Italian Culture

Italian culture is one of the richest in the world and knowledge of it contributes a great deal to understanding and appreciating the language. The long and intricate history of the peninsula create a background for the language that is unmatched. The intermingling of Etruscan, Roman, Venetian and a myriad of other groups that have called the area we now refer to as Italy their home has resulted in a history of art, innovation and design that are unrivaled.

Italy has been for hundreds of years been one of the top tourist destinations in the world. It houses 60% of the greatest works of art in the world yet is host to only 1% of the world population. Also 43% of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in Italy. You basically can not through a stone without hitting something of historical or political significance and if you are able to walk more than 10 minutes without entering another piazza with a statue you are in a suburb or “periferia.”

So what are Italians surrounded by all of this fantastic art and history most concerned with? Why what they eat of course. There are reasons that you can find Italian restaurants in virtually every country in the world. While most Italians will not still insist that Italy is were pasta was created (that credit goes to China) they definitely raised it to an art form. In addition the immense variety of meats, cheeses, desserts and, of course, wine combine to create what for most Italians or adopted Italians is the core of life and social interaction.

The country celebrates virtually every specific type of food with a festival or sagre. If you like truffles, wine, cheese, meat, chocolate etc. you can find a festival that will celebrate your love from one weekend to up to two weeks of the year. This has led to an enormous increase in the amount of agritourism in the last 20 years, with lovers of fabulous food coming from around the world to enjoy the festivals, the history and the production of all the amazing alimentary pleasures that Italy has to offer.

What does this have to do with learning to speak Italian? Just as the Inuit have many more words for snow than, say, a tribe in Papua New Guinea, one will have a broader amount of vocabulary related to food. Many of the idiomatic expressions are more agriculturally oriented and of course when you are in Italy or Italian regions in other countries you will experience a love of good food that is unparalleled. Also a critique of bad food that is unparalleled, which for the uninitiated can be a little suprising.

Just as the language of Italy is highly regionally dialectical the food and history are highly regional. Tuscan bread is still unsalted, despite the fact that for centuries there has been plenty of salt available for baking. All Italians are first Florentines, Romans or Venetians and secondly Italians, excepting World Cup years where everyone bleeds blue. Old rivalries do not die in Italy, a few hundred years are recent memory and this is exemplified in the food, language and culture.

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Italian is a beautiful language. I remember the first time I heard the language I was completely taken in. I wanted to learn Italian and visit the country, its people, experience the culture and lots more. However, I realized all this would not be possible unless and until I learnt Italian. I went through many courses online and at last found Rocket Italian. I found it to be one of the best Italian courses in the market.

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