Italian belongs to the Romance group within the Indo-European language family, and is closely related to other Romance languages such as French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian, and more remotely to Catalan and Occitan.
Italian is known for its rich history, literature and culture. It is the language of Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Galileo. It is the language of opera and classical music, with composers like Verdi, Puccini and Rossini, as well as contemporary music, with artists like Jovanotti, Laura Pausini and Eros Ramazzotti.
Italian is also a language of science and technology and it is used in many universities, research centers and international organisations. It is also the language of fashion, design, cinema, and art. Its unique sound and style make it a popular language for language learning and it is taught in many schools and universities worldwide.