This document provides an overview of Italian culture, history, and society. It discusses how Italy was not unified as a single country until 1861 and was divided into many independent states for over 2000 years. As a result, many Italian traditions and customs can be traced back to specific regions. It also summarizes that Italian literature began with Roman writers who greatly influenced Western culture. Additionally, it notes that Italy has made many important scientific and technological contributions through figures like Galileo, Marconi, and Volta. Family, food, fashion, and visiting with others are also described as important parts of Italian culture.

1. HCS 330 Healthcare Science Literacy and Advocacy
Paige Catizone

2. When eating with guests, Italians do not usually hurry; a
meal may last one to four hours.
Strong, traditional ties bind the Italian family together.
Family association is of great importance.
Italy is a major center of the European fashion industry and
Italians believe it is important to dress well.
Italians enjoy visiting friends, family and neighbors,
especially on holidays and on Sundays.

3. Capital: Rome Government Type: republic Currency: euros
(EUR) Population: 61,482,297 Total Area: 116,347 Square
Miles 301,340 Square Kilometers Location: Southern
Europe, a peninsula extending into the central
Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia Language Italian
(official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are
predominantly German speaking), French (small French-
speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene
(Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)

4. For more than 2,000 years Italy experienced migrations,
invasions and was divided into many independent states
until 1861 when it became a nation-state. Due to this
comparatively late unification, and the historical autonomy
of the regions that comprise the Italian peninsula, many
traditions and customs that are now recognized as
distinctly Italian 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 Europe and the world remain immense.

5. Italian literature began after the founding of Rome in 753 BC.
Roman, or Latin literature, was and still is highly
influential in the world, with numerous writers, poets,
philosophers, and historians, such as Pliny the Elder, Pliny
the Younger, Virgil, Horace, Propertius, Ovid and Livy. The
Romans were also famous for their oral tradition, poetry,
drama and epigrams. Even though most of these were
inspired from the Ancient Greeks, Roman epigrams were
usually far more satyrical, sometimes using obscene
language to give them an exciting effect. Most of the
Roman epigrams were inscriptions or graffiti.

6. The still-standing aqueducts, bathhouses, and other public works of both
ancient republic and empire testify to the engineering and
architectural skills of the Romans. The rebirth of science during the
Renaissance brought the daring speculations of Leonardo da Vinci
(including discoveries in anatomy, meteorology, geology and
hydrology) advances in physics and astronomy by Galileo Galilei, and
the development of the barometer by Evangelista Torricelli.
At the start of the 20th century, Guglielmo Marconi carried out
experiments in electricity and developed the wireless, but he was
preceded by Count Alessandro Volta, one of the pioneers of electricity,
over 100 years earlier. By the end of the Second World War,
EnricoFermi's work in nuclear physics led to the development of both
the atomic bomb and peaceful atomic applications. On September 25,
2001, US Congress passed a resolution that officially recognized the
Florentine immigrant to the United States, Antonio Meucci, as the
inventor of the telephone

7. Pregnancy rates tended to remain stable or decrease through the 1980s,
with some notable exceptions. Germany, Federal Republic exhibited
the highest adolescent pregnancy rates; the rate increased from 16% to
21% among 16- to 18-year-olds from 1985 to 1987, and then decreased to
13% by 1989. The United Kingdom had the second highest rate of
adolescent pregnancy, although in the 16- to 18-year-old group, the rate
decreased from 9.1% in 1985 to 8.6% by 1989. The Netherlands and
Denmark had the lowest adolescent pregnancy rates, with a cumulative
total of 0.9% in both countries for adolescents under age 18 years in
1985 and 1987; data for 1989 were not available at the time of the survey.

8. Abortion rates among adolescents--expressed as a percentage of the total
number of abortions performed in each country--increased in most
countries during the 1980s. By 1989, Hungary and Finland had the
highest abortion rates, 11% and 9.5%, respectively. Belgium had the
lowest rate; only 1% of abortions performed were in women aged 18
years and younger. Most of the countries included in this survey require
parental consent for termination of pregnancy. Although the medical
complications of pregnancy and birth in adolescents can be minimized
with good management and follow-up, the social and psychological
implications continue to take a toll. Sex-education programs are one
means of reducing the rate of adolescent pregnancy. For adolescents
who do become pregnant, however, psychological and social support
must be provided in addition to medical care.

10.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Italy