Editing Tourism in Italy (section)

===Artistic-cultural tourism===
[[File:Reggia di Caserta - panoramio - Carlo Pelagalli (2).jpg|thumb|right|[[Royal Palace of Caserta]] is the largest former royal residence in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chronopoulou |first=Angeliki |date=23 January 2024 |title=Reggia Di Caserta Historical Overview |url=https://www.academia.edu/44592878/Reggia_di_Caserta_A_historical_overview |access-date=23 January 2024 |website=Academia |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Dictionnaire amoureux de Versailles">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qTdlAQAAQBAJ|title=Dictionnaire amoureux de Versailles|first=Franck|last=FERRAND|date=24 October 2013|publisher=Place des éditeurs|isbn=9782259222679 |via=Google Books}}</ref>]]
[[File:Padova Cappella degli Scrovegni Innen Langhaus West 4.jpg|thumb|[[Scrovegni Chapel]] in [[Padua]] contains a [[fresco]] cycle by [[Giotto]], an important masterpiece of [[Western art]]]]
[[File:Roma-parco degli acquedotti03.jpg|thumb|View of the [[Parco degli Acquedotti]], part of the [[Appian Way Regional Park]] in [[Rome]], where there is a large concentration of [[Roman aqueduct]]s]]
[[File:Musei Vaticani. Braccio Nuovo.JPG|thumb|[[Vatican Museums]] in [[Rome]], ranked second in the [[list of most-visited art museums]] in the world after the [[Louvre]], and third on the [[list of most-visited museums]].<ref>''[[The Art Newspaper]]'' visitor survey, March 27, 2023.</ref>]]

{{further|Culture of Italy|Architecture of Italy|Italian art|List of cathedrals in Italy|List of palaces in Italy|List of castles in Italy|List of museums in Italy|Science and technology in Italy}}
Italy is considered one of the birthplaces of [[Western culture|western civilization]] and a [[Power (international relations)#Power as status|cultural superpower]].<ref>Italy has been described as a "cultural superpower" by [http://www.arabnews.com/italy-cultural-superpower Arab news], [https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/coming-to-the-us-the-year-of-italian-culture-2013/2012/10/15/29f404a8-1703-11e2-9855-71f2b202721b_story.html the Washington Post], [https://archive.today/20141226233723/http://m.theaustralian.com.au/arts/italys-cultural-superpower-status-at-stake/story-e6frg8n6-1111113103044 The Australian], [http://italoamericano.com/story/2012-11-8/InterviewGeneralConsulSF#.VJgPzYA1 the Italian consul general in San Francisco] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127074301/http://italoamericano.com/story/2012-11-8/InterviewGeneralConsulSF#.VJgPzYA1 |date=27 November 2015 }}, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/coming-to-the-us-the-year-of-italian-culture-2013/2012/10/15/29f404a8-1703-11e2-9855-71f2b202721b_story.html the former Foreign Affairs Minister Giulio Terzi] and [http://www.laquilablog.it/obama-litalia-superpotenza-culturale/48727-0409/ the U.S. President Barack Obama] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226231012/http://www.arabnews.com/italy-cultural-superpower |date=26 December 2014 }}.</ref> Divided by politics and geography for centuries until [[Unification of Italy|its eventual unification in 1861]], Italy's culture has been shaped by a multitude of regional customs and local centres of power and [[patronage]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Killinger |first=Charles |title=Culture and customs of Italy |year=2005 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn. |isbn=978-0-313-32489-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00char/page/3 3] |edition=1. publ. |url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00char/page/3}}</ref> Italy has had a central role in Western culture for centuries and is still recognised for its cultural traditions and artists. During the [[Middle Ages]] and the [[Renaissance]], a number of [[Court (royal)|courts]] competed to attract architects, artists and scholars, thus producing a legacy of monuments, paintings, music and literature. Despite the political and social isolation of these courts, Italy has made a substantial contribution to the cultural and historical heritage of Europe.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cole |first=Alison |title=Virtue and magnificence : art of the Italian Renaissance courts |year=1995 |publisher=H.N. Abrams |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8109-2733-9}}</ref> The country has had a broad cultural influence worldwide, also because numerous [[Italians]] emigrated to other places during the [[Italian diaspora]].

The country boasts several world-famous cities. [[Rome]] was the ancient capital of the [[Roman Empire]], the seat of the [[Pope]] of the [[Catholic Church]], the capital of reunified Italy and the artistic, cultural and cinematographic centre of world relevance. [[Florence]] was the heart of the Renaissance, a period of great achievements in [[the arts]] at the end of the Middle Ages.<ref>Zirpolo, Lilian H. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QPqWxHwdMNAC&pg=PA154 ''The A to Z of Renaissance Art.''] Scarecrow Press, 2009. pp. 154-156. Web. 16 July 2012.</ref> Other important cities include [[Turin]], which used to be the capital of Italy and is now one of the world's great centres of automobile engineering. [[Milan]] is the industrial and financial capital of Italy and one of the world's [[fashion capital]]s. [[Venice]], the former capital of a [[Republic of Venice|major financial and maritime power]] from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, with its intricate canal system attracts tourists from all over the world, especially during the [[Venetian Carnival]] and the [[Biennale]]. [[Naples]], with the largest historic city centre in Europe and the oldest continuously active public opera house in the world ([[Teatro di San Carlo]]). [[Bologna]] is the main transport hub of the country, as well as the home of the [[List of oldest universities in continuous operation|oldest university in the world]] and of a [[Italian cuisine#Emilia-Romagna|worldwide famous cuisine]].<ref name="Top Universities">[http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2007/overall_rankings/worlds_oldest_universities/  Top Universities] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117202932/http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2007/overall_rankings/worlds_oldest_universities/ |date=17 January 2009 }} ''World University Rankings'' Retrieved 6 January 2010</ref>

Italian art has influenced several major movements throughout the centuries and has produced several great artists, including painters, architects and sculptors. Italy has a vast and important historical heritage,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.italiadiscovery.it/arte/italia-patrimonio-mondiale-dellumanita.html|title=√ ITALIA: PATRIMONIO MONDIALE DELL'UMANITA'|access-date=26 July 2019|language=it}}</ref> both in terms of the number of artefacts, as well as in terms of conservation, and in terms of intrinsic artistic-cultural value. For example, Italy boasts the largest number of sites indicated in the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage]] [[Lists of World Heritage Sites|List]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.it/cni/index.php/siti-italiani|title=CNI UNESCO – Siti Italiani|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504203029/http://www.unesco.it/cni/index.php/siti-italiani|archive-date=4 May 2016|access-date=27 December 2021|language=it}}</ref> In general, the Italian [[cultural heritage]] is the largest in the world since it consists of 60% to 75% of all the artistic assets that exist on each continent,<ref name="fattoquotidiano"/> with over 4,000 museums, 6,000 archaeological sites, 85,000 historic churches and 40,000 historic palaces, all subject to protection by the [[Ministry of Culture (Italy)|Italian Ministry of Culture]].<ref name="risparmiamocelo"/>

In 2013, the value of the artistic and cultural heritage alone was estimated at 5.4% of Italian [[GDP]], approximately [[Euros|€]]75.5 billion, capable of employing approximately 1.4 million workers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.symbola.net/html/article/IosonoculturaLItaliadellaqualitaedellabellezzasfidalacrisi |title=Io sono cultura – L'Italia della qualità e della bellezza sfida la crisi – Io sono cultura – L'Italia della qualità e della bellezza sfida la crisi|access-date=8 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220118/http://www.symbola.net/html/article/iosonoculturalitaliadellaqualitaedellabellezzasfidalacrisi |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead|language=it}}</ref> According to the [[Eurostat]] report of 2019, Italian tourism is first in Europe in terms of the number of jobs generated (4.2 million) and third for the average visitor expenditure and the share of revenues of the national sector compared to the European total (€48 billion, 12% of the total).<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.manageritalia.it/it/economia/lavori-turismo-italia | title = Il turismo in Italia: 4,2 milioni di posti di lavoro |archive-url = https://archive.today/20200108123910/https://www.manageritalia.it/it/economia/lavori-turismo-italia | archive-date = 8 January 2020 | url-status = dead | access-date = 8 January 2020|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| author = Mariangela Tessa | url = https://www.wallstreetitalia.com/turismo-italia-prime-nellue-per-posti-di-lavoro-impiegate-42-milioni-di-persone/ | title = Turismo: Italia prime nell'Ue per posti di lavoro, impiegate 4,2 milioni di persone | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200107150622/https://www.wallstreetitalia.com/turismo-italia-prime-nellue-per-posti-di-lavoro-impiegate-42-milioni-di-persone/ | archive-date =7 January 2020 | url-status= live|language=it}}</ref>

There are numerous [[technology park]]s in Italy such as the Science and Technology Parks Kilometro Rosso (Bergamo), the [[AREA Science Park]] (Trieste), The VEGA-Venice Gateway for Science and Technology (Venezia), the Toscana Life Sciences (Siena), the Technology Park of Lodi Cluster (Lodi), and the Technology Park of Navacchio (Pisa),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://easst.net/science-and-technology-parks-in-italy/|title=Science and Technology Parks in Italy}}</ref> as well as [[science museum]]s such as the [[Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci]] in [[Milan]], the [[Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano|Natural History Museum]] in Milan, the [[Città della Scienza]] in [[Naples]] and the [[Institute and Museum of the History of Science]] in [[Florence]].