About Italy

Culture

Italian Culture has a rich history that includes architecture, popular traditions and customs.   Calabria is a place for two types of people: Calabrians and adventurers.   It is bewildering, even frightening to all others, but richly rewarding for the chosen few.  You will find no Florences or Venices in Calabria.  You won't even find a San Gimignano or a Positano.
 
Art treasures are usually encountered in impoverished villages whose older homes barely have electricity and running water and newer homes have cement pylons where the second story will someday be.  Architectural masterpieces have been eroded by the earthquakes that recur every hundred years or so.  

Italian music has a rich tradition and history from Opera to Modern Italian rap music.   There are many Italians who have contributed to European music -- Monteverdi, Bellini, Vivaldi, Puccini, Verdi, Caruso, Pavarotti.

Festivals

Festivals are part of the Italian culture. Nearly every city and town in Italy has a festival to honor a patron saint, or an agricultural product.  In a small village very near Cosenza, the Sant' Ippolito Festival began in about the third century after the martyrdom of Saint Ippolito. This festival is similar to the many festivals throughout Italy.

The Sant' Ippolito festival is held the second Sunday in August every year.  The first festival in mid-Michigan was held in 1938. Most of the people that attend the Michigan festival are from the Lansing area, because they emigrated from the Cosenza/Santo Ippolito area in Calabria.  The festival is very much like the festival in the old country.

 The day begins with the bishop and priests saying mass.  Then the statue of Santo Ippolito is carried through the church grounds. The people follow the statue in a procession.  Some of the people carry religious banners.  After that, everyone has a big picnic on the church grounds. All the families are together and share their food.  The children play games.  At the end of the day, there are fireworks.

Religion

The family is at the heart of the Italian culture.  It is the most enduring and the strongest element of Italian society.  The church has played a vital role in fostering family values.  Even though modern Italians may not attend church regularly, they are still governed by the moral foundation that has been established over the millennia.  Italy is over 98% Roman Catholic. The Vatican, the world's smallest independent country, is the center of the Roman Catholic Church.  A Pope is elected by the College of Cardinals, a Pope serves for his lifetime. The Catholic Diocese in Calabria consists of approximately 159,500 Parishioners, 109 Parishes, 264 Churches/Chapels, 200 Secular Priests and 16 regular Priests.
Geography

Italy is a long, narrow peninsula that reaches from mainland Europe to the Mediterranean Sea.  It appears to be shaped like a boot.  There are two islands off the coast of Italy, Sicily and Sardinia.  Both are part of Italy.  The country is filled with hills and mountains.  The Italian Alps are to the north. At the foot of the Alps is the Po River valley, Italy's most fertile farm-land.  The Apennines mountain chain runs like a backbone down the peninsula.  Italy is bounded by 5 seas: Ligurian and Tyrrhenian on the west, the Ionian and Mediterranean on the south, and the Adriatic on the east.  For centuries, the seaports along the coasts were some of the largest in the world.  Today the same coastal ports attract tourists. Some, like Genoa,  remain very busy trade seaports.

Calabria is the southern-most province in Italy, the "toe of the boot".  Cosenza is the capital city. 

Climate

The long peninsula runs almost north to south, and its climate ranges greatly.  The Alps provide some protection for the north from the extremes of European winters. Rome in the summer can be stifling hot. The inhabitants of Rome often go to the seashore for the summer months.  Mountainous Cosenza, and the southern half of the peninsula has little rainfall for farming the rugged land.

People

Italy is a crowded nation.  Some of the rugged countryside cannot support people in great numbers.  Italians, therefore, crowd into the cities or the fertile valleys.  About 60% of the population lives in the cities.  Italy's geography has influenced the welfare of the people.  Italians in the north have better farmland and more industry, but the Italians in the south do not fare as well.  Workers in the north earn about twice as much as workers in the south.  Many of the Italian Americans in the US today, came from families in southern Italy trying to escape the poverty of the region.

Italians have a great zest for life.  They love art, music, conversation, festivals, and good food and wine. Conversation with Italians includes animated hand gestures and expressed opinions.  Any holiday is a reason to have a 7 course, 5 hour dinner with the whole family around the table.  They hold their cultural traditions sacred.

Language

Regionalism highly influenced the development of the Italian language.  During the Roman Empire, Latin was the official language throughout the peninsula.  But as other countries invaded Italy throughout its history, dialects emerged. There was a time that Italians from one region could not understand the language of Italians from other regions.  Today, nearly all Italians speak a standard language (Italian), as taught in the schools.
Family

Italian families often include several generations within one home.  No matter how poor its members may be, an Italian family shares what it has.  Italians believe that family is the most important aspect of life, it is the duty to protect and defend the family, and that an attack on one is an attack on all.

Politics

One of the characteristics of the Italians is their individualism.  Although this intense desire for self-expression proved essential in the creation of the arts and sciences, it has done little to help the political development.  There are several political parties in Italy including Christian Democratic, Socialist, Communist, etc., participating in the parliament.  This diversity of philosophies made it difficult for the government to make decisions. Italy has struggled to reach the economic position in the world it is today.  
City of Cosenza

This information will be completed later.  We have just recently found an English translation of their Web site. 

The Legacy of Roman Law

Ancient Romans honored and respected the law.  As far back as 450 B.C Romans wrote laws that protected citizens rights. Do these laws, written in the in the sixth century B.C.,  sound familiar?  "No one suffers a penalty for what he thinks".  "No one may forcibly be removed from his house". "Punishment for a crime must consider the age and inexperience of the guilty."  Many countries have based their political systems on the Roman ideas.  In fact, Roman law influenced the ideas and words of the Constitution of the United States.

History

The history of Italy starts centuries before the birth of Christ.  In 44 B.C., Julius Caesar, a great Roman general and orator, was killed by rival Romans. Later, Rome was ruled by a series of emperors. Augustus was the first emperor, and appointed Tiberius to succeed him.  Tiberius region included Judea.  The governor of Judea was Pontius Pilate. 

Many emperors were great leaders and ruled Rome without war for over 200 years (known as the "pax Romana" (Roman peace).  That was followed by a 300 year period known as the "fall of the Roman empire", a period of excesses and brutality. However, one ruler, Constantine I  (306 A.D.), is remembered because he legalized Christianity, ending the persecution of the Christians in Rome.

The fall of Rome left Italy open to invasion of countless political groups, barbarians, and countries for more than a thousand years, known as the "middle ages".  As a means of self-defense, city-states or small countries were created.

In the 1300s Italy experienced the golden age known as the "Renaissance" (rebirth).  Over the next 300 years, the focus was on the arts and sciences.  Few countries have produced the contributions to painting, sculpture, architecture, physics, literature, exploration, astronomy, philosophy, and medicine as Italy did during that period.

Some of the famous men of that time are:
Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus-- sailors and explorers
Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Raphael, Brunelleschi, Bernini-- painters, sculptors, and architects
Dante, Boccaccio, Machiavelli-- literature and philosophy
Galileo-- physics

Throughout Italy, every city and town has examples of the genius of the Renaissance period in buildings, fountains, and paintings, as well as a demonstration of outstanding city planning (the stunning piazzas in many cities, and the many ancient roads still in use).  Today, every Italian-American feels a sense of  pride in the cultural contributions of the Renaissance.

Travel and Tourism in Italy

Italy is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.  Thousands of years of history and culture now provide a variety of attractions for tourists. Each city and province offers its own treasures of history, art, music, buildings, and local festivals.

Travel in Italy presents few problems.  There are flights into the major cities, with the largest international terminals at Rome and Milan.  The trains and buses run frequently throughout Italy and interconnect the towns and cities. English speaking Italians can be found in all but the smaller towns. There is an extensive autostrada for car travel in Italy.

There are so many attractions in Italy, the traveler may want to plan the trip carefully.  Each city has many sights to see, for example:

• Rome--St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Roman ruins and Coliseum, Pantheon,  many works of architecture, painting, sculptures, and fountains of the great Renaissance masters.
• Florence--Cathedral of the Dome, baptistery doors, Uffizi gallery, Ponte Vecchio, Michelangelo's "David", Tuscan hill towns
• Milan--Cathedral, LaScala Opera House, da Vinci's Last Supper, Lake Como
• Venice--Grand Canal, St. Marco's Basilica, Murano glass
• Genoa--Italy's largest seaport, birthplace of Christopher Columbus, the Italian Riviera,
• Naples--Santa Lucia port, Isle of Capri, Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius
• Pisa--Leaning Tower
• Assisi--St. Francis Basilica

Throughout the country, smaller villages and towns have their own contribution of  history, artistry, (glass, leather, marble, pottery), music, and an abundance of festivals that honor agricultural products or a patron saint of the village.

Adding to the tourist experience is the wonderful food of Italy.  Regional specialties from north to south make each meal a unique adventure. Italy produces some of the world's best wine, cheeses, cured meats, and olive oil; a rich bounty of souvenirs for the traveler.

Education System in Italy

Compulsory schooling starts with primary education (scuola elementare) which lasts five years and is aimed at children between 6 and 11 years of age.

At the end of class 5, pupils take the primary school leaving examinations (esami di licenze elementare) allowing them to move on to the second stage of compulsory education: the lower secondary school (scuola media).  The primary school leaving examination (esame di licenza elementare) comprises of two written tests and an oral test.

Secondary education is divided into lower and upper secondary school. The first on is compulsory, while only the first year of the upper secondary level is compulsory, but students can still choose among the different types of school at the end of the lower secondary cycle.  The lower secondary school (scuola media) includes three classes: first, second and third.  Pupils are ages 11-14.

The lower secondary school examination (esame di licenza media) includes three written tests:  Italian, mathematics, and a foreign language, and an interdisciplinary interview on all subjects studied.

Compulsory education, that previously finished at the age of 14 with the attainment of lower secondary school leaving certificate (diploma di licenza media) is extended to the first school year of upper secondary education.

Any student who has obtained the lower secondary school leaving certificate (diploma di licenza media) may attend upper secondary education lasting five, four, or three years.  At the end of the upper secondary school, students take the examination for the upper secondary school leaving examination (esame di Stato).  The students who have obtained the certificate at the end of the upper secondary school can enroll in a university, or they can enter the working world or enroll in a vocational school directly.