Art tradition in Italy is part of its roots.

Art in Italy has always had a very important role in communication and in the development of the Italian culture. We know that since the Paleolithic Age the inhabitants of the Italian peninsula were already producing artistic ornaments (Val Canonica) and different artifacts made of clay or stone. Many artistic proofs dating back to that age, when small communities were already living on the Alps or on the mountains of the Cilento coast and on the Amalfi coast, are still visible in situ or at museums.  Many artworks produced during the different ages are now on display at the hundreds art venues scattered across the country. (Rome, Florence, Naples, Agrigento).

During the first millennium before Christ, the Etruscan and the Greek civilisations also produced amazing wall paintings, burial decorations and statuary all over the peninsula and examples of their  art are still visible at Tarquinia, Cerveteri and Pontecagnano for the former and Paestum, Cuma, Agrigento for the latter. The entire southern part of Italy was  inhabited by Greek people who gave birth to the famous Magna Grecia and its precious art.

The following Roman age art was used by emperors and rich families to show off their glory and fame. Their frescoes and sculptures are still well preserved in many of the archaeological sites that are scattered along the peninsula. Thanks to the relationship that the Romans established with other European countries, with Greece and Egypt, the art was refined and many innovations were added.
Simultaneously the Paleochristian art flourished as an hidden expression of art and examples can still be seen at Ravenna, Rome, Naples, Cimitile in catacombs and little churches.
When Christianity became a recognized religion it turned art into a tool used to spread the word and strenghten the faith even among those who could not read and the artists put their skills at the service of the most powerful popes, bishops and kings.  After the fall of the Roman Empire the Italian art tradition continued, although the peninsula was politically divided into different states with different cultures.
The Byzanthine art became one of the most widespread art and beautiful mosaics dating back to this age are still visible at Ravenna, Palermo, Cefalù, Florence and Venice.
The Romanesque Age is still well represented in Ravenna, Pisa, Rome, S. Angelo in Formis, Monreale.

The Gothic art, the Renaissance, the Baroque and even more contemporary arts transformed all Italian cities into an open air museum which would take more than a lifetime to see.

Among the most important buildings of the Gothic Age there are cathedrals like S. Francesco d'Assisi, Orvieto, Siena, Florence, Venezia, Genova, Naples and Palermo. During the flourishing of the Gothic art many monasteries were built all over Italy and they can still be seen at Chiaravalle, Fossanova, Casamari, S. Galgano, Montecassino, Naples, Padula, Agrigento. Among the civil architectures there are many defensive walls like those still visible at Monteriggioni, Castel del Monte, San Gimignano, Naples. This is the time of Giotto, Simone Martini, Arnolfo di Cambio, Tino di Camaino who became the most important artists.

  The Renaissance emerged in the area around Florence and the rediscovery of the ancient world is still represented in Rome, Florence, Naples, Palermo, Messina.
Famous names like Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangel, Raphael and Titian produced such a large amount of works that their artifacts are scattered around the world and in many different cities of the Italian peninsula. Caravaggio was also another prolific artist whose works can be seen in  Florence, Rome, Naples and Messina.

Finally the Baroque art which spread all over the country, can be admired in all its magnificence and with different characters in Rome, through the works of Bernini and Borromini or in Naples, through the works of Cosimo Fanzago, Giuseppe Sammartino and other artists and in Sicily island and Apulia region.

The different art styles spanning over the past centuries

made Italy one of the world's top art destination.

  From the Neolithic figurative arts scattered on the walls of damp caves and the rock drawings of the Valcanonica valley to the tomb of the Diver dating back to the Greek time, to more modern artworks made by the most notorious artists, Italy is offering the best of the art tradition.

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