2.1 The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity

3 min read•june 18, 2024

Kallie Hoffman

AP Italian 🇮🇹

39 resources

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History

The history of Italy is TOO extensive to discuss in a few short sentences, but the following are some of the most prominent points:

Italy's location on the Mediterranean allowed it to rise as one of the ancient civilizations
1200 B.C: The first societies emerged
509 B.C: The Romans defeated the Etruscans and expanded the empire to Portugal, Syria, Britain, and North Africa

27 B.C: First Roman Emperor: Augustus Caesar

L'importanza: Cesare è stato uno dei leader di maggior successo. Ha trasferito Roma da una repubblica a un impero, ha ripristinato la pace e la proprietà dello stato e ha cambiato ogni aspetto della vita romana

Image Courtesy of iam_os, from Unsplash

9th Century A.C: Italian city-states rose again, and flourished in trade, but were extremely divided

1861: Kingdom of Italy established
WWI: Italy took the side of the allied powers but was left in poverty at the war's end
WWII: Benito Mussolini and his fascist party rose to power and joined the war on the side of Germany and Japan

Curiosità: Nel 1946, Mussolini e la sua padrona furono fucilati e uccisi, e i loro corpi furono appesi nella piazza della città di Milano per imbarazzo pubblico

1946: general elections were held and the Italian Republic was established

For more information on Italian history, check out a few more resources from the Encyclopedia Britannica and History World.

Language 🗣 👥

The window into a culture, la finestra su una cultura...

Italian is one of the romance languages rooted in Latin. In school, the children learn how to speak Italian and English, but most people also communicate in a regional dialect that demonstrates their unique identity and specific culture.

Dialetto - una versione di una lingua

28 indigenous dialects
Dialects carry significant meaning because a particular language points to the culture of that group—interactions with language = interactions with culture

Geography 🏙🏝🌋🏔

Italy is a Mediterranean country in southern Europe. Not only is it one of the largest countries on the continent, but is also the most diverse in terms of geography. The nation can be divided into the following three regions:

Northern Italy

Dominated by the Po River, one of the most productive agricultural regions
A large percentage of the Italian population
Ex. Milan, Genoa, Turin
Image Courtesy of Benjamin Voros, from Unsplash

Central Italy

Dominated by hills and mountains (colline e Montagne)
Famously fertile plains—highly productive agriculturally
Ex. Florence, Pisa, Siena, Rome (popular tourist destinations)
Image Courtesy of Jonathan Korner

Southern Italy

Great natural beauty, but lacks industrial output
Sandy beaches and famous archaeological sites
Home to VOLCANO Vesuvius
- La Historia: Il monte Vesuvio è responsabile dell'incendio della città di Pompei, che ora è diventata una grande attrazione turistica. È scoppiato l'ultima volta nel marzo 1944
Ex. Naples, Foggia, Salerno

Image Courtesy of Carlos Hevia

There are beautiful sites and places to explore all across Italy, but generally, there are the cities of the North and the beaches of the South...