As mentioned earlier Italy is the country of art and culture and the best place to experience these is to visit the many museums all over the country. This amazing art ranges from Roman mosaics and Renaissance masterpieces by Michelangelo and Leonardo to Bernini's baroque statues and Morandi's modern still lifes. Its architectural heritage encompasses Greek temples, Byzantine basilicas, Gothic cathedrals, baroque palaces, and postmodern stadiums that take their cue from the ancient Coliseum. The culture of Italy has been influenced by many sources. A brief write-up will give you an idea of what to expect:

Classical: Greeks, Etruscans & Romans (5th century B.C. TO A.D. 5th Century) – The influence of the Greeks was mainly in the South of Italy and Sicily and came to Italy long before the Romans came South. Hence their art, which celebrates the perfection of proportion, balance, harmony, and form, is an integral part of Italy's heritage. The Etruscans, from Asia, came in the sixth century BC and a lot of their art and sculpture were copied from the Greek. Ancient Roman art and sculpture usually glorified emperors and the perfect human form.  Painting was used for decorative purposes and bucolic frescoes (the technique of painting on wet plaster) adorned the walls of the wealthy.

Examples of art from Classical eras include:

Greek: Paestum's museum has some of the best surviving Greek murals including the famed Tomb of the Diver frescoes. The museums of Syracuse, Palermo, and Taranto also contain some fine sculpture. Besides almost all the Italian archaeology museums from Milan to Rome to Syracuse are filled with Roman copies of Greek originals. 

Etruscan: Museums in the Tuscan towns of Volterra, Cortona, and Chiusi, and at Rome in the Villa Giulia and Vatican museums have the best examples of Etruscan art and sculpture. These include the bronze Chimera at Florence's archaeology museum, carved alabaster urns and the elongated bronze statuette Shade of the Evening in Volterra's Guarnacci museum, and terra-cotta sarcophagi covers of reclining figures in museums across Tuscany and in Rome's Villa Giulia. A few of the Etruscan tomb paintings can be seen at Tarqunia in Lazio and Chiusi in Tuscany.

Roman: The marble bas-reliefs in Rome on the Arch of Constantine, the sculpture and mosaic collections at the Museo Nazionale Romano, and the gilded equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius at the Capitoline Museums, are extraordinary and differ vastly from the host of second grade statues and busts seen almost everywhere else in Italy. Other sites worth visiting are the mosaics in the ancient villa of Sicily's Piazza Armerina and Pompeii's Villa dei Misteri frescoes of religious rites that are remarkably well preserved and expertly done. The archaeological museum in Naples is another place to visit, mainly to see the Alexander mosaic from Pompeii.

SOCIETY

The vagaries of history have had their effect on the citizens of Italy. There is friction between the people of the North, who have ancestral links with their immediate neighbours in France and Germany, and those of the South who were more influenced by the Spanish and Arab cultures. It is natural that the geographical proximity and years of political influence have had an undeniable influence on the people culturally.

Italian society is based on the family, and these ties are strong deep and warm especially that between a parent and child. For centuries the Italian social set-up has been based on an agrarian feudal system. The twentieth century has changed all that and Student revolutions, labour strikes for social security and other movements gripped the nation during the sixties. These social upheavals led to better education and employment opportunities for the poor and underprivileged. This was followed in the seventies, by movements that gave more freedom to women, and made remarkable changes to their way of life. Education and opportunity helped them enter every sphere of activity often surpassing their male counterparts. Divorce law reforms and abortion were legalized in1978. This was an amazing transformation, for a country steeped in religion and religious sentiments, influenced by Vatican City.

Any visitor to Italy will find that the Italians are a race who enjoy life and can change even the most routine of daily existence into a new and exciting experience. It is this trait that makes them so creative and able to appreciate the finer things in life. They are easygoing and welcome the foreign tourist with warmth and friendship.