| Lifestyle |
| Family |
| Dating, Marriage and Domestic Partnerships |
| Recreation |
| The Arts |
| Holidays |
| January 1: New Years Day January 6: La Befana: Epiphany Carnevale: February or March Pasquetta: Easter Monday April 25: Liberation Day May 1: Labour Day June 2: Republic Day (1946) August 15: Ferragosto: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary November 1: Ognissanti: All Souls Day December 8: Immaccolata: Immaculate Conception December 25: Natale: Christmas December 26: Santo Stefano: St. Stephens day |
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| Wedding celebrations are long. They may begin with a mass in the morning. Dancing and feasting after the wedding ceremony may continue well into the early morning hours of the next day. An Italian wedding could last the entire day, night, and next morning. Long ago, Italian marriages were arranged by the families of the bride and groom. If the groom proposes directly to the bride, he usually serenades her first. He either plays an instrument or shows up with his musically-talented friends. Engagement rings are used. Wearing of green by the bride the night before the wedding brings luck and abundance to the couple. It is uncommon for either the groom or the bride to have a bachelor or bachelorette party before the wedding, particularly in southern italy. On the day of the wedding, the bride is not supposed to wear any gold- thought to bring bad luck. Old church traditions forbade marriage during lent and Advent. It was also avoided in May (reserved for veneration of the Virgin Mary) and August (invites bad luck and sickness) Sunday marriages are thought to be the luckiest In the Veneto, the groom walks to the bride's house and together they walk with the wedding party to the church. on the way, the town residents watch the group walk by, and present the bride with many challenges. They might put a broom on the ground: if she notices it and picks it up to put it away, she is a good housekeeper. If they come across a crying child, they are supposed to quiet him and make him smile. That means they will be good parents. Coming across a beggar means giving generously and is equaled to having a good heart. The bride arrives to the wedding mass last. In the meantime the groom waits in front of the church as his best men tease him about the bride. In northern italy, the groom brings the bouquet of flowers to the wedding . the color and style of the bouquet is supposed to be a surprise to the bride. it is a present from the grooms family to the bride. the groom holds it as he waits on the front steps of the church for his bride. The groom carries a piece of iron in his pocket to ward off the evil eye. The bride wears a bridal veil to conceal her from malignant spirits, but tearing the veil is considered good luck. In southern regions, at the end of the wedding day, the couple shatters a glass or a vase. The number of pieces represents the number of years they'd be happily married to each other. Bomboniera tied in mesh bags are tossed at the couple to avoid childlessness. The number is important- it should be odd. Either 5 or 7 is good, because they are good luck numbers. www.virtualitalia.com/articles/wedding.shtml |
| Italy has a rich art history. Since Florence was the center of the renaissance, paintings, sculpture, and architecture abound. Some of the famous artists from Italy are Michaelangelo, Raphael, Da Vinci, Titian, and Tintoretto. Music is also very important to the Italians. They have many famous opera composers, including Verdi, Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. The violin was invented in Cremona in 1505 by Andrea Amati. The greatest craftsmen of the violin ever, were Italians Antonio Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesu, and Nicolo Amati. |
| The Italians at large enjoy spectator sports the most. Their national sport is calcio, or what we know as soccer. It is fanatically followed by millions. They also love motor racing, after all, they produce the Ferrari, Maserati, and the Alfa Romeo. Other sports are participated in, including basketball, baseball, and skiing, among others. A large part of this is due to the Italian obsession with bella figura, or looking good. Excercise can help them look good in general, and give them an opportunity to model a cute sport outfit- and yes I did find statements to this effect in multiple sources. |