A portrait of Italy
Italy has drawn people in search of culture and romance for many centuries. Few countries can compete with is Classical origins, its art, architecture, musical and literary traditions, its scenery or food and wine. The ambiguity of its modern image is also fascinating: since World War II Italy has climbed into the top ten word economies, yet at its heart it retains many of the customs, traditions and regional allegiances of its agricultural heritage.
Italy has no single cultural identity. From the northern snow-capped peaks of the Alps, to the rugged southern shores of Sicily, lies a plethora of distinctive regions and peoples. Politically, Italy is a young country: it did not exist as unified nation state until 1861, and its 21 regions have maintained their cultural individuality. Visitors to Italy are often pleasantly surprised by the diversity of its dialects, cuisines and architecture. There is also a larger regional division. People speak of two distinct Italies: the rich industrial north and the poorer agricultural south, know as Il mezzogiorno or Land of the Midday Sun. The frontier separating the two is indeterminate, lying some where between Rome and Naples. The north is directly responsible for Italy’s place among the world’s top industrial nations. It has been the powerhouse behind the Italian economic miracle, its success achieved by internationally renowned names such Fiat, Prada, Ferragamo, Pirelli, Olivetti, Zanussi, Alessi and Armani. In contrast, the south, once a cradle of high culture and civilization, has been dogged by unemployment and organized crime. Some of its areas rank among the most depressed in Europe, although many southern towns did benefit from an injection of Millennium funds. The historic divide between north and south is a powerful factor in contemporary politics. The Federalist Party, the Northern League, owes its popularity to this split. Those in favour of separation complain that the south is a drain on resources: Milan is seen as efficient and rich, while Naples is viewed as chaotic, dirty and corrupt. History and geography have both contributed to the division. The north is closer in both location and spirit to Germany and France while the south has suffered a succession of invasion from foreign powers: Carthaginians and Greeks in ancient times, Saracens and Normans in the Middle Ages and until the middle of the 19th century, the Bourbons from Spain held sway.
Tradition
Distinctive variations in Italy’s regions have much to do with the mountainous landscape and inaccessible valleys. Tuscan and Ligurian Hill-Towns, For Instance, Have Quite Different Silhouettes, And The Farmhouses In Puglia, The Famous Trulli, Are Unlike Those Found In The Landscape Of Emilia-Romagna. In southern Italy the landscape, architecture, dialects food, and even the appearance of the people, have closer affinities with the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa than with Europe. In the far south, study of the local dialects has revealed traces of ancient Greek and old Albanian, preserved in tightly knit communities isolated by the rugged geography, Christianity and pagan ritual are closely linked; sometimes the virgin is portrayed as a thinly disguised Demeter, the Earth goddess. Throughout Italy, ancient techniques of husbandry endure and many livelihoods are closely connected to the land and the season. Main crops, include sugar beet, maize, wheat, olives and grapes; colourful Easter celebration pay tribute to the bounty of the soil. Although some of the north’s postwar economic prosperity can be attributed to industry (especially car production in and around Turin), much of is has grown from the expansion of family-owned artisan businesses and the export of hand-made goods abroad. This is recognized as a distinct sector of the economy. The internationally successful retail clothes chain Prada is a recent example. The “Made in Italy” label, found on goods such as clothes, shoes and leather bags, guarantees a high standard.
Culture and arts
The arts in Italy have had a long and glorious history ands Italians are very proud of this. Given the fact that Italy has more than 100,00 monuments(archaeological sites, cathedrals, churches, houses and statues), all of which have major historical significance, it is not surprising that there is a shortage of funds to keep them in good repair. Many museums in Italy, particularly those in the south, are closed, or partially closed. You may find churches in Venice hidden behind permanent scaffolding or those in Naples shut due to recent earthquake damage. However, with tourism now accounting for around 3 per cent of Italy’s Gross Domestic Product, efforts are being made to put as many buildings and collections on show as possible. The Jubilee 2000 helped matters by allocating large amounts of money for the restoration of buildings and sites belonging to the Catholic Church. The performing arts are also underfunded, yet there are some spectacular cultural festivals. Almost every town of any size has its own opera house and La Scala opera house in Milan stages world-class productions. Cinema is another flourishing art from Italy and has been so since its invention. The sets at Cinecittà, on the outskirts of Rome, have been used by many famous directors such as Fellini, Pasolini, De Sica, Visconti and many others. Italian films such as La vita è bella and The son’s room have found critical acclaim and box–office success both in Italy and abroad. In Italy the arts belong to everyone: opera is attended by people from all backgrounds, regardless of social status, as are cinemas and galleries.
Social customs and politics
Italian Society is still highly traditional, and Italians can be very formal. Between the generations degrees of familiarity exist: reserve ciao (hello or goodbye) for friends your age or younger, and greet older people with piacere( pleased to meet you), buongiorno(good day) or buonasera (good evening) and on parting, say arrivederci(goodbye). Strangers are met with a handshake, but family and friends receive a kiss. Italian chic decrees that clothes you wear should give the impression of wealth. If Italians wear similar outfits, it is because they are conformist in fashion as in other aspects of daily life. Italian politics, in contrast are not so well regulated, Governments in the postwar era were characterized by short-lived coalitions, dominated by the Christians Democrats. In 1993 Italy experienced a political crisis when an organized network of corruption was exposed, disgracing a huge number of politician and businessmen. Although the investigations failed to eradicate corruption, they led to the formation of two large coalitions, centre-left and centre right. Silvio Berlusconi, leader Forza Italia party, became prime minister in 1994 but lasted only a short while as he, too, was accused of corruption. In 1998 Massimo D’Alema became Italy’s first left-.wing Prime Minister. In 2001 the centre-left coalition, led by Francesco Rutelli, the former mayor of Rome, lost the election to Berlusconi’s centre-right coalition.
Modern Life
Food and football are the great constants; Italian live for both. Much time is spent on preparing food and eating. The Italian diet, particularly in the south, is among the healthiest in the world. Football is a national passion and inspires massive public interest and media attention, not least as a way of expressing regional loyalties. As far as religion is concerned, the number of practising Catholics has been in decline for some years. Although Rome lies at the centre of world Catholicism, today many Italians are uninterested in religion, but still attend mass in number on saints’ days or feast days. As a consequence of immigration, other religions are now on the increase. The emphasis on conformity and a commitment to the institution of the family remain key factors in Italian society despite the country’s low, and falling, birth rate. Grandparents, children and grandchildren still live in family units, although this is becoming less common. All children are pampered but the most cherished ones are, usually, male. Women’s Liberation fought a powerful campaign in the 1970s and did much to change attitudes to women in the workplace, particularly in metropolitan areas. However, the idea that mean should help with housework and the care of the children is still a fairly foreign notion among the older generation. With the miracle of its postwar economic recovery, where industry and technology were united with design, Italy has become a success story. Although the economy was dented by the worldwide recession of the early 1990s, the exposure of corruption in many walks of public life and political upheaval, Italy appears unchanged to foreign visitors. Its ability to keep its regional identities and traditional values allows to ride out any changes virtually unscathed.
