Italian Culture Vs American Culture Essay

Ask any individual where they desire to travel, and they will often vocalize a location that diverges from their normalized culture. This occurs because humans retain a natural curiosity – to explore the unfamiliar. While diverse cultures may appear to retain opposing values, traditions, and beliefs, every culture preserves an innate purpose or lesson that can subsist valuable. Personally, I would love to travel to Italy, not only to experience the landscape, but also to perceive how the overall Italian culture contrasts to my European culture. When I speak of the Italian culture, I am reflecting on the overall values, beliefs, and traditions of the Italians, rather than a direct group or location within Italy. With a vast array of possibilities, I chose the …show more content…
With a curiosity and connection to this European country, I dedicated this discussion board to the overall Italian culture. Of the various elements corresponding to cultures, the Italian culture stands popularly known for two elements – food and marital relationships. When an individual reflects on Italian cuisine, their mind often wanders to their grandma’s spaghetti and meatballs or the nearest Olive Garden. While these elements do portray some aspect of the Italian cuisine, they do not express the cultural variety within Italian cuisine. In fact, “Italian cuisine has influenced food culture around the world and is viewed as a form of art by many” (Zimmermann, 2015). Influenced by the Mediterranean diet, the Italian culture incorporates pastas, vegetables, wines, and fish. Although Italy, totally, focuses on these four components, “there are regional differences in what is eaten and how food is prepared” ("Culture of Italy - history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social," n.d.). This correspondingly demonstrates in the United States, as different regions prepare, display, and eat food in different mannerisms. Generally our overall European culture