Over the last century, Italians' cultural participation has changed dramatically, reflecting the country's social, technological, and economic upheavals. The first significant discovery from the Italian Institute of Statistics concerns books: between 1926 and 2024, the number of published books increased more than thirteenfold, topping 83,000 per year. However, this increase has not been supported by a corresponding increase in readership. After increasing until 2010, the proportion of people who read at least one book per year has steadied at roughly 40%, with major gender, geographical, and educational disparities. Italy continues to rank among the lowest in Europe. A different picture emerges for museums and archaeological sites. Since 1929, the offering has quadrupled, with approximately 61 million tourists expected in 2024, greatly above pre-pandemic levels. Foreign tourism is the primary driver of growth, but Italians also contribute to it: presently, around one-third of the population attends cultural events at least once a year. However, tendencies in cinema and live performances differ. After the twentieth-century boom, cinema lost its prominence with the introduction of television and, more recently, streaming, with only a minor recovery following the 2020 downturn. In contrast, theater and concerts are recovering slowly but steadily. On the media front, radio, television, and newspapers peaked in the 1990s, only to be surpassed by the internet: now, roughly 80% of Italians are online, and the internet has become the primary source of information and entertainment. Finally, sports engagement is increasing: from 2.6% in 1959, the percentage of regular players has climbed to nearly 30%, indicating a stronger emphasis on well-being, albeit considerable social and regional variations persist.