Culture of Italy

Italian culture is as varied and diverse as the Italian people. The culture of Italy can be found in the Roman ruins remaining in much of the country, the laws and philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church, the architecture, and on the terraces of the many football clubs. It can also be tasted in Italy's magnificent food.

Monument to king Vittorio Emanuele II, Rome

Name
People of Italy are usually referred to as Italian(s) as a whole. However, there are many regional groups that go by their ethnic name, such as Lombards, Sicilians, Sardinians, Milanese, etc.

Villa Badoer by Andrea Palladio

Sports
Italian sports are similar to those played in other European countries. Popular sports include football (soccer), rugby, basketball, skiing, archery, race car driving, and skating. Baseball has a small following as well, primarily centered around Nettuno, Anzio and other coastal areas that were occupied by American troops in World War II. Italy has successfully participated in the Olympics since the second summer Olympics in 1900 and since the 1948 Winter Olympics. Italy sponsors a national rugby union team. The Italian Football Federation organizes all professional soccer events in Italy. The famous Italian Grand Prix is held at Monza. The beginnings of chess theory developed in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Trulli houses in Alberobello.

Religion in Italy
Roman Catholicism is the majority 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.

Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy,

Islam in Italy
Islam was almost entirely absent in Italy from the time of that country's unification in 1861 until the 1970s, when the first trickle of 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.

Art
Italian art stretches from the Roman times to the Modern era. Several famous artists are from Italy. Italy is also rich in Music, cinema, literature, and architecture.

Rifugio Laghi Gemelli

Italian cinema and theatre
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 Turnin 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. The blockbuster film The Passion of the Christ was recently made in Italy.

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

Roman and Palladian Architecture
The Two most well known types of Italian architecture are Roman and Palladian.

The Romans adopted classical Greek architecture for their own purposes, which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one body of classical architecture. Sometimes that approach is productive, and sometimes it hinders understanding by causing us to judge Roman buildings by Greek standard. One of the most famous types of Roman architecture is the Roman baths and aqueducts.

Palladian European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; what is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of Palladio's original concepts. Buildings by Palladio himself are rare, and all are in Italy. They include Villa Capra and Villa Badoer, as well as many churches in the Veneto. In both his architectural treatises and the buildings Palladio designed and built, he followed the principles defined by the Roman architect Vitruvius and his 15th-century disciple Leone Battista Alberti who adhered to principles of classical Roman architecture, as opposed to the rich ornamental style of the Renaissance.