estetiche

Estetiche, in Italian, refers to aesthetics or aesthetic theories and schools. The term derives from Greek aisthēsis via Latin aesthetica, and in scholarly use denotes both the philosophy of beauty and the study of perceptual experience, taste, and value in art, nature, and everyday life.

Historically, aesthetics developed as a branch of philosophy concerned with art and beauty. In ancient philosophy, discussions of mimesis, form, and the role of beauty laid groundwork. In modern philosophy, figures such as Kant, Hume, Burke, and later Nietzsche and Dewey contributed theories of judgment, emotion, and art's purpose. In Italy, aesthetics also took a distinctive path through thinkers like Benedetto Croce, who argued that aesthetic experience reveals the intuition of beauty and that art expresses inner life, and Giovanni Gentile, who linked aesthetics with cultural self-formation. In the 20th century, aesthetics expanded to include phenomenology, semiotics, and critical theory, expanding beyond painting and sculpture to cinema, design, and media.

In practice, estetiche informs art criticism, museum studies, design, architecture, film theory, and fashion. It engages debates about objectivity and subjectivity in taste, the social and political implications of aesthetic choices, and how new technologies alter perception and value. Contemporary discussions often address digital aesthetics, user experience, and the aesthetics of everyday life.