Italian Culture and Society Essays

Although we all are living on the same planet we have a huge diversity among us. One of these notable differences between the people on earth is their different cultures. One can notice these differences when traveling or relocating to a new country with another culture he or she are familiar with. For example, the American culture and the Italian culture both have more differences than one would expect. When people try to visit Italy they should be aware of the cultural differences, and the right way to communicate with the Italians.

As an Italian-American, I was and am still told by my mother, grandparents, and great-grandparents how proud I should be of my heritage. I was taught to respect my great-grandmother who, after arriving in America along side her husband, fully committed herself to raising her four sons and eight nieces and nephews in a two-bedroom house in Pennsylvania. She was motivated by the drive of a better life in a new, strong country for the young-ones she loved. I was taught to treasure both food and family, praying each night through the Blessed Mother. I was handed Pizzelles and Almond cookies as snacks throughout the day, and listened to Dean Martin through the stereo almost every night. My grandmother’s family came from Mezzogiorno, while my grandfather’s family hailed from the North Country. Though I had never been to Italy, as a child, I still knew the significance of being Italian and was thankful. It was not until I entered public school that I began to understand the teasing that my own ethnic group was subject to on a near daily basis.

For me, being an Italian American means that I have come from a long line of hardworking immigrants who came to the United States to make a better life for their children while still maintaining their Italian cultural pride and heritage. From the time that I was a small child, I was taught to be proud of my Italian heritage. From the young age of four or five, I can remember sitting in the kitchen while my grandmother and great-grandmother would be cooking and they would tell me how my great-great grandparents immigrated to the United States from Calabria. They told me how my great-great -grandfather came with little money and could not speak English. He worked in the mines and sold wood on the side in order to make a living. A few

Life in Italy in the 1930’s caused difficulty to some Italians during that time period. During the 1930’s a large number of Italians who had opposed the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini arrived in the United States. After the news spread in Italy about the bombing of Pearl Harbour almost all Italians supported the war against Benito Mussolini. At this point, Italy was slowly becoming under the Nazi rule, the significance of a woman’s role in Italy was emphasised as they were expected to accept the fascist ideology. Girls were expected to get married and conceive lots of children. Many young women in Italy felt the pressures of politics that were dominated by men and felt that women’s rights were disappearing

The Italian culture has been developed into a staple of American life, especially with a preexisting history ingrained into communities across the United States.

Italy is an European country. Italian is its official language, and 93% of the population is native Italian speakers. Its ethnic background includes small clusters of German-Italians, French-Italians, Slovene-Italians, Albanian-Italians, and Greek-Italians. With various clusters of people come various beliefs in religion. Religion has influenced the culture, artists, and national treasures of Italy in various ways.

	Self-respect and all the related values such as pride, dignity, modesty and honor are very important in Italian society. Witness Bruno, whom at a young age, works full time at a gas station. Bruno's contributions to the Ricci family make him a "man" and strip him of his innocence. Being able to work is an optimistic endeavor which Bruno wholeheartedly engages in.

For the first two years all students use the same state-mandated curriculum of Italian language and literature, science, mathematics, foreign language, religion, geography, history, social studies and physical education. You get into the more specialized courses that will later be for your career, called 'Indirizzi'. These classes don’t start until third year schooling (college universities).

Since World War II, Italian society has profoundly changed, with a significant impact on daily life. One of the main elements of change is the more visible role women play in society outside the home, such as increased participation in higher education and various professions. One aspect of this changed role is that Italy records one of the lowest average numbers of children per woman in the world, as well as some of the lowest birth and fertility rates. (Brittanica Online Encyclopedia)

We see other clear cut examples of nationalism in Italy as well. The journey that Italy took to statehood in the 1800s involved various figureheads performing different roles. The nationalism of Italy began with Mazzini who laid the ideological base for a united Italy. He wrote many pamphlets, papers, and dissertations on the manifest destiny, if you will, of the Italian people to unify. This rhetoric was stirring to the young middle class individuals of Italy who accepted this ideology and supported ideological efforts for a unified Italy. Cavour, of the province of Piedmont is where the basis of a real Italian resurgence would begin. Cavour wanted Piedmont to be the basis of the Risorgimento, or the Italian resurgence. Piedmont was developing well from an industrial perspective and by siphoning trade agreements away from Austria was able to develop into an industrial base for further operations. The actual, boots on the ground venture was led by Garibaldi who recruited many young men to serve in “The Expedition of The Thousand.” The rising nationalism of the time period, as well as the efforts of Mazzini stirred these young middle and

Italy is a Christian country, 83% of the population belonging to the Roman Catholic church. The relationship between Italians and religion is special. There have been many spiritual people before the Romans came along. Italy is, essentially, a nation embracing, all creeds, and religions, where the relationship between state and the church is regulated and sanctioned by constitutional laws. The question is why is there quite a variety of the number of atheists and agnostic rising? Along with religious minorities, Islam is the largest, followed by Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Judaism. Along with that many do not practice religion around 12% of the population in Italy follows no religion.

Italy has been shaped by its history of constant warring and many rulers, which in turn has made Italians doubtful toward authority as well as giving them a strong ability to survive difficult situations (Welcome to Italy).

My Sicilian culture has always been existent in my life, however I do not fully connect with it on many levels. For example, tattoos are not very accepted by my extended family. My father, mother, and I have several visible tattoos. When my grandparents and a few other family members noticed, they were immediately disgusted. They could not see that we were the same people we were before they noticed the tattoos. They also become distant for some time. The tattoos are a form of expression for us and we see them as art. My parents have always taught my sisters and me to never be ashamed of who we are. I value this deeply. I feel that just because other people are unable to see how special one person is, does not mean that that person is not special. In addition, this taught me to not judge someone based solely on their appearance. Some of the nicest people I have ever met are covered with tattoos. To not be judgmental is a very valuable asset in being a speech language pathologist. There will be

in the portrayal of this period of Italian history. In order to gain a more insightful