Our lives depend on our cultural upbringing. Most people will love the food they ate during their childhood. Besides, people maintain the same cultural beliefs they obtained from their parents, concerning how to rear children, marriage ceremonies, dating, and religion. People also inherit things such as art, music, and reading cultures from their families. Culture determines people’s reactions during anger since other people are hotly tempered while others react slowly. Our attitudes about other races, clothing, and life originate from our parent cultures. People may change depending on the revolution and exposure, and other family members might follow a different path as the entire family. However, some might return to the fold of family as others change their lifestyles permanently. This case study will be based on the influence of Italian culture on an individual.
History and Tradition of Italian Culture
From the days of Imperial Rome until the early 17 th century, Italian culture formed the core of the Western World. The birth of Humanism, the cultural flowering of the Renaissance era, the emergence of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Roman Empire exerted strong influence across the world (Zimmermann, 2017). Currently, Italian culture is best epitomized in food, family, music, art, and fashion, all of which can be traced from the ancient days. More than 50% of the world’s art treasures are found in Italy. Also, most locals still love the works of great ancient artists. Both modern and classical music is an essential part of Italian culture (Gordon, 2020). Predictably, Italian inventions such as the piano, opera, and musical stave have transformed many of the globe’s greatest singers, conductors, and composers. Presently, Italy is attributed to developing experimental rock, italo-disco, and progressive rock (Zimmermann, 2017). Italian culture is used to the theatre performances, originating from the Canovacio comedies of the traveling players. Various regions have folk music traditions. For instance, in the 19 th century, Mario Lanza and Enrico Caruso invented the famous Neapolitan dialect songs. Those visiting Naples still listen to ancient classics from eateries and street sidebars, such as Torno al Suriento.
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The Italian culture values family as an essential aspect of their tradition. The family heads the social structure and has a calming impact on its members. In the south, the extended family always lives together in one house, while in the north, only the nuclear family stays in the same household. The Italian family supports its members both financially and emotionally. Religion also plays an essential role in strengthening these families. Italians spend more time with their family, making them organize frequent family gatherings (Gordon, 2020). Children in an Italian family are raised to live close to their family even in adulthood. Besides, they are encouraged to induce their future families into the longer network of extended family. Family determines most activities such as holidays, businesses, and Italian cuisine. Pasta, cheese, and wine are an essential part of Italian meals. Family gatherings are normally centered on the extended network of families and food. Each region in Italy has its food (Zimmermann, 2017), with widespread food being peppers, garlic, pasta, fish, potatoes, spaghetti, and pizza.
Roman Catholicism is the major religion in Italian culture. The Pope resides in Vatican City, which is at the center of Rome and where most Roman Catholics reside. Christianity makes up 80 percent of the Italians, even though Catholics are only one-third of the Christians. The remaining 20% of the population are atheists, agnostics, and Muslims, with the country recording an increase in the Muslim population in recent times (Gordon, 2020). The influence of the church in Italy is great regardless of the Low Church attendance. The majority of offices and other buildings have a religious statue or across in the entrance hall. Besides, Italian culture allows children to be named after saints, and they celebrate these saints at different times of the year. Most respect is accorded to individuals from well-connected families, those who have achieved a level of business success, and the elderly population. About 93 percent of people in Italy speak Italian, making it the official language (Zimmermann, 2017). Friulian is spoken in north Italy by about 600,000 people. Other languages include German, Slovene, Ladin, and French. French is spoken in the Alpine region of the Val d'Aosta.
Italy has invented various architectural styles, such as Neoclassical, Baroque, Renaissance, and Classical Roman. Italy has some of the famous structures globally, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which adds to its culture. Many museums are found in Venice, Rome, and Florence, but art can be seen in religious places and in buildings across the country. The most prominent art is Michelangelo's painting on the Sistine Chapel ceiling on the Vatican (Gordon, 2020). Also, some world-renowned fashion houses form part of the Italian culture, including Prada, Versace, Benetton, Gucci, and Armani. Italians celebrate most Christian holidays such as Christmas, Epiphany, and Befana. Italians also celebrate Pasquetta, where the family marks the start of springtime through picnics (Gordon, 2020). It is celebrated on the Monday after Easter. They also celebrate Liberation Day on April 25, which makes the end of the Second World War in 1945 (Zimmermann, 2017). Most Italian villages and towns celebrate their patron saint’s feast day. The feast of San Gennaro is celebrated on September 19 to remember the patron saint of Napoli.
Portfolio: Mauro Zocchi
Mauro Zocchi is a 30-year-old high school graduate and a graduate of the University of Florence in Tuscany, Italy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery. He was born in Collodi Village, Tuscany, Italy. He comes from a middle-class family that owns a textile company. The entire family of Mauro lives in the same house, including the extended family. His family spends most of the time participating in a local gathering, volunteering at senior centers, volunteering at the local churches. Mauro was reared in a background that values family and togetherness, and he has not had an opportunity to test a different lifestyle. The family spends most of their time together, which has made Mauro build a strong relationship with the parents and other family members. 90% of the family members work in the family textile company, contributing to their togetherness. Those who do not work in the family firm are employed within the Tuscany region. Therefore, the family is very close to each other, and they preach against anything that can break their ties. The community role of Mauro is to safeguard Catholic values since his family and the entire community value Christianity. He has also been taught always to be available for his family in case of any help.
Case Study
A 30-year-old Mauro Zocchi comes from a middle-class family that depends on their local textile company for a living. He comes from a strict Catholic family that stays together, both nuclear and extended families. The Second World War shaped some of the current cultures existing in Italy. Several people died during the process, leaving villages, and the war disrupted the economy of Italy. Italy faced a weak and divided government, rising taxes, a decline in trade, and unemployment. Life was difficult for most people as they could not afford to feed themselves due to unemployment. After Italy got independence in 1946, several people started business activities since they had some rights that protected them. Mauro's family started a small textile company to sustain them. Due to unemployment, the family business recruited family members into it early to ensure that the family remains one. Also, the pain of losing loved ones to the Second World War encouraged them to live in the same household. Since then, Italians have learned to value family, and they involve family members in every activity such as business, food, and vocations.
Mauro’s family have stayed together since the Second World War, and they preach against anything that would separate them. Mauro was born in an era when technology was advancing in most regions of the world. Born in the little village called Collodi near Florence in Tuscany, Mauro has spent most of his life in the same region to be with his family. Like the other children in the community, he was recruited into the family business at an early age and had to render his services when needed. However, with the current opportunities across the world and Italy, he enrolled in the local primary school in Florence. Florence is among the culturally rich towns in Italy, and people there value various aspects of Italian culture such as food, families, and religion. He later graduated from Parola Elementary School within the same region, where he qualified to pursue higher education. His parents had extracted a considerable amount of income from their Textile Company which was doing well. Therefore, he got an admission into the University of Florence in Tuscany, Italy, to pursue Bachelor's Degree in Medicine and Surgery. Therefore, he spent all his education around his family since the schools were not far from his home, and he regularly visited home.
After graduating from the university, Mauro was accredited as a medical doctor. Various hospitals across the country needed his services. He opted for a nearby hospital regardless of their pay since he wanted to stay around his family. A big private hospital approached him from Milan with a good compensation plan. However, he turned them down since he did not want to break ties with the family. Even though he was not into the family business, he was used to seeing them frequently and did not want to break that link. Mauro experienced a personal crisis after his graduation because he had to choose between his family and work. Most opportunities were away from his hometown, but he could not explore them for fear of losing the link with the family. His family was also not ready to let him go away in the name of work since they celebrate several occasions together. Therefore, Mauro decided to work in his rural region for the love of his family despite the high opportunities that existed in other regions.
Conclusion
Culture is an essential aspect of a person's life since it determined most of the activities and behaviors of an individual. The Italian culture is among the prominent cultures in the world, and its subjects are always loyal to its components such as music, art, food, architecture, and religion. Most occupants of Italy are Catholics, although there are other religions within the country. Family is the core of social structure in Italy, and people place their families at the center of everything. The case study of Mauro Zocchi is an example of the impact of culture on an individual's personality. Having spent most of his life with the family, Mauro decided to put his family first over his career.
References
Gordon, R. (2020). The Holocaust in Italian Culture, 1944–2010 . Stanford University Press.
Zimmermann, K. A. (2017). Italian culture: Facts, customs & traditions. https://www.livescience.com/44376-italian-culture.html
