Culture in Italy: the boundaries between nature, food and wine and tradition are widening

The boundaries of what Italians call culture are expanding, as emerges from the Observatory on cultural experiences in Italy created by Impresa Cultura Italia-Confcommercio in collaboration with Swg. Tradition and heritage remain central, but culture also means nature, science, creativity and food and wine and must be capable of producing knowledge, curiosity, emotion and fun.

In fact, if visiting a museum, taking an excursion to a historical site and attending a theater show remain the experiences most associated with culture (with average scores, respectively, of 7.7, 7.6 and 7, on a scale from 1 to 10), natural parks, scientific conferences, immersive exhibitions, creative workshops and food and wine also find space in the perception of Italians.

Festivals and concerts, sports, religious events and amusement parks - all with average scores lower than 6 - remain, however, on the margins of the definition of culture. But what are the functions of a cultural experience for Italians? 91% of it must convey knowledge and stimulate curiosity, 89% generate emotions and 88% put people in contact with history and traditions, but also entertain and entertain. And when asked what the 3 things are most associated with Italy's cultural identity, the combination of cuisine and food and wine stands out in first place with 65% of the mentions. This is followed by landscape and nature (50%), archaeological heritage (49%), art and artists (32%), fashion and design (24%). In other words: in the imagination of Italians, the country's cultural identity starts from the table, even before the archaeological heritage and art.

"The view of Italians on culture - says Carlo Fontana, president of Impresa Cultura Italia-Confcommercio - is broadening and confirming the centrality of the territory, with its communities, skills and businesses. It is here that culture takes shape and becomes an individual and collective heritage: the UNESCO recognition of Italian cuisine itself is proof of this ability to gain experience. This evolution must now be translated into a unitary strategy, aimed at recomposing the extended and interconnected chain of culture and providing it with resources and coherent tools, so that the way in which citizens define and experience culture becomes more personal and linked to the identity of places, the policies with which we measure it, finance it and make it accessible must also adapt".