Another Italian here. Hailing not exactly from the south, but definitely not from the north either I'll add my two cents for the sake of diversity of information.
Firstly, as my fellow countryman said, there are huge cultural differences between Regions(~20k km^2), and even between single cities, and you can pretty much see a nearly completely different Italy depending on where you're looking at, say, Trento(north) and Modica(south).
Let's have at them questions then.
1. What are people like are they nice or rude?
Usually they are nice. Angry(with reasons) about the taxes, the corruption, the government as a whole, but pretty nice with strangers.
2.how heavy are the arts promoted there?
Depends heavily on the location. There are some cities like Cremona or Firenze where arts are heavily promoted, while in more industrial areas arts are seen as a waste of time and thus not really encouraged. In general though, arts are moderately to heavily promoted.
3. What do people do a lot for fun.
Again depends on location, in the north people go skiing and terkking, in the south they go to the beach or simply hang out in the local plaza, irregardless of the location, Italians love to hang outside together.
4. Is fashion more important there.
Usually Italians have a keen eye for fashion, yes, but I wouldn't go as far as saying it is important.
5. Are people more relaxed?
Depends, usually in the north people are more focused on work and have a really precise mindset, while in the south people are more relaxed and, well, slacker.
6. Is the mafia actually a problem ?
It is, but not for the random guy.
7. What's your favorite place in Italy to visit.
Well, there's lots of beautiful places. I myself love Tuscany.
8. Are people interested in their history as a country?
Not really.
9. Do you like tourists or are here too many?
Again depends on the location. Rome in the high tourism season is unbearable for example, but I love to chat with people from other parts of the world.
10. What is one of the more pressing issues italtions are faceing?
Right now? Corrupt and generally idiotic government.