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ITALY
The Great Hub
of Renaissance
Art & Architecture
The culture of Italy can be found in the Roman ruins occupation in the middle ages, was almost entirely absent
remaining in much of the country, the precepts of the in Italy from the time of that country's unification in 1861,
Roman Catholic Church, the spirit of the Renaissance until the 1970s, when the first North African immigrants
and the Enlightenment, the architecture. It can also be began to arrive. These North Africans, mostly of Berber or
tasted in Italy's food.
Arab origin, came mainly from heavily Islamic Morocco,
Religion
though they have been followed in more recent years by
Tunisians, Albanians and to a lesser extent, Libyans,
Roman Catholicism is the major religion of Italy 85 Egyptians, Pakistanis, Middle Eastern Arabs, and Kurds.
percent of native-born citizens are nominally Catholic.
There are mature Protestant and Jewish communities and
Visual Art
a growing Muslim community, the latter made up Italian art describes the visual arts in Italy from ancient
primarily of new immigrants. All religious faiths are times to the present. In Ancient Rome, Italy was a centre
provided equal freedom before the law by the for art and architecture. There were many Italian artists
constitution. Before the adoption of Christianity as the during the Gothic and Medieval periods, and the arts
official religion of the state, in the fourth century, the flourished during the Italian Renaissance. Later styles in
country was officially pagan and worshiped the Roman Italy included Mannerism, Baroque and Rococo.
gods, although there was great religious tolerance. Futurism developed in Italy in the 20th century. Florence is
As Edward Gibbon said in his The Decline and Fall of the
a well known city in Italy for its museums of art.
Roman Empire, "The various modes of worship which Cinema and theatre
prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by the
people as equally true; by the philosopher as equally The history of Italian cinema began a few months after the
false; and by the magistrate as equally useful."
Lumière brothers had discovered it. The first film was a
few seconds long and was Pope Leo XIII giving a blessing
The adoption of Christianity by Constantine in the fourth to the camera. The Industry was born between 1903 and
century led to its becoming the majority religion of the 1908 with three companies: the Roman Cines, the
Roman Empire and Italy. The head of the Roman Catholic Ambrosio of Turin and the Itala Film. Other companies
church, the bishop of Rome, known as the pope, resides would soon have followed in Milan and in Naples. In a
in Vatican City, a part of Rome.
short time these first companies reached a fair producing
Islam, though historically present in Sicily during the Arab quality and films were soon sold outside Italy too. The
OPEN TRADE 34
Oct-Dec 2007