Culture Overview
Rome is a city that flourished in not only ancient Rome, but in modern Rome as well. Rome is rich with tradition, recreation, food, and art. One of the most common forms of culture in Rome is film making. There are also many popular traditions that take place in Rome. There are many diverse types of food in Rome as well as many different ways of eating and serving them. Some of the World's greatest art, sculptures, and reliefs have come from Rome. In summary, Rome is a place where evidence of culture is everywhere.
Roman Tradition
Many of the Roman traditions are from the ancient times and are still a strong part of the culture in Rome today. For example, there is the Sagra del Csarciofo which celebrates the artichoke. The artichoke is such an important vegetable because artichokes were used as the staple food in many Roman meals before the rein of the great Roman Empire. You are most likely very familiar with the next two traditions in Rome. Christmas and Easter are both widely celebrated all across Rome. One of the most popular activities during this time is to go to St. Peter's square so you can get a blessing from the Pope. Another part of Christmas is to view all the churches because all the churches put up pictures of nativity during this time. The biggest attraction during the holiday season, is the age-old midnight mass at the Vatican. This event usually attracts around thousands of thousands of local and international guests. There are many strange customs in Rome. Many of them take place in weddings. Examples of these would be: Match- making, wetting, shaving, dressing, dancing, cake breaking, bouquet throwing, taking of the veil, and bride stealing. Probably the most absurd one of all of those would be bride- stealing. The guests of the party sometimes steal the bride and the groom must seek her out or pay a ransom to get her back. He doesn't pay a money ransom, but instead he must perform tasks to the guest;s amusement. There are many great Roman traditions that have been passed down from ancient times and are now a part of Roman customs and traditions.
Italian Films
Italy is famous for filmmaking, as it is very important to the Italians. Some of the greatest filmmakers of Italy are Calvino, Rossellini, Bertolucci, and Antonioni. Antonioni is often seen as the greatest filmmaker Italy has ever had. Some famous films are Cinema Paradiso, 1900, and L'Avventura. Rossellini's film Open City pertains specifically to Rome. Films began appearing in March of 1896, several months after the first public movie viewing in Paris on December 28th, 1895. The art of filmmaking in Italy made a name for itself in the years between 1903 and 1908. Filming has always been important to the Italians.
Italian Art
Art is a major part of Italian history. Afterall, the Renaissance was born there. Although the Renaissance was born in Florence, Rome was a major culture center in the 1300s, 1400s, 1500s, and 1600s. Magnificent artists such as Donatello and da Vinci were born in Italy. Pope Martin V thought that the Renaissance was very important. This is very ironic, as the head of the Church supported ideas pulling away from the Church. Other Popes, such as Alexander VI, Pius II, Sixtus IV, Nicholas V, and Eugene IV also supported the Renaissance. Brunelleschi was yet another Florentine that dominated the Renaissance. Not many Roman artists are acknowledged in the Renaissance.
Roman Food
Roman food is popular around the world. Pasta and pizza are famous dishes popular around the world, yet they were embellished by th Americans. Some Roman foods include crostata, trippa, and carcio fi alla giuda. Carcio fi alla giuda is literally translated as "Jewish-style artichoke". Crostata is a baked tart and a form of pie. Trippa is tripe, which is offal from animal stomachs. Unwashed tripe is not edible for humans, but is desirable to dogs. Unwashed tripe contains the contents of the animal's last meal, which is not seen as appetizing.