Of the Prehistory to the Rebirth

From the most remote times, the history of Italy has been bound to the art in some of its manifestations. Prehistoric paintings as the opposing ones in the Caves of Balzi Rossi or Romanelli, stone utensils and brass, ceramic and stupendous Nuraghi of Sardinia (built housings with enormous blocks of stone in way conical, true strengths), they are the main remains of the Prehistory that, in their biggest part, they have arrived to our days in very good state.

The etruscos and the Greeks also left their print in this country. The necropolis of Taquina and Cervéteri constitute an excellent testimony to know to the town etrusco whose reflection you can also perceive through the arch doors in the walls of Perusa. As samples of Greek art that so much would influence later in the Roman, architectural magnificent examples can be contemplated in Paestum, Poseidonia and Elea, as well as in the Theater and Museum of Siracusa, the doric Temple of Gela and the Temple of Caracella in Taormina.

The Roman art has its best works in the architecture. Teachers of this discipline got, through the combination of elements like the arch of half point, the vault, and mainly, the concrete mortar, works of great span that are conserved very well even nowadays throughout the whole Italian territory. Example of they are it the Thermal baths of Conch, the Coliseum, the Forum or Tito's Arches and Constantino that are impressive.

The Christian developed their art first in the catacombs, with paintings and sarcophaguses worked in relief. After the Ban of Milan, the biggest or San Pedro continued Outside with the construction of impressive basilicas like Santa María, as well as in Mausoleums like that of Gallic Placidia in Rávena, of great beauty.

In the Half Age the románico gave excellent samples in Italy.Pisa is a good example with the Cathedral, the Font and the inclined famous Tower that it is, in fact, the Steeple of the architectural group. They are also Outside it San Pablo's cloisters and San Juan of Letrán. The románico became the Lombard style in the Valley of Po with characteristic very particular that can be appreciated in the Milanese San Ambrosio, the cathedrals of Parma, Modena and in San Zeno from Verona.

The Italian painting begins to be developed in this period putting an end to the hieratic attitude of the art Byzantine, good samples they are the crucifix of Cimabue and the Virgin of the Throne of Duccio of Buoninsegna.

The Gothic, however, didn't influence in a decisive way in the architecture, although some of its elements were adopted. Duomo consecrated San Francisco from Assisi or the Cathedral of Siena and Santa María of the Flower, in Florence, they are good samples of this adaptation. On the other hand, the painting, yes he/she found development inside this style with the human figure and the landscapes like new reasons. Giotto, Simone Martini or Lorenzetti are their main representatives.

Of the Rebirth until The Modern Art

The Italian true artistic explosion took place during the Rebirth. In fact this movement is born in Florence at the beginning of the XV century thanks to the princes of the Italian states that didn't doubt to be the mecenas of artists that, without this support, they had not maybe been able not even to survive. All the artistic manifestations were developed in this period. In architecture a superb Brunelleschi Florence of samples of its incomparable style filled: the Hospital of the Innocent ones, the Church of the Sacred Spirit, the Abbey Fiesolana or Palacio Pitti. But this wonderful architect not only demonstrated his art, they also made it others with not less genius as León Battista Alberti, Twine, Vignola and, I not eat, Miguel Angel with San Pedro's dome and the Square of the Capitol. All they are brilliant representatives of the Renaissance architecture.

The Renaissance sculpture seeks to reflect the man's spiritual values, Donatello gets it fully in its San Jorge, Amorrino Delfino of Andrea of Verrochio is also a good sample. However, the only one, the genius in pure state, was Miguel Angel. Their Pity, Moses or David are so perfect that they give the sensation that they will charge life from a moment to another.

In painting there are also excellent teachers. Next to Masaccio, the first one that gave the jump from the Gothic to the Renaissance painting, Piero della highlights Francesca for the care of the light in its squares and Mategna who he/she opened new beds in connection with the perspective. However, the painters that highlighted in this period are those of the call Florentine School and they are not others that the inigualable Leonardo gives Vinci, with an unmistakable style that combines the knowledge of the human body and the technique perfectly with knowing how to create the perfect atmosphere, Miguel angel with the force like maximum quality, figures of great expresividad like all those of the Vault of the Chapel Sixtina and Rafael that he knew how to combine Leonardo's knowledge with Miguel's angel force and whose result is so magnificent works as the acquaintances as "Stays" of Vatican.

Manerismo follows the Renaissance techniques but with a bigger number of ornamentations. Painters of the size of Tintoretto, Corregio, Veronés, Titian and Caravaggio, sculptors like Cellini and architects like Palladio and Sansovino are only some of their best representatives. A step more in the ornamentation it takes us to the Baroque, elaborate style that has in Bernini, the creator of the Colonnade of San Pedro's Square, the Square Navona and of the project of Fontana of Trevi one of their creative maxima. Tiépolo, Carracci, or Albani also highlight in Baroque painting.

A saturation for the recargamiento of the Baroque leads to a more austere time based on the Greek-Roman cánones, giving place to the Neoclassicism (Canaleto in painting and Canova in architecture).

The Modern Art is liberated and it gets the artists to follow their own tendencies evolving toward much less homogeneous and futurist works as Boccioni or Carrá (metaphysicians), or independent, as Modigliani or Morandi.

Literature

The development of the Italian literature begins with the poetry in Sicily and Tuscan that finishes evolving toward the prose in vulgar language that competes with Latin. In the Half Age the poems of chivalries compete with the religious topics and the satirical poetry on the courts of San Gimgnano. The Tuscan poets as Cavalcanti or he/she gives Pistoia they offer a bigger profundización in the topics until arriving to Giving with the "Divine Comedy" that puts an endpoint to all the above-mentioned and he/she opens a new horizon full with possibilities. "Boccaccio's Decamerón" picks up the witness and he/she makes it fully with a reflection literary of the bourgeois society.

The Rebirth gets that the vulgar language occupies the predominant place with works as In love" "Orlando of Boiardo or the "Proses in Vulgar" Language of Pietro Bembo. Once, in the middle of operation the popular language, passes to relate the topics of the moment, that is to say, resurging of the bourgeoisie without prejudices and with a great sense of humor like you can verify in the stories of Firenzuola or Straparola, the poetry of Folengo, the prose of Cellini and mainly, in the theatrical comedies of Aretino and Bibbiena, as well as in "The Mandrake" of Maquiavelo. Furious" "Orlando of Ariosto or the "Prince" of Maquiavelo, they are the best exponents in this period that he/she left step to the religiosity captured by Tasso in "Liberated" Jerusalem. After the austerity, the pomposity of the Baroque and above both things, Galilean.

Saturated of the Baroque it is tried to create something new of more quality being born, among other, the theater of Goldoni and the satirical poetry of Parini. The Romanticism gets that the Italian literature passes to be considered modern and Manzoni with "The Boyfriends", the "Songs of Leopardi" or the "Confessions of an Italian" of Nievo, is a good sample. With the poetry of D'Annunzio and the theater of Pirandello is given a new perspective already picked up in this century by much deeper authors as Croce and Gentile, poets like Ungaretti and Mount him/her and novelists of the size of Pavese, Moravia and Sciasia. They cannot forget Carlo's works Levi, Italo Calvin and Tomasi gave Lampedusa. Among the most current desatacan Umberto Echo, Morselli and Tabucchi among other contemporary writers.