Italian Culture

1. Soccer, or Futball is by far the most popular sport in Italy. There are many different leagues with many different teams, but the most popular clubs are Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan, and AS Roma, who all play in Serie A. Cycling, skiing, and tennis are also very popular sports in Italy. Cycling is very well represented in Italy, and more Italians have won the World Cycling Championship than any other country, except for Belgium. Today some of the top Italian cyclists include Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali, Alfredo Binda, Felice Gimondi, Carlo Galetti, and Paolo Bettini. Alpine and Cross-country skiing are also very popular in Italy, some popular skiers include Manuela Di Centa, Franco Nones, Marco Albarello, and Silvio Fauner. Tennis is also very popular in Italy, and there are currently two Italian players in top 35 of the world rankings, Fabio Fognini is currently ranked 13^th, while Andreas Seppi is ranked 34^th.

2.  Music is very important aspect of Italian culture, and Italy (particularly Florence) played an important role in the development and history of music. Italy is where music writing first began, and Italian words are used to describe how music is played. Although folk and classical music has always an important role in Italy, the birth of opera provided the foundations of the classical music traditions here. Also classical instruments such as the piano and violin were invented here, and many other classical music forms can trace roots back to 16th and 17th Italian music. The music today is very Italian-centered and there have been few major international pop singers. These singers were pop-artists such as Mina (in the 1970s) and Laura Pausini (who was Mina's singing partner). Other types of modern music are popular in Italy as well, and rock, pop, and dance music are very popular today and are growing very much. Popular rock bands include, Litfiba, Zucchero, Luciano Ligabue and Vasco Rossi, while current pop singers include Jovanottiis. Currently dance music is rising as a popular music style due to artists such as DB Boulevard, who were the first Italian music group to be nominated in the MTV Europe Music Awards. American music is also gaining popularity in Italy. Even with these new genres, Opera is also still very popular in Italy. The La Scala opera house in Milan, San Carlo in Naples, La Fenice in Venice, and the Roman arena in Verona, are the most famous and popular venues in the world. These theaters promote Italian players and host many famous singers. Today, some the most famous Italian opera singers include Enrico Caruso, Lucaino Pavarotti, and Andrea Bocelli.

3. Food is very important to the cultural identity of Italy. In fact, food is widely recognized to be a fundamental part of what it means to be Italian. Italian cuisine has gone through many centuries of political and social changes to give the Italian food of today. Most traditional dishes can very depending on the region, but some like the Pasta e fagioli are popular everywhere but made differently depending on the region.  Northern Italy is notable for the pesto of Liguria and Alba truffle (in mountainous parts), Tuscany is famous for its olive oil and bean dishes, and the region of Emilia-Romagna is home of the prosciutto di parma and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Southern Italy, the food is much more vegetable focused. Naples and Campania are the homes to the most recognizable Italian foods such as pizza, and spaghetti with tomato sauce. Another one of the most popular foods in Italy is there wine, and Italy is one the largest exporters of wine in the world. Other famous and popular foods that are important to Italian culture are gelato, Tiramisu, cannoli and espresso coffee.

4. The major religion of Italy is Roman Catholicism, and although it is separated from the state, it is still very important in the nation’s political affairs. This is due to the location of Vatican City, which is in Rome itself. Nearly one-third of the Italian population are active members in the Roman Catholic Church, and some special treatment is given to the church (such as tax exemptions). Although dominated by Roman Catholicism, Italy also has many other religious groups as well. These groups include various Christian denominations, such as Protestant, Waldensian, and Eastern Orthodox, as well as smaller groups of Muslims (the largest non Christian group), Hindus, Buddhists, and a historical community of 30,000 Jewish members.

5. Italy shares few national holidays as U.S such New Year’s Day, and Christmas Day. Other national holidays include Epiphany (Jan 6), Easter Monday, Liberation Day (April 25), International Workers’ Day (May 1), Republic Day (June 2), Assumption Day (August 15), All Saints Day (November 1), Immaculate Conception (December 8), and St. Stephens Day (December 26). Also it is the traditional custom of each town and city to celebrate a public holiday on the festival for the patron saint for each city or town. Other important dates in Italy are Flag Day (January 7), International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27), and National Unity and Armed Forces Day (November 4). Most Italian customs depend on the city or town and are based on festivals of the patron saints.

6. Cinema Paradiso, and Bicycle Thieves, are two very famous and popular Italian movies that I have seen in high school. Although these are older movies, they are timeless classics and remain very popular in Italy today. Although not born in Italy, Sylvester Stallone, Martin Scorsese, and Robert De Niro are very popular actors and directors of Italian descent. One of the most popular Hollywood actresses born in Italy is Amy Adams, while Stefano Accorsi and Monica Bellucci are some of the most famous actors/actresses in Italy today.

7. There are many good Italian online news sources. Corriere Della Sera (http://www.corriere.it/english/) is big popular online magazine.  Ansait (http://www.ansa.it/), Alto Adige (http://altoadige.gelocal.it/), and Easy Milano (http://www.easymilano.it/), are very popular magazines of Italy. The Local (http://www.thelocal.it/), and Italiamia (http://www.italiamia.com/news_english.php) are also very popular and useful Italian newspapers in English.

8. Some Italian expatriate forums include http://www.expatforum.com/italy, http://www.italy.alloexpat.com/, and http://www.expatexchange.com/italy/liveinitaly.html.

9. The Italian government is a democracy led by the President, the Cabinet (called Council of Ministers, which is headed by the Prime Minister) and Parliament (made of a Senate and Chamber of Deputies).  Every seven years, the members of Parliament and small regional representative elect the President, who then appoints the Prime Minster. The President is the commander of the Italian forces (similar to here), and they have the power to dissolve Parliament and call for new elections. However, the Prime Minister is the most important person in the Italian government and he or she determines national policy, and they have no fixed term of office and can be voted out of office by Parliament at any time. The Italian Prime Minister and Cabinet are officially called the government. Unlike the US, there are many large political parties in Italy, including The Five Star Movement, Forward Italy, Civic Choice, North League, New Centre, North League, Populars for Italy, the Union of Christian and Centre for Democrats, and the Democratic Party (which of right now are the most powerful). Recently Matteo Renzi has just become the Prime Minister of Italy (he belongs to the Democratic Party) who is the youngest man to hold this position. The President of Italy has been Giorgio Napolitano.