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Italian Language and Culture

Italy has much to offer in terms of language and culture, and Italians are very proud of both. No cultural overview of Italy is complete without touching upon the Literature, Fashion, Sports, Art and Opera of this beautiful country.

Here, you'll find links to websites that offer loads of information on all facets of Italian life and culture.

Italian Culture Overviews

• http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/italy-country-profile.html
  This is a brief overview of Italian language, culture, business etiquette, and some statistics. Its bullet point structure makes it somewhat cut and dry, but it's ideal for the first time visitor, whether it be for business or pleasure.
• http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112187/italy_way_of_life.htm
  This website is an introduction to Italy's way of life. Italians are very particular, when dealing with food, religion, and the difference between North and South Italy. This website details some of the most topical issues.
• http://www.lifeinitaly.com/lifestyle/italian-cliches
  Here you will find 10 clichés about Italians that aren't true. For those of you who think you know about Italians, you might find some surprises here!
• http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Italy.html
  This is a comprehensive site dealing with Italian culture, history, demographics, etiquette, etc. If you need information that is slightly more academic in nature, this is the best website to get it from.

Italian Fashion

• http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/fashion/introduction.htm
  This is a brief introduction to Italian fashion, with pictures taken from the streets of Italy, as well as a link to what to wear when visiting churches and other sites.
• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/itfa/hd_itfa.htm
  This is a more comprehensive website dealing with Italian fashion from 1950 to now: from Giorgio Armani to Prada, and how it gave rise to a new class in Italy: the jet-set who wear leisure chic.

Italian Literature

• http://www.italianculture.net/english/literature.html
  This site has a brief overview of Italian literature, from St. Francis of Assisi to Giovanni Pascoli.
• http://www.italianlanguageguide.com/italian/culture/literature/
  A great page dealing with literature and featuring brief biographies of Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch: the three "fathers" of Italian literature.
• http://italy1.com/literature/
  This is a history of Italian literature dealing with only the 13th and 14th centuries. These are the core years which established Italian as we know it as the language of the peninsula.
• http://www.university-world.com/italian/italian_literature.html
  Do you need even more information on Italian literature? This website will have everything you need and more. From the start of the Italian language's separation from Latin, to the Sicilian school, through the Renaissance to Gabriele D'Annunzio.
• http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08245a.htm
  Here is a very comprehensive history of the Italian language, from more of a Catholic point of view. It is, in fact, impossible to study its origins without discussing St. Francis of Assisi, Savonarola and other ubiquitous religious personages.
• http://www.divinecomedy.org/
  This website is dedicated entirely to exploring the most popular work of Italian literature, as well as the book that kick-started the Italian language: Dante's Divine Comedy.  

Italian Sports

• http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/italiansports.htm
  This is a good primer on Italian sports or, more specifically, soccer (or football, or Calcio as they say in Italy). It also has a mention of the "Tifosi", or the fans.
• http://www.carsfromitaly.net/
  A good list of Italian sports cars which have become famous in Italy and abroad. Yes it includes Ferrari and and Maserati.
• http://www.bocce.org/history.html
  While soccer, Formula one and skiing may all come to mind when discussing Italian sports, bocce is still one of the biggest sports, practiced almost entirely by the older generations. Discover the history and the rules of this interesting sport right here.

Italian Art

• http://www.italiamia.com/art_2.php
  This is a great introduction to Italian art. It features the pre-Roman origins (yes, the Etruscans were at it before the Romans) and continues to the modern day.
• http://library.thinkquest.org/2838/artgal.htm
  Are you interested in any specific artists in Italy? Then this is the website for you. From Masaccio to DaVinci to Michelangelo to Giotto to Raphael and more. It has a brief introduction to each artist.
• http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/gilbert/07.html
  This web page deals entirely with Italian Renaissance art. This is the time period that made Italian art famous around the world, and which sparked the Renaissance throughout Europe.
• http://www.kyrene.org/schools/brisas/sunda/arthistory/rome.htm
  Ancient Roman art also had its own flare and style. This website deals with what made this art the envy of its time, and how it combined art from Greece, Egypt and Africa to make something new.

Italian Opera

• http://www.operagenius.com/
  Of course, you can always go more into depth. This website seems to be enamored with Handel, but it has excellent links, stories and videos of Italian opera.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23EdrrL7CW8
  This is a video of the history of Italian opera. Opera is, after all, best experienced live, but video is the next best medium. If you link to the videos on the sidebar you can get a very comprehensive history of Italian opera.