ITALIAN CULTURE

THE BELIEFS, CUSTOMS, ARTS, ETC. OF A PARTICULAR SOCIETY GROUP, PLACE OR TIME.

LANGUAGES

• Italian, Ladin, Slovene, and German.
• hello - ciao
• brother - fratello
• sister - sorella

MONA LISA

• The Mona Lisa is a portrait of a women by the Italian artist named Leonardo da Vinci.

STELLA D'LTALIA

• Is the most ancient identity symbol of the Italian land.

LITERATURE PIECE

• In Italian: Uno sciocco e il suo denaro son presto separati.
• In English: A fool and his money are soon parted.

RELIGION

FOOD

• Polenta pasta e Fagiol; (noodle and bean soup)
• Polenta (they eat it for breakfast)
• Fettuccine Alfredo: A man created Fettuccine Alfredo because his wife was pregnant and it made her feel better. Then he put it on his menu at restaurant and famous from the U.S. wanted the recipe and brought it back to the U.S.

TRADITIONAL CLOTHING

• The women wear colorful embroidered skirts with bodices and elaborate hats decorated with flowers or fruit.
• The men's clothing tends to be more simpler, but doesn't lack to detail, with embroidery, metal buttons, and pins.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN UPPER CLASS AND LOWER CLASS

• Italian peasants wore practical clothing for their daily activities, with simple pants and shirts for the men and blouses and skirts for the women. Most items were made from simple fabrics and color selection was limited to inexpensive gray and black dyes.
• The clothes worn by wealthy Italian women were more colorful and used richer fabrics like silk and velvet and wore more jewelry.
• For special events the peasant women wore beautiful dresses too. The dresses were passed mother to daughter for generations.

MUSIC

• Italian folk music reflects Italy's geographic position at the south side of Europe and influences are readily apparent in the musical styles of the Italian regions.

TRADITIONS

• November 1st commemorates Saints Day a religious holiday during which Italians typically decorate the graves of deceased relatives with flowers.

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• The celebration of the Epiphany, celebrated on January 6th, is like Christmas. Belfana an old lady who flies on her broomstick, delivers presents and goodies to good children.

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• Many Italian towns and villages celebrate the feast day of their patron saint. September 19th, for example is the feast of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Napoli.

MAP OF ITALIAN CULTURE