The Visigothic Kingdom left a sense of a united Christian Hispania that was going to be welded in the Reconquista. Muslim influences were strong during the Middle Ages. The Spanish language derives directly from Vulgar Latin with significant lexical borrowings (8-10%) from Andalusian Arabic and minor influences from other languages including Basque, Iberian, Celtic) and Gothic. Another influence was the minority Jewish population in some cities. After the defeat of the Muslims during the Christian Reconquista ("Reconquest") period between 718 and 1492, Spain became an almost entirely Roman Catholic country. In addition, the nation's history and its Mediterranean and Atlantic environment have played a significant role in shaping its culture, and also in shaping other cultures, such as the culture of Latin America through the colonization of the Americas.

By the end of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Spaniards made expressions of cultural diversity easier than it had been for the last seven centuries.^{[clarification needed]} This occurred at the same period that Spain became increasingly drawn into a diverse international culture.

Spain has the third highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world, after Italy and China, with a total of 45.^[1]