MODERN DAY ITALY

ITALY: POLITICS THE PEOPLE OF ITALY DON'T VOTE ON PRESIDENTS, THEY VOTE ON PEOPLE TO REPRESENT THEM IN THE PARLIAMENT. THEY ALSO HAVE A PRIME MINISTER. THE PRIME MINISTER OF ITALY IN IS MATTEO RENZI. HE HAS BEEN PRIME MINISTER SINCE FEBRUARY 22, ITALY ALSO HAS A POPE. THE POPE OF ITALY FOR IS POPE FRANCIS. THE POPE IS ELECTED EVERY TIME THE FORMER POPE PASSES AWAY OR RESIGNS.

INFO ON POPE FRANCIS: IS THE 1ST POPE FROM THE AMERICAS, AND IS ALSO THE 1ST POPE WITH THE NAME FRANCIS POPE FRANCIS IS KNOWN FOR: TAKING THE SUBWAY VISITING THE POOR COOK HIS OWN MEALS LIKE SOCCER FUN FACTS: SPEAKS FRENCH, ITALIAN, SPANISH, ENGLISH, LATIN, PORTUGUESE, AND GERMAN HASN'T WATCHED T.V. IN OVER 25 YEARS!

ITALY: TRADITIONAL FOOD BEFORE THE BLENDING OF COOKING PRACTICES AMONG DIFFERENT REGIONS, IT WAS POSSIBLE TO DISTINGUISH ITALIAN COOKING BY THE TYPE OF COOKING FAT USED: BUTTER WAS USED IN THE NORTH, PORK FAT IN THE CENTER OF THE COUNTRY, AND OLIVE OIL IN THE SOUTH. SOME ITALIAN CUISINES ARE: 1)PASTA WITH / AND TOMATO SAUCE 2)PIZZA 3)POLENTA ( A TYPE OF BISCUIT WITH MEAT ON TOP ) 4)RISOTTO (PRONOUNCED RIS-SOT-OH) ( A RICE MEAL ) ITALIANS ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR USE OF HERBS IN COOKING, ESPECIALLY OREGANO, BASIL, THYME, PARSLEY, ROSEMARY, AND SAGE. CHEESE ALSO IS AN IMPORTANT IN ITALIAN CUISINE. THERE ARE OVER 400 TYPES OF CHEESE MADE IN ITALY, WITH PARMESAN, MOZZARELLA, AND ASIAGO, (PRONOUNCED AHH-SEE-AHH-GO) AMONG THE BEST KNOWN WORLDWIDE. PROSCIUTTO HAM, THE MOST POPULAR INGREDIENT OF THE ITALIAN ANTIPASTO, (PRONOUNCED ANT-TEA-POST-OH), (FIRST COURSE) WAS FIRST MADE IN PARMA, A CITY THAT ALSO GAVE ITS NAME TO PARMESAN CHEESE.

ITALY: TRADITIONAL CUISINES:

ITALY: TRANSPORTATION: SOME WAYS YOU CAN GET AROUND IN ITALY ARE: 1.BY TRAIN, 2.BY PLANE 3.BY BUS 4.BY CAR 5. BY BOAT 6.BY FERRY *SIDE NOTE: THE PEOPLE IN VENICE WHO LIVED NEAR THE WATER TRAVELED BY FERRY OR GONDOLA, AND THE PEOPLE TOOK BROOMS AND SWEPT WATER OUT OF THEIR HOUSE

ITALY: ATTRACTIONS: ITALY HAS MANY WELL KNOWN TOURIST ATTRACTIONS. HERE ARE JUST A FEW: 1)POMPEII : POMPEII WAS DESTROYED BY MT. VESUVIUS (PRONOUNCED VES-SUE-VIE-US) IN A.D. 79, AND WAS SO WELL PRESERVED THAT TOURISTS CAN WALK THROUGH THE RUBBLE AND SEE WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE 2000 YEARS AGO. 2)THE COLISEUM: THE HUGE AMPHITHEATER IS THE LARGEST OF ITS KIND EVER BUILT BY THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND HAS REMAINED A MODEL FOR SPORTS FACILITIES RIGHT UP TO MODERN TIMES. 3)THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA: WORK BEGAN ON THE TOWER IN THE 1100S AND THE SINKING, WHICH LED TO THE LEAN, BEGAN BY THE TIME THE TOWER REACHED THE THIRD STORY. PRIOR TO RESTORATION WORK IN THE 1990S, IT WAS PREDICTED TO TOPPLE OVER BY THE YEAR )THE ROMAN FORUM: PILLARS, PARTIAL STRUCTURES, AND FOUNDATIONS OF FORMER TEMPLES, MARKET HALLS, COURTS, AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS PAY TRIBUTE TO ANCIENT ROME, WHICH STOOD HERE FOR A THOUSAND YEARS. 5)THE PANTHEON: THE PANTHEON, AN EXCEPTIONALLY WELL PRESERVED REMNANT FROM ROMAN TIMES, REVEALS THE INCREDIBLE ARCHITECTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. THE PRECISE PROPORTIONS OF THE BUILDING, WITH THE HEIGHT EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER, AND A SINGLE BEAM OF LIGHT PENETRATING THE ROOM FROM THE TOP OF THE DOME, GIVE THE ROOM A UNIQUE CHARACTER. ITALIAN KINGS AND OTHER GREAT ITALIAN INFLUENCERS ARE BURIED IN THE PANTHEON.

ITALY: ATTRACTIONS:

FUN FACTS ABOUT ITALY: 1.Up until 1999, kids only had to go to school until they were 14. The word Italy comes from the Greek word 'Italos' In this picture, the money is donated to needy families in Rome. Italy is made up of twenty regions, which often speak in their own dialect of Italian and eat their own regional food dishes.

FUN FACTS ABOUT ROME: Ancient Romans celebrated a festival called "Saturnalia", where slaves and their masters traded places. IN 2012, divers found a 2,000 year old Roman shipwreck. It was so well preserved, that the food was still intact in the jars!

BIBLIOGRAPHY VISITS-TO-UNITED-STATES.CFM VISITS-TO-UNITED-STATES.CFM BIOGRAPHY-GRAPHIC.CFM BIOGRAPHY-GRAPHIC.CFM