Italy

Geography Capital City: Rome Population: approximately 60 million Area: 301 230 km2 Location: Southern Europe Mountain Ranges: Alps, Apennine Major Lake: Garda Major Islands: Sicily, Sardinia Climate: Varies between maritime and continental. Higher altitudes have cold and wet winters while coastal areas have mild winters and warm, dry summers.

Map of Europe

Active Volcanoes Etna, Vulcano, Stromboli, Vesuvius Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the mainland of Italy. In 79AD Vesuvius erupted covering the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum killing somewhere between 10 000 and 25 000 people people. Today, close to 3 million people live in the direct vicinity of the volcano (the red zone)

Ethnic Groups Though the majority of citizens in Italy identify as “Italians” the population includes small clusters of German, French, Albanian, Slovenian and Greek ethnic groups.

Cultural Baggage Religion Sports Language Customs & Traditions Food

Religion Fully 87.8% of Italians identified themselves as Roman Catholic, although only about 35% of these described themselves as active members.

Italian Sports Calcio (soccer) Bocce Skiing Cycling Water polo F1 Motor Racing

Italian Language Hello - Ciao (Ciao) Goodbye - Arrivederci How are you? - Come stai? Fine, thank you - Bene, grazie Good Morning - Buon giorno Good Afternoon - Buon pomeriggio Good Evening - Buona sera My name is… - Mi chiamo…

Customs & Traditions It is customary when greeting friends and relatives to give one kiss on each cheek Most Italians start the day with an espresso or cappuccino

Italian Food Pasta Pizza Bruschetta Panini Gelato Wine

Quiz What is the capital of Italy? Rome What active volcano is on the mainland? Vesuvius Name 2 Italian sports. Calcio, bocce, skiing, cycling, water polo, F1 How do you say “Good Morning” in Italian? Buon giorno What is the name for Italian ice cream? Gelato

Bibliography http://www.nhitaliansells.com/images/italian-flag-640.jpg Other Photos by: Leandro Sperduti Grolier Encyclopedia (Italy) http://des-psd.com/vb/picture.php?albumid=120&pictureid=1159 CIA World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/it.html Shop.flagshop.com