Italians - Culture

Culture

From antiquity until the 17th century, the inhabitants of Italy were at the centre of the Western culture, being the fulcrum and origin of Ancient Rome, the Roman Catholic Church, the Humanism and the Renaissance.

Italy became also a seat of great formal learning in 1088 with the establishment of the University of Bologna, the first university in Europe. Many other Italian universities soon followed. For example, the Schola Medica Salernitana, in southern Italy, was the first medical school of Europe. These great centers of learning presaged the Rinascimento: the European Renaissance began in Italy and was fueled throughout Europe by Italian painters, sculptors, architects, scientists, literature masters and music composers. Italy continued its leading cultural role through the Baroque period and into the Romantic period, when its dominance in painting and sculpture diminished but the Italians reestablished a strong presence in music.

Fundamental contributions to science and technology were given by Italian scientists. Galileo Galilei has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy", because of his discovery of telescope and heliocentrism, and even "the Father of Modern Science". Among the technological innovations on which today's information and communication technologies are grounded, we can mention the following: electric batteries (Alessandro Volta), radio (Guglielmo Marconi), telephone (Antonio Meucci), nuclear reactor (Enrico Fermi), and the microprocessor (Federico Faggin).

Italian explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries left a perennial mark on human history with the modern "discovery of America", due to Christopher Columbus; furthermore, the name of the American continents derives from Amerigo Vespucci's first name.

Due to comparatively late national unification, and the historical autonomy of the regions that comprise the Italian peninsula, many traditions and customs of the Italians can be identified by their regions of origin. Despite the political and social isolation of these regions, Italy's contributions to the cultural and historical heritage of the Western world remain immense. Famous elements of Italian culture are its opera and music, its iconic gastronomy and food, which are commonly regarded as amongst the most popular in the world, its cinema (with filmmakers such as Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Mario Monicelli, Sergio Leone, etc.), its collections of priceless works of art and its fashion (Milan and Florence are regarded as some of the few fashion capitals of the world).

Furthermore, Italy is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (47) to date, and one estimate says that the country is home to half the world's great art treasures.