Travel Information Guide about Italy Culture

This description page about the Culture of Italy, will guide you in planning your trip to Italy and will help you to find useful information about the Italian Culture.

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Culture abounds in every city, town, village and tiny hamlet in Italy. Tradition and heritage permeate every moment of their daily lives and Italians like nothing more than sharing the passion they feel for their heritage.  From their fine wines and exceptional cuisine to the magnificent art treasures and historical sites, to music, dance, inventions and more -- culture passed down from century to century is a lifestyle in Italy.

Somewhere throughout the country on any given day, Italians passionately celebrate their heritage with festivals that honor a favorite saint, costumed parades celebrating a medieval event, the gathering of a local harvest, an ancient sporting tradition, the pouring of a special wine. They are a happy, hospitable people who honor and embrace even the smallest facet of life, taking joy in the simplest meal, an animated conversation, and even in the daily stroll (passeggiata)-- a social affair enjoyed by young and old alike in every town and village across the country.  "Una giornata senza riso è una giornata sprecata" -- A day without laughter is a wasted day -- is a proverb easily applied to Italians.

Art and architecture are a major part of Italian culture.  In fact, half of the world’s historic and artistic treasures reside within Italy, giving rise to Italy’s image as “living art gallery”.  No other country in the world can match the culture and art of Italy.  Along with the hundreds of art-filled museums and elaborate churches, a leisurely walk down the streets of any town lined with exquisite ancient palaces and splendid buildings with huge arches and massive columns, hidden stone courtyards filled with flowers and sculptures, magnificent windows of every shape, size, and color, and fabulous fountains – is itself a living art tour!

The country’s rich history and centuries-old culture can be seen in every region.  There are theaters and buildings dating back to Greek and Roman times and entire cities, roads and districts that through patient and skillful excavations have been recovered.  Elegantly embellished Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals, built after the 11th century, ancient religious architecture of Byzantine, Muslim, and Norman elements, Renaissance art from the 15th century, masterpieces of the great painters like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Raffaello, and so many others known as the greatest artists, sculptors, painters and architectural geniuses of the world attest to Italy as the seat of great ancient treasures.

Beyond art, are the great men of the Renaissance that inspired change in the way we think, live and create.  Philosophers like Giordano Bruno and Tommaso Campanella, scientists like Galileo, scholars like Machiavelli, poets like Ariosto, music masters like Puccini and Monteverdi.  

  

Not any less an art than the great treasures are the creative skills and traditions that have reaffirm Italy’s cultural heritage -- the enduring love for the folk music and dance that originated during the middle ages, the Tarantella -- still the music of choice at celebrations and weddings, the art of design that can be seen in fine fashions from designers like Gucci, Valentino, Ungaro, Versace and Armani, the high quality Italian leathers that are made into handbags, gloves, belts, jackets and shoes, the cars and home furnishings that reflect the graceful lines and style that is so Italian.

 

Italia – a country of art, music, fashion, cuisine, wine, opera, architecture and treasures that have withstood time. Italy is an indescribable cultural experience!

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