Super Marco In Italiano E Arabo (Beginner Books(R) Vol. 1) (Italian Edition)

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The Palazzo Strozzi , an example of civil architecture with its rusticated stone, was inspired by the Palazzo Medici , but with more harmonious proportions. Today the palace is used for international expositions like the annual antique show founded as the Biennale dell'Antiquariato in , fashion shows and other cultural and artistic events. Here also is the seat of the Istituto Nazionale del Rinascimento and the noted Gabinetto Vieusseux , with the library and reading room. There are several other notable places, including the Palazzo Rucellai , designed by Leon Battista Alberti between and and executed, at least in part, by Bernardo Rossellino ; the Palazzo Davanzati , which houses the museum of the Old Florentine House; the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali , designed in the Neo-Renaissance style in ; the Palazzo Spini Feroni , in Piazza Santa Trinita , a historic 13th-century private palace, owned since the s by shoe-designer Salvatore Ferragamo ; as well as various others, including the Palazzo Borghese, the Palazzo di Bianca Cappello, the Palazzo Antinori , and the Royal building of Santa Maria Novella.

Florence contains numerous museums and art galleries where some of the world's most important works of art are held. The city is one of the best preserved Renaissance centres of art and architecture in the world and has a high concentration of art, architecture and culture. The gallery is articulated in many halls, catalogued by schools and chronological order.

Engendered by the Medici family's artistic collections through the centuries, it houses works of art by various painters and artists. The Galleria dell'Accademia houses a Michelangelo collection, including the David. It has a collection of Russian icons and works by various artists and painters.

Other museums and galleries include the Bargello , which concentrates on sculpture works by artists including Donatello, Giambologna and Michelangelo ; the Palazzo Pitti, containing part of the Medici family's former private collection. In addition to the Medici collection, the palace's galleries contain many Renaissance works, including several by Raphael and Titian , large collections of costumes, ceremonial carriages, silver, porcelain and a gallery of modern art dating from the 18th century. Adjoining the palace are the Boboli Gardens , elaborately landscaped and with numerous sculptures.

There are several different churches and religious buildings in Florence. The cathedral is Santa Maria del Fiore. The San Giovanni Baptistery located in front of the cathedral, is decorated by numerous artists, notably by Lorenzo Ghiberti with the Gates of Paradise. The city additionally contains the Orthodox Russian church of Nativity, and the Great Synagogue of Florence , built in the 19th century. Florence contains various theatres and cinemas. The Odeon Cinema of the Palazzo dello Strozzino is one of the oldest cinemas in the city. Established from to [32] in a wing of the Palazzo dello Strozzino, it used to be called the Cinema Teatro Savoia Savoy Cinema-Theatre , yet was later called Odeon.

The Teatro della Pergola , located in the centre of the city on the eponymous street, is an opera house built in the 17th century. Another theatre is the Teatro Comunale or Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino , originally built as the open-air amphitheatre, the Politeama Fiorentino Vittorio Emanuele , which was inaugurated on 17 May with a production of Donizetti 's Lucia di Lammermoor and which seated 6, people. Aside from such monuments, Florence contains numerous major squares piazze and streets.

The Piazza Santa Croce is another; dominated by the Basilica of Santa Croce , it is a rectangular square in the centre of the city where the Calcio Fiorentino is played every year. Furthermore, there is the Piazza Santa Trinita , a square near the Arno that mark the end of the Via de' Tornabuoni street. The centre additionally contains several streets.

Such include the Via Camillo Cavour , one of the main roads of the northern area of the historic centre; the Via Ghibellina, one of central Florence's longest streets; the Via dei Calzaiuoli, one of the most central streets of the historic centre which links Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Signoria , winding parallel to via Roma and Piazza della Repubblica ; the Via de' Tornabuoni , a luxurious street in the city centre that goes from Antinori square to ponte Santa Trinita , across Piazza Santa Trinita , characterised by the presence of fashion boutiques; the Viali di Circonvallazione , 6-lane boulevards surrounding the northern part of the historic centre; as well as others, such as Via Roma, Via degli Speziali, Via de' Cerretani, and the Viale dei Colli.

Florence also contains various parks and gardens. In the city was home to 50, people. Within Florence proper, Minors children aged 18 and less totalled This compares with the Italian average of The average age of Florence resident is 49 compared to the Italian average of In the five years between and , the population of Florence grew by 3. As of [update] , An estimated 6, Chinese live in the city. Tourism is, by far, the most important of all industries and most of the Florentine economy relies on the money generated by international arrivals and students studying in the city.

Manufacturing and commerce, however, still remain highly important. Florence is a major production and commercial centre in Italy, where the Florentine industrial complexes in the suburbs produce all sorts of goods, from furniture, rubber goods, chemicals, and food. Heavy industry and machinery also take their part in providing an income. In Nuovo Pignone, numerous factories are still present, and small-to medium industrial businesses are dominant.

The Florence-Prato-Pistoia industrial districts and areas were known as the 'Third Italy' in the s, due to the exports of high-quality goods and automobile especially the Vespa and the prosperity and productivity of the Florentine entrepreneurs. Some of these industries even rivalled the traditional industrial districts in Emilia-Romagna and Veneto due to high profits and productivity.

In the fourth quarter of , manufacturing increased by 2. Leading sectors included mechanical engineering, fashion, pharmaceutics, food and wine. During , permanent employment contracts increased by Tourism is the most significant industry in central Florence. From April to October, tourists outnumber local population. Tickets to the Uffizi and Accademia museums are regularly sold out and large groups regularly fill the basilicas of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella , both of which charge for entry. Tickets for The Uffizi and Accademia can be purchased online prior to visiting.

Studies by Euromonitor International have concluded that cultural and history-oriented tourism is generating significantly increased spending throughout Europe. Florence is believed to have the greatest concentration of art in proportion to its size in the world. In , Florence had 20, hotel rooms in facilities. Tourism brings revenue to Florence, but it creates certain problems. Some tourists are less than respectful of the city's cultural heritage, according to Nardella. In June , he instituted a programme of spraying church steps with water to prevent tourists from using such areas as picnic spots.

While he values the benefits of tourism, there has been "an increase among those who sit down on church steps, eat their food and leave rubbish strewn on them," he explained. Food and wine have long been an important staple of the economy. The Chianti region is just south of the city, and its Sangiovese grapes figure prominently not only in its Chianti Classico wines but also in many of the more recently developed Supertuscan blends.

The celebrated Chianti Rufina district, geographically and historically separated from the main Chianti region, is also few kilometres east of Florence. Florence was the birthplace of High Renaissance art, which lasted from While Medieval art focused on basic story telling of the Bible, Renaissance art focused on naturalism and human emotion. Religion was important, but with this new age came the humanization [60] [61] of religious figures in art, such as Expulsion from the Garden of Eden , Ecce Homo Bosch, s , and Madonna Della Seggiola ; People of this age began to understand themselves as human beings, which reflected in art.

Their works, together with those of many other generations of artists, are gathered in the several museums of the town: In the archaeological museum includes documents of Etruscan civilisation. Florentine architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi — and Leon Battista Alberti — were among the fathers of both Renaissance and Neoclassical architecture. The cathedral, topped by Brunelleschi's dome, dominates the Florentine skyline.

The Florentines decided to start building it — late in the 13th century, without a design for the dome. The project proposed by Brunelleschi in the 14th century was the largest ever built at the time, and the first major dome built in Europe since the two great domes of Roman times — the Pantheon in Rome, and Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore remains the largest brick construction of its kind in the world. The two buildings incorporate in their decoration the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

In recent years, most of the important works of art from the two buildings — and from the nearby Giotto's Campanile , have been removed and replaced by copies. The originals are now housed in the Museum dell'Opera del Duomo, just to the east of the Cathedral.

Picture galleries in Florence include the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace. Two superb collections of sculpture are in the Bargello and the Museum of the Works of the Duomo.

They are filled with the creations of Donatello, Verrochio, Desiderio da Settignano, Michelangelo and others. The Galleria dell'Accademia has Michelangelo's David — perhaps the best-known work of art anywhere, plus the unfinished statues of the slaves Michelangelo created for the tomb of Pope Julius II.

There is also a collection of works by the modern sculptor, Marino Marini , in a museum named after him. The Strozzi Palace is the site of special exhibits. Florentine fiorentino , spoken by inhabitants of Florence and its environs, is a Tuscan dialect and the immediate parent language to modern Italian. Its vocabulary and pronunciation are largely identical to standard Italian, though the hard c [k] between two vowels as in ducato is pronounced as a fricative [h] , similar to an English h.

This gives Florentines a highly recognisable accent the so-called gorgia toscana. Other traits include using a form of the subjunctive mood last commonly used in medieval times, [ citation needed ] a frequent usage in everyday speech of the modern subjunctive, and a shortened pronunciation of the definite article , [i] instead of "il". Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio pioneered the use of the vernacular [75] instead of the Latin used for most literary works at the time.

Despite Latin being the main language of the courts and the Church in the Middle Ages, writers such as Dante Alighieri [75] and many others used their own language, the Florentine vernacular descended from Latin, in composing their greatest works.

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The oldest literary pieces written in Florentine go as far back as the 13th century. Florence's literature fully blossomed in the 14th century, when not only Dante with his Divine Comedy — and Petrarch, but also poets such as Guido Cavalcanti and Lapo Gianni composed their most important works. He is first guided by the Roman poet Virgil , whose non-Christian beliefs damned him to Hell.

Later on he is joined by Beatrice , who guides him through Heaven. In the 14th century, Petrarch [76] and Giovanni Boccaccio [76] led the literary scene in Florence after Dante's death in Petrarch was an all-rounder writer, author and poet, but was particularly known for his Canzoniere , or the Book of Songs, where he conveyed his unremitting love for Laura. All of this is written in a series of distinct novellas. These principles became known as Machiavellianism. Florence became a musical centre during the Middle Ages and music and the performing arts remain an important part of its culture.

The growth of Northern Italian Cities in the s likely contributed to its increased prominence. During the Renaissance, there were four kinds of musical patronage in the city with respect to both sacred and secular music: After the year , Italian trends prevailed across Europe, by it was the primary musical language. The genre of the Madrigal , born in Italy, gained popularity in Britain and elsewhere. Several Italian cities were "larger on the musical map than their real-size for power suggested. Florence, was once such city which experienced a fantastic period in the early seventeenth Century of musico-theatrical innovation, including the beginning and flourishing of opera.

Opera was invented in Florence in the late 16th century when Jacobo Peri's Dafne an opera in the style of monody , was premiered. Vocal Music in the choir setting was also taking new identity at this time. Composers and musicians who have lived in Florence include Piero Strozzi — after , Giulio Caccini — and Mike Francis — Giulio Caccini's book Le Nuove Musiche was significant in performance practice technique instruction at the time. Florence has been a setting for numerous works of fiction and movies, including the novels and associated films, such as Light in the Piazza , Calmi Cuori Appassionati , Hannibal , A Room with a View , Tea with Mussolini , Virgin Territory and Inferno.

Florentine food grows out of a tradition of peasant eating rather than rarefied high cooking. The majority of dishes are based on meat. The whole animal was traditionally eaten; tripe trippa and stomach lampredotto were once regularly on the menu and still are sold at the food carts stationed throughout the city. The typically saltless Tuscan bread, obtained with natural levain frequently features in Florentine courses, especially in its soups, ribollita and pappa al pomodoro , or in the salad of bread and fresh vegetables called panzanella that is served in summer.

The bistecca alla fiorentina is a large the customary size should weigh around 1.

Most of these courses are generally served with local olive oil , also a prime product enjoying a worldwide reputation. Research institutes and university departments are located within the Florence area and within two campuses at Polo di Novoli and Polo Scientifico di Sesto Fiorentino [81] as well as in the Research Area of Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Florence has been an important scientific centre for centuries, notably during the Renaissance with scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci.

Florentines were one of the driving forces behind the Age of Discovery. Florentine bankers financed Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese explorers who pioneered the route around Africa to India and the Far East. It was a map drawn by the Florentine Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli , a student of Brunelleschi, that Christopher Columbus used to sell his "enterprise" to the Spanish monarchs, and which he used on his first voyage.

Mercator's "Projection" is a refined version of Toscanelli's — taking into account the Americas, of which the Florentine was, obviously, ignorant. Galileo and other scientists pioneered the study of optics, ballistics, astronomy, anatomy, and so on. Pico della Mirandola, Leonardo Bruni, Machiavelli, and many others laid the groundwork for our understanding of science. By the year Florence had become a centre of textile production in Europe. Many of the rich families in Renaissance Florence were major purchasers of locally produced fine clothing, and the specialists of fashion in the economy and culture of Florence during that period is often underestimated.

Other major players in the fashion industry such as Prada and Chanel have large offices and stores in Florence or its outskirts. Florence's main upscale shopping street is Via de' Tornabuoni , where major luxury fashion houses and jewellery labels, such as Armani and Bulgari , have their elegant boutiques. Via del Parione and Via Roma are other streets that are also well known for their high-end fashion stores. During the day of Easter, a cart, which the Florentines call the Brindellone and which is led by four white oxen, is taken to the Piazza del Duomo between the Baptistery of St.

The cart is connected by a rope to the interior of the church. Near the cart there is a model of a dove, which, according to legend, is a symbol of good luck for the city: Calcio Storico Fiorentino "Historic Florentine Football " , sometimes called Calcio in costume , is a traditional sport, regarded as a forerunner of soccer, though the actual gameplay most closely resembles rugby. The event originates from the Middle Ages , when the most important Florentine nobles amused themselves playing while wearing bright costumes.

The most important match was played on 17 February , during the siege of Florence. That day Papal troops besieged the city while the Florentines, with contempt of the enemies, decided to play the game notwithstanding the situation. The game is played in the Piazza di Santa Croce. A temporary arena is constructed, with bleachers and a sand-covered playing field.

A series of matches are held between four teams representing each quartiere quarter of Florence during late June and early July. Azzurri light blue , Bianchi white , Rossi red and Verdi green. They play their games at the Stadio Artemio Franchi , which currently holds 47, Archived from the original on 2 May Retrieved 7 May Istituto geografico De Agostini. The vocabulary of modern French origins, structure and function.

Retrieved 13 March Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise in French 2nd ed. Portale per il Turismo del Comune di Milano. Retrieved 15 May Lucas, The Renaissance and the Reformation p. Archived from the original on 8 November Retrieved 14 January New York, p. Fighting the Plague in Seventeenth Century Italy. University of Wisconsin Press, Archived from the original on 30 June Retrieved 9 June The fall of Mussolini: A history of contemporary Italy: Milan since the miracle: Retrieved 16 October Archived from the original on 14 September Retrieved 25 March Archived from the original on 1 December Retrieved 29 October Archived from the original on 16 February The global urban competitiveness report Statistical Service of the Metropolitan City of Mialn.

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Pelican History of Art. Peter Hanns Reill, consulting Encyclopedia of the enlightenment Rev. Palazzi e case liberty". Archived from the original on 24 April DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Retrieved 13 June Retrieved 14 October Retrieved 3 November Pomp, Power and Politics in Renaissance Italy , p. An Analysis of Systems Change , p.

Hinterland, Territory, Region , p. Metropolitan City of Milan. Using the administrative division of the Milanese territory in the functional areas some important aspects of the spatial distribution of demographic phenomena can be captured. As well as the aggregated data on the stocks, the individual information also geographically referenced by the population register are considered for this purpose. The stocks at the 1st on January of the years from to are available. The totals for individuals and family are consistent with the totals published by ISTAT National Institute of Statistics by means of appropriate scaling coefficients, since some differences can occur between the two sources.

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. Retrieved 23 July Lombardia, politiche e regole per il territorio. Retrieved 11 April The Center for Radical Islam in Europe". Archived from the original on 11 October Pontifical Ambrosian Institute of Sacred Music". Retrieved 14 June Retrieved 24 January Retrieved 7 December Retrieved 15 November Retrieved 21 October Retrieved 14 February Retrieved 23 September Is it still competitive and charming? Pathways to creative and knowledge-based regions" PDF. Retrieved 30 November Retrieved 29 September Milano , Guide brevi Skira, ed.

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QS World University Rankings. Retrieved 9 October Retrieved 10 February Archived from the original PDF on 29 October Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research. Retrieved 8 July Archived from the original on 26 October Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano. Archived from the original on 16 November Retrieved 12 April Archived from the original on 22 July Retrieved 20 September Archived from the original PDF on 29 March Retrieved 4 October Retrieved 27 December Retrieved 20 June Archived from the original on 30 December Retrieved 29 December Retrieved 31 March Archived from the original on 2 July Retrieved 10 August Retrieved 4 July Retrieved 28 June Acts of international convention "Milan Capital", Convegno archeologico internazionale Milano capitale dell'impero romano ; Milano Altri autori: Anselmo, Conte di Rosate: Milano capitale dell'Impero romano: Torri, Monica 23 January DK Publishing Dorling Kindersley.

Retrieved 10 March Welch, Evelyn S Art and authority in Renaissance Milan. Articles relating to Milan. Zones and quarters of Milan. Regional capitals of Italy. European Capitals of Sport. Cities in Italy by population. Naples Turin Palermo Genoa. Milan Cathedral Basilica di Santa Tecla. Eustorgio Portinari Chapel S. The peninsula was now dominated by the Kingdom of the Lombards , with minor remnants of Byzantine control especially in the south. During the 5th and 6th centuries, the popes increased their influence in both religious and political matters in Italy.

It was usually the popes who led attempts to protect Italy from invasion or to soften foreign rule. For about years the popes opposed attempts by the Lombards, who had captured most of Italy, to take over Rome as well. The popes finally defeated the Lombards with the aid of two Frankish kings, Pepin the Short and Charlemagne.

Using land won for them by Pepin in , the popes established political rule in what were called the Papal States in central Italy. The Lombards remained a threat to papal power, however, until they were crushed by Charlemagne in Charlemagne added the Kingdom of the Lombards to his vast realm. In recognition of Charlemagne's power, and to cement the church's alliance with him, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in Louis divided the empire among his sons, and Frankish Italy became part of Middle Francia , extending as far south as Rome and Spoleto.

This Kingdom of Italy became part of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century, while southern Italy was under the rule of the Lombard Principality of Benevento or of the Byzantine Empire , in the 12th century absorbed into the Kingdom of Sicily. From the 11th century on, Italian cities began to grow rapidly in independence and importance. They became centres of political life, banking , and foreign trade.

Some became wealthy, and many, including Florence , Rome , Genoa , Milan , Pisa , Siena and Venice , grew into nearly independent city-states. Each had its own foreign policy and political life. They all resisted the efforts of noblemen and emperors to control them. The emergence of identifiable Italian dialects from Vulgar Latin , and as such the possibility of a specifically "Italian" ethnic identity, has no clear-cut date, but takes place from roughly 12th century.

Modern standard Italian derives from the written vernacular of Tuscan writers of the 12th century. The recognition of Italian vernaculars as literary languages in their own right begins with De vulgari eloquentia , an essay written by Dante Alighieri at the beginning of the 14th century. During the 14th and 15th centuries, some Italian city-states ranked among the most important powers of Europe. Venice, in particular, had become a major maritime power, and the city-states as a group acted as a conduit for goods from the Byzantine and Islamic empires.

In this capacity, they provided great impetus to the developing Renaissance , began in Florence in the 14th century, [53] and led to an unparalleled flourishing of the arts, literature, music, and science. However, the city-states were often troubled by violent disagreements among their citizens.

The most famous division was between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Guelphs supported supreme rule by the pope, and the Ghibellines favoured the emperor. City-states often took sides and waged war against each other. During the Renaissance, Italy became an even more attractive prize to foreign conquerors. Charles soon withdrew, but he had shown that the Italian peninsula could be conquered because they were not united [ citation needed ].

After the Italian Wars , Spain emerged as the dominant force in the region. Venice, Milan, and other city-states retained at least some of their former greatness during this period, as did Savoy -Piedmont, protected by the Alps and well defended by its vigorous rulers. Christopher Columbus , early European explorer of the New World. Amerigo Vespucci , geographer and traveler from whose name the word America is derived. The French Revolution and Napoleon influenced Italy more deeply than they affected any other outside country of Europe.

The French Revolution began in and immediately found supporters among the Italian people. The local Italian rulers, sensing danger in their own country, drew closer to the European kings who opposed France. After the French king was overthrown and France became a republic, secret clubs favouring an Italian republic were formed throughout Italy. The armies of the French Republic began to move across Europe. Once again, Italy was the scene of battle between the Habsburgs and the French.

Wherever France conquered, Italian republics were set up, with constitutions and legal reforms.

Napoleon made himself emperor in , and part of northern and central Italy was unified under the name of the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as king. The rest of northern and central Italy was annexed by France. Only Sicily and the island of Sardinia, which had been ceded to the House of Savoy in and had been under their rule ever since, remained free of French control. French domination lasted less than 20 years, and it differed from previous foreign control of the Italian peninsula.

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In spite of heavy taxation and frequent harshness, the French introduced representative assemblies and new laws that were the same for all parts of the country. For the first time since the days of ancient Rome, Italians of different regions used the same money and served in the same army. Many Italians began to see the possibility of a united Italy free of foreign control. After the Battle of Waterloo , the reaction set in with the Congress of Vienna allowed the restoration of many of the old rulers and systems under Austrian domination.

The concept of nationalism continued strong, however, and sporadic outbreaks led by such inveterate reformers as Giuseppe Mazzini occurred in several parts of the peninsula down to — This Risorgimento movement was brought to a successful conclusion under the able guidance of Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour , prime minister of Piedmont. Giuseppe Garibaldi , the popular republican hero of Italy, contributed much to this achievement and to the subsequent incorporation of the Papal States under the Italian monarch.

Italian troops occupied Rome in , and in July , this formally became the capital of the kingdom. Pope Pius IX , a longtime rival of Italian kings, considered himself a "prisoner" of the Vatican and refused to cooperate with the royal administration. Only in the Roman Pope accepted the unified Italy with Rome as capital.

In the decades following unification, Italy started to create colonies in Africa , and under Benito Mussolini 's fascism conquered Ethiopia founding in the Italian Empire. The Italians grew to 45 millions in and the land, whose economy had been until that time based upon agriculture, started its industrial development, mainly in northern Italy. Between and , the outlines of a new Italy began to appear. On 2 June Italy held its first free election after 20 years of Fascist rule the so-called Ventennio. Italians chose a republic to replace the monarchy, which had been closely associated with Fascism.

They elected a Constituent Assembly to prepare a new democratic constitution. The Assembly approved the constitution in , which came into force since 1 January From the Magna Graecia period to the 17th century, the inhabitants of the Italian peninsula were at the forefront of Western culture , being the fulcrum and origin of Magna Graecia , Ancient Rome , the Roman Catholic Church , Humanism , the Renaissance , Baroque , the Counter-Reformation and Neoclassicism. Italy also became a seat of great formal learning in with the establishment of the University of Bologna , the first university in the Western World.

For example, the Schola Medica Salernitana , in southern Italy, was the first medical school in Europe. Italy continued its leading cultural role through the Baroque period and into the Romantic period, when its dominance in painting and sculpture diminished but the Italians re-established a strong presence in music.

Italian explorers and navigators in the 15th and 16th centuries left a perennial mark on human history with the modern "discovery of America", due to Christopher Columbus. In addition, the name of the American continents derives from the geographer Amerigo Vespucci 's first name. Also noted, is explorer Marco Polo who travelled extensively throughout the eastern world recording his travels. Due to comparatively late national unification, and the historical autonomy of the regions that comprise the Italian peninsula, many traditions and customs of the Italians can be identified by their regions of origin.

Despite the political and social isolation of these regions, Italy's contributions to the cultural and historical heritage of the Western world remain immense. Famous elements of Italian culture are its opera and music, its iconic gastronomy and food, which are commonly regarded as amongst the most popular in the world, [56] its cinema with filmmakers such as Federico Fellini , Michelangelo Antonioni , Mario Monicelli , Sergio Leone , Alberto Sordi , etc.

Over the ages Italian literature had a vast influence on Western philosophy, beginning with the Greeks and Romans, and going onto Renaissance, The Enlightenment and modern philosophy. Italian Medieval philosophy was mainly Christian, and included several important philosophers and theologians such as St Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas was the student of Albert the Great , a brilliant Dominican experimentalist, much like the Franciscan , Roger Bacon of Oxford in the 13th century. Aquinas reintroduced Aristotelian philosophy to Christianity. He believed that there was no contradiction between faith and secular reason.

He believed that Aristotle had achieved the pinnacle in the human striving for truth and thus adopted Aristotle's philosophy as a framework in constructing his theological and philosophical outlook. He was a professor at the prestigious University of Paris. Italy was also affected by the Enlightenment, a movement which was a consequence of the Renaissance and changed the road of Italian philosophy. Cities with important universities such as Padua , Bologna and Naples , however, also remained great centres of scholarship and the intellect, with several philosophers such as Giambattista Vico — who is widely regarded as being the founder of modern Italian philosophy [58] and Antonio Genovesi.

The church's power was significantly reduced, and it was a period of great thought and invention, with scientists such as Alessandro Volta and Luigi Galvani discovering new things and greatly contributing to Western science. Some of the most prominent philosophies and ideologies in Italy during the late 19th and 20th centuries include anarchism , communism , socialism , futurism , fascism , and Christian democracy.

Both futurism and fascism in its original form, now often distinguished as Italian fascism were developed in Italy at this time. From the s to the s, Italian Fascism was the official philosophy and ideology of the Italian government led by Benito Mussolini. Meanwhile, anarchism, communism, and socialism, though not originating in Italy, took significant hold in Italy during the early 20th century, with the country producing numerous significant Italian anarchists , socialists, and communists. In addition, anarcho-communism first fully formed into its modern strain within the Italian section of the First International.

Italian literature may be unearthed back to the Middle Ages , with the most significant poets of the period being Dante Alighieri , Petrarch , and Giovanni Boccaccio. Many worked for the organized Church and were in holy orders like Petrarch , while others were lawyers and chancellors of Italian cities, like Petrarch's disciple, Salutati, the Chancellor of Florence, and thus had access to book copying workshops.

One of the most remarkable poets of the early 19 and 20th century writers was Giacomo Leopardi , who is widely acknowledged to be one of the most radical and challenging thinkers of the 19th century. Federigo Tozzi and Giuseppe Ungaretti were well-known novelists, critically appreciated only in recent years, and regarded one of the forerunners of existentialism in the European novel. Since the Roman Empire, most western contributions to Western legal culture was the emergence of a class of Roman jurists.

During the Middle Ages, St. Thomas Aquinas , the most influential western scholar of the period, integrated the theory of natural law with the notion of an eternal and biblical law. Alberico Gentili , the founder of the science of international law, authored the first treatise on public international law and separated secular law from canon law and Roman Catholic theology. Enlightenment 's greatest legal theorists, Cesare Beccaria , Giambattista Vico and Francesco Mario Pagano , are well remembered for their legal works, particularly on criminal law.

Francesco Carrara , an advocate of abolition of the death penalty, was one of the foremost European criminal lawyers of the 19th century. During the last periods, numerous Italians have been recognised as the prominent prosecutor magistrates. Italians have been the central figures of countless inventions and discoveries and they made many predominant contributions to various fields. During the Renaissance , Italian polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci — , Michelangelo — and Leon Battista Alberti —72 made important contributions to a variety of fields, including biology, architecture, and engineering.

Galileo Galilei — , a physicist, mathematician and astronomer, played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include the invention of the thermometer and key improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations, and ultimately the triumph of Copernicanism over the Ptolemaic model. Other astronomers such as Giovanni Domenico Cassini — and Giovanni Schiaparelli — made many important discoveries about the Solar System.

Physicist Enrico Fermi —54 , a Nobel prize laureate, led the team in Chicago that built the first nuclear reactor and is also noted for his many other contributions to physics, including the co-development of the quantum theory. He and a number of Italian physicists were forced to leave Italy in the s by Fascist laws against Jews , including Emilio G. Other prominent physicists and scientists include: Amedeo Avogadro most noted for his contributions to molecular theory , in particular Avogadro's law and the Avogadro constant , Giulio Natta the inventor of the first catalyst for the production of isotactic propylene and among the fathers of macromolecular chemistry, for which he won the Nobel prize for chemistry along with Karl Ziegler , Evangelista Torricelli inventor of the barometer , Alessandro Volta inventor of the electric battery , Guglielmo Marconi inventor of radio , Antonio Meucci known for developing a voice-communication apparatus, often credited as the inventor of the first telephone before even Alexander Graham Bell , [65] [66] Galileo Ferraris one of the pioneers of AC power system, invented the first induction motor , Ettore Majorana who discovered the Majorana fermions , and Carlo Rubbia Nobel Prize in Physics for work leading to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN.

In biology, Francesco Redi was the first to challenge the theory of spontaneous generation by demonstrating that maggots come from eggs of flies and he described parasites in detail; Marcello Malpighi founded microscopic anatomy ; Lazzaro Spallanzani conducted important research in bodily functions, animal reproduction, and cellular theory; Camillo Golgi , whose many achievements include the discovery of the Golgi complex , paved the way to the acceptance of the Neuron doctrine ; Rita Levi-Montalcini discovered the nerve growth factor awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ; Angelo Ruffini first described the Ruffini endings and was known for his work in histology and embryology ; Filippo Pacini discovered the Pacinian corpuscles and was the first to isolate the cholera bacillus Vibrio cholerae in , before Robert Koch 's more widely accepted discoveries 30 years later.

In chemistry, Giulio Natta received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in for his work on high polymers. Giuseppe Occhialini received the Wolf Prize in Physics for the discovery of the pion or pi- meson decay in Leonardo da Vinci , a father of paleontology and architecture, has been the most influential polymath. Galileo Galilei , the father of science and modern physics, one of the key figures in astronomy, pioneered the thermometer and made significant works in other fields of science.

Elena Cornaro Piscopia , the first woman to obtain a doctoral degree. Evangelista Torricelli , the inventor of barometer , made various advances in optics and work on the method of indivisibles. Alessandro Volta , the inventor of the electrical battery and discover of methane, did substantial work with electric currents.

Guglielmo Marconi , inventor of the radio. Enrico Fermi , builder of the first nuclear reactor. During the Middle Ages, Leonardo Fibonacci , the greatest Western mathematician of the Middle Ages, introduced the Hindu—Arabic numeral system to the Western World and he also introduced the sequence of Fibonacci numbers which he used as an example in Liber Abaci. Gerolamo Cardano , introduced the probability and established the binomial coefficients and binomial theorem and he also invented some essential onjects.

During the Renaissance, Luca Pacioli established accounting to the world, published the first work on Double-entry bookkeeping system. Galileo Galilei made several significant advances in mathematics. Bonaventura Cavalieri 's works anticipated integral calculus and popularized logarithms in Italy. Jacopo Riccati , who was also a jurist, invented the Riccati equation. Maria Gaetana Agnesi , the first woman to write a mathematics handbook, become the first woman Mathematics Professor at a University.

Gian Francesco Malfatti , posed the problem of carving three circular columns out of a triangular block of marble, using as much of the marble as possible, and conjectured that three mutually-tangent circles inscribed within the triangle would provide the optimal solution, which are now known as Malfatti circles. Joseph-Louis Lagrange , who was one of the most influential mathematician of his time, made essential works to analysis , number theory , and both classical and celestial mechanics.

Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro invented the Tensor calculus and made meaningful works on algebra, infinitesimal analysis, and papers on the theory of real numbers. Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro is well known for his invention on absolute differential calculus tensor calculus , further developed by Tullio Levi-Civita , and its applications to the theory of relativity. Beniamino Segre is one of the main contributor of algebraic geometry and one of the founders of finite geometry.

Paolo Ruffini is credited for his innovative work in mathematics, creating " Ruffini's rule " and co-creating the Abel—Ruffini theorem. Ennio de Giorgi , a Wolf Prize in Mathematics recipient in , solved Bernstein's problem about minimal surfaces and the 19th Hilbert problem on the regularity of solutions of Elliptic partial differential equations. As Italy is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites 51 to date and it is home to half the world's great art treasures, [68] Italians are known for their significant architectural achievements, [69] such as the construction of arches, domes and similar structures during ancient Rome , the founding of the Renaissance architectural movement in the lateth to 16th centuries, and being the homeland of Palladianism , a style of construction which inspired movements such as that of Neoclassical architecture , and influenced the designs which noblemen built their country houses all over the world, notably in the UK, Australia and the US during the late 17th to early 20th centuries.

Several of the finest works in Western architecture, such as the Colosseum , the Milan Cathedral and Florence cathedral , the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the building designs of Venice are found in Italy. Italian architecture has also widely influenced the architecture of the world. British architect Inigo Jones , inspired by the designs of Italian buildings and cities, brought back the ideas of Italian Renaissance architecture to 17th-century England, being inspired by Andrea Palladio. From folk music to classical , music has always played an important role in Italian culture.

Instruments associated with classical music, including the piano and violin, were invented in Italy, and many of the prevailing classical music forms, such as the symphony , concerto, and sonata , can trace their roots back to innovations of 16th- and 17th-century Italian music. Italians invented many of the musical instruments, including the piano and violin. While the classical music tradition still holds strong in Italy, as evidenced by the fame of its innumerable opera houses, such as La Scala of Milan and San Carlo of Naples, and performers such as the pianist Maurizio Pollini and the late tenor Luciano Pavarotti , Italians have been no less appreciative of their thriving contemporary music scene.

Italians are amply known as the mothers of opera. La Scala operahouse in Milan is also renowned as one of the best in the world. Introduced in the early s, jazz took a particularly strong foothold among Italians, and remained popular despite the xenophobic cultural policies of the Fascist regime. Today, the most notable centres of jazz music in Italy include Milan, Rome, and Sicily.

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