more popular of Italian dances is what is known as the Southern Tarantella. Supposedly this dance is apart of a ritual intended to cure Tarantula spider bites and the poison injected into you from one of these bites. Popular dances in Tuscany include what is known as a weapons dance which traditionally acts out the movements of the hunt. There are also many couples dances in Italy. Especially in the Southern part of Italy.

As most already know, Italian is the number one language spoken in Italy. Italian is a mixture of of old Tuscan dialect and old Latin. There are other languages spoken in Italy that are not considered the Italian language such as Friulian, Neapolitan, Sardinian, and Venetian. These languages are referred to as Gallo-Italian languages. They are descendants of Romance languages throughout time. The Friulian language is spoken by a community in Friuli which is made up of about 700,000 people. Friulian is referred to as a Rhaeto-Romance language. Sardinian is the second most commonly spoken language in Italy. There are over one million people in Sardinia. This is considered a Romance language which is made up of pre-Latin words.

When we think of Italian foods, many of us think of pasta dishes when in fact, Italy has quite a diversity of foods. Risotto, for one, is a popular dish. Risotto contains fish and seafood if prepared towards the coast, pumpkin, asparagus, radicchio, and frog's legs when prepared more inland, and beans and legumes where pasta tends to be more of the popular dish. Rice is popular In Lombardy. Often, rice is used in soups and even in risotto. Butter is preferred to using oils, and cream is used in generous amounts. Other dishes such as bread thickened soups and cheese fondues are commonly found in Italy. Tuscany is known for it's legumes, bread, cheese, vegetables, mushrooms and seasonal fruits. Olive oil is the most commonly used cooking ingredient here. Tuscany also holds a love for meats like Beef Florentine Steak and pork.

In order of menu items that are commonly found in Italy are as follows; Aperitivo, Antipasti, Primo, Secondo, Contorno, Formaggio e frutta, Dolce, Caffe, Digestivo. Aperitivo is what is known as an appetizer which people eat before their main course of the meal. Antipasti is a hot or cold appetizer. Primo is the first course of the meal which might includes foods such as pasta, risotto, gnocchi, polenta or a kind of soup. Secondo is the second course of your meal and is also considered the main course. Meat or fish tends to be the popular ingredient of a secondo dish. Contorno is a side dish that is served with your meal which might include foods such as vegetables or salads. Fomaggio e frutta is a kind of desert dish which contains cheeses and fruits. Dolce is your actual desert dish and contains foods such as cakes or cookies. Caffe is beverages like coffee and espresso. Digestivo referred to as alcoholic beverages that you can order with your meal.

Last, but not least, there is Italian wine. Italy holds the number one position for the world's largest exporter of wine. They are also ranked number one in the consumption of wine and why wouldn't their wine be so savory and delicious when Italy is one of the oldest wine harvesters in the world. You can find grape vineyards in almost every part of Italy as there are over one million vineyards across the country. Although one might picture barefoot Italians smashing grapes with their feet, in today's modern society, most wines are made in what are known as wineries. There are villagers who still practice the ancient barefoot grape smashing for the production of their own wines. Italian wines tend to be a fine companion for most foods as they are considered light to medium in flavor and aroma and very acidic and dry.

Italy holds a fine cultural history and is perhaps one of the finest in dining. The values that Italians hold in their cultural beliefs is strong and unwavering and therefore a certain amount of respect is due to this particular country. A sampling of their diversity of foods is recommended to anyone who is lucky enough to travel to such a beautiful place. Sight seeing of Italy's beautiful arts and structures is also a must of things to do when touring. Perhaps a seat at the opera or ballet in order to experience the quality of music and dance that Italians hold so dearly should be enjoyed as well. I tend to think that one would be quite fascinated with the cultures of Italy and find it highly pleasurable to experience such a fine history.