Many people associate Italy with opera. Giuseppe
Verdi (1813-1901) was the greatest Italian operatic composer, followed
by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). La Scala Opera House in Milan is one of
the world's finest.
Music has always been a part of Italian life.
Vivaldi (1678-1741), was one of the most influential European composers
of his day. Italy was also home to Antonio Stradivarius and Niccolo Amati,
17th century violin makers, who created instruments that are still played
and admired today. |
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For more than 2,000 years the people of Italy
have beautified their surroundings. There are paintings and sculpture in
churches, squares, streets, alleys, palaces and villas. Italians are justifiably
proud of their artistic heritage and ensure that the sites are restored
and maintained. |
Did
you know?
According to the United Nations, Italy
has almost 80% of all the European architecture and visual art worth preserving. |
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Italy has produced too many artists to list here.
Two of the most famous artists of the Renaissance are Leonardo da Vinci
and Michelangelo. Leonardo was not only an artist but a scientist and inventor.
He kept detailed notebooks of his ideas, which he wrote in backward handwriting
that must be held up to a mirror to be read. Michelangelo was a painter,
sculptor and architect, who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel,
sculpted the statue of David in Florence, and designed the great dome of
St. Peter's in Rome.
One of the greatest periods in Italian literature
was the 14th century. Dante Alighieri helped make his native Tuscan dialect
the literary language of Italy with the publication of The Divine Comedy.
He influenced other Florentine writers such as Boccaccio and Petrarch to
write in their native tongue. |
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Six 20th-century Italians have been awarded the
Nobel Prize for Literature: Giosue Carducci in 1906; Grazia Deledda in
1926; Luigi Pirandello in 1934; Salvatore Quasimodo in 1959; Eugenio Montale
in 1975; and Dario Fo in 1997. Another important writer is Umberto Eco,
who wrote The Name of the Rose, and enjoys major international success. |
Did
you know?
The Adventures of Pinocchio
was written by Carlo Collodi in 1883. This classic book sold millions of
copies in Italy alone when it was first published. |
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Italy is internationally recognized
as a leader in fashion, industrial design and decor. Milan is the fashion
capital of Italy. The Italian film industry flourished in the 1950s. The
studio complex outside Rome, called Cinecitta, was known as the
Hollywood of Europe. Film directors Federico Fellini, Franco Zeffirelli,
and Michelangelo Antonioni have enjoyed success in Italy and abroad. |
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