Like most countries, Italian culture is distinctive, but because of the vast scale of Italian immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries, it's also one of the most recognizable of all European cultures.

Culture can be defined as the customs, mores, traditions and creative pursuits of a country or region that differentiate it from its neighbors. So the term Italian culture would include family life, community life, festivals and celebrations, as well as creative, economic and political factors.

Italian life is centered around the family unit, which includes a range of relatives from grandparents to aunts, uncles and cousins. Italians also form bonds with their neighbors and friends, and a person from the same area or region is referred to as a paisano. Because of Italy's tumultuous history and relatively recent unification, there is less emotional connection to the concept of being 'Italian' and answering to a central government in Rome, and more identification with a home town and/or region.

'Italian culture', in a more narrow sense, is a term used to describe Italy's creative achievements, many of which are interconnected with her economy: