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Change comes slowly in the Bel Paese. There's a certain romance to the idea that the historical centers of Rome or Florence would be easily recognizable to residents from Leonardo daVinci's time. Tiny cars and whining scooters in Italian cities and towns maneuver narrow cobblestone streets designed for horses and carriages; many restaurants rely on well-practiced classic dishes that haven't changed for centuries; and some of the world's most magnificent classical architecture demands to be contemplated and studied rather than admired from the window of a passing vehicle.

But that timelessness quality is matched by other aspects of Italian culture that are thoroughly modern. A proud G-8 nation and a leading member of the European Union, Italy is active on the international stage and modernizing its economy in an increasingly global marketplace. Life is becoming faster paced and increasingly cosmopolitan. In numerous ways the country is indeed changing—perhaps faster than many Italians realize.

Food & Wine

The old joke says that three-quarters of the food and wine served in Italy is good.. and the rest is amazing. If that's true, the "good" 75% is getting even better.

Italy is home of one of the world's greatest cuisines, so it may seem disingenuous to claim that it's improving—but it clearly is. Ingredients that in the past were available only to the very wealthy can now be found even in the remotest parts of the country at reasonable prices. Dishes originally conceived to make the most of inferior cuts of meat or the least flavorful part of vegetables are now made with the best.

The same is true of Italian wine. A generation ago, the omnipresent straw-basket Chianti was a mainstay of pizzerias around the world, but the wine inside was often watery and insipid. Today, through investment and experimentation, Italy's winemakers are figuring out how to get the most from their gorgeous vineyards. It's fair to say that Italy now produces more types of high-quality wine from more different grape varieties than any other country in the world.

Italian restaurateurs are keeping up with the changes. Though the quaint family-run trattoria with traditional dishes and informal atmosphere is still very common, nearly every town has a newer eatery with matching flatware, a proper wine list, and an innovative menu.

August

Italy used to be the best example of Europe's famous August exodus—where city dwellers would spend most of the month at the seaside or in the mountains, leaving the cities nearly deserted. Today, the phenomenon is much less prevalent, as economic pressures have forced companies to keep operating through August. As a result, vacations are more staggered and vacationers' plans are often more modest.

The loss of shared vacation time for Italian workers can be an advantage for visitors, both because in August there is more room at the seaside and in the mountains, and because cities have taken to promoting local events designed to appeal to residents who are staying put. These days, summers in Italy boast a plethora of outdoor concerts and plays; longer restaurant and museum hours; and food, wine, and culture fairs.

Religion

Rome is still the spiritual home of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, but church attendance in Italy has been eroding since the 1950s, and today only about a fourth of Italians attend church regularly. But religion still maintains a powerful hold on Italian culture, with the Church regularly weighing in on political and social issues. Churches themselves remain a centerpiece of almost every Italian town, with the church on the main square the de facto meeting place for locals.

While church attendance slips, religion remains a hot topic in Italy as citizens react to increasing immigration from North Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and elsewhere. Today, there are more different religions in Italy than at any point since Roman times—with Muslims, Protestants, Buddhists, Christian Orthodox, Jews, Scientologists, and Mormons all present in significant numbers. All told, a little over one in seven Italian residents is non-Catholic.

Ara Pacis

Well before its opening in 2006, the museum housing Rome's ancient Ara Pacis monument was the topic of emotional debate. The first significant civic building project in Rome since just after World War II, the glass-and-metal structure from Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier is an unexpected flourish of modernity set among several major structures from Rome's past. Within several yards are the pre-Christian Mausoleum of Augustus and the massive Fascist-era Piazza Augusto Imperatore, all fit between the august Tiber River and the Renaissance buildings of the Campo Marzio.

Within the museum is the Ara Pacis itself, a large and well-preserved altar from 9 BC meant to symbolize peace (the name is Latin for "Altar of Peace") but actually celebrating a period of rapid Roman military conquest. The longstanding irony of the name, however, garners much less interest than the question of whether the modern Meier structure is appropriate for Rome's historic center.

Slow Italy

The Slow Food movement was initiated in the 1980s to oppose the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Rome's historic Piazza di Spagna area. Though it failed to prevent the opening—today the McDonald's is one of the busiest in Europe—the movement sparked a flourishing "Slow" phenomenon, with the central goal of preserving tradition and pushing back against the forces of mass-production and cultural homogenization.

Today, the organization Slow Food, based in the northern region of Piedmont, has more than 80,000 members scattered around the world and an increasingly famous logo that includes the stylized image of a snail. It has also sparked a minor mania for all things "slow"; in your travels you may well encounter Slow Cities, Slow Design, and Slow Companies, not to mention Slow Travel. One member of the movement has even founded the World Institute of Slowness.