ITALY By Eleanor 4th Class

Map of Italy THE ALPS RIVER PO RIVER TIBER THE APENNINES SARDINIA ISLAND OF SICILY

LOCATION Italy is located in Southern Europe, on a peninsula that extends out into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia. It stands out distinctively like a large boot on the map. Countries surrounding Italy include: France, Switzerland, Austria & Slovenia.

POPULATION OF ITALY THE POPULATION IS ESTIMATED AROUND 60.6 MILLION

THE CAPITAL OF ITALY Rome is now the capital city of Italy. 2,000 years ago it was the Roman empire. Twin boys Romulus and Remus were the sons of Mars (the Roman god of war). Years later the twin sons fought over Rome. Romulus killed Remus and Romulus won Rome. It was once the most important city in the world. The ancient Romans had an advanced system of law and government. They built stone roads throughout their empire and some houses even had a type of central heating.

Other Cities Rome Florence Milan Naples Turin

MILAN The city was founded by the Insubres, a Celtic people. Milan was later captured by the Romans in 222 BC, and later was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 286 until 402 AD. Milan became one of the most prosperous Italian cities during the High Middle Ages, playing a primary role in the Lombard League. Later Milan became the capital city of the Duchy of Milan, being ruled by the Visconti, the Sforza, the Spanish and the Austrians. In 1796, Milan was conquered by the French troops of Napoleon I, who made it the capital of the puppet state of the Kingdom of Italy in 1805.Later Milan became the capital city of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, which was part of the Austrian Empire. In 1859 the city was unified with the Kingdom of Sardinia, which later became the Kingdom of Italy. During the Romantic period, Milan was a major cultural centre in Europe, attracting several artists, composers and important literary figures. Later, during World War II, the city was badly affected by Allied bombings, and after German occupation in 1943, Milan became the main hub of the Italian resistance. Despite this, Milan saw a post-war economic growth, attracting thousands of immigrants from Southern Italy and abroad.

Currency The currency in Italy is just the same as in Ireland – euro and cent.

LANGUAGE Italian is the official language of Italy and 93% of the population are native Italian speakers. Around 50% of the population speak a regional dialect as the mother tongue. Here are some basic words: SÌ = yes no = no grazie = thanks io non parlo italiano = I don’t speak Italian ciao = hello

RELIGION The main religion in Italy today is Roman Catholicism. .

THE CLIMATE OF ITALY Most of Italy has a Mediterranean type of climate, which has cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. Winter temperatures along and near the coasts of southern Italy seldom drop to freezing in winter and summer temperatures often reach 90°F (32°C) of higher.

VOLCANOES MOUNT ETNA MOUNT VESUVIUS

MOUNT ETNA Mount Etna is Europe’s highest and most active volcano. Towering above the city Catania on the island of Sicily , it has been growing for about 500, 000 years and is in the midst of a series of eruptions that began in 2001. It has experienced a variety of eruption styles , including violent explosions and voluminous lava flows.

FOOD & FARMING Northern Italy’s Po Valley provides good farm land for rice, wheat and other grains. Southern Italy grows fruit, olives and tomatoes, where irrigation is possible.

ITALIAN FOOD 1.Spaghetti 2.Olives 3.Pasta 4.Pizza

Transport in Italy The Italians are not that different to us when it comes to transport. They use cars, trains, buses, boats etc. but not in Venice; they have to use boats because their city is built on water.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS THE COLOSSEUM THE VATICAN LEANING TOWER OF PISA

THE COLOSSUEM IN ROME FACTS BUILT 70 – 80 AD THE COLOSSEUM’S ORIGINAL LATIN NAME WAS AMPHITHEATRUM FLAVIUM. IT WAS USED FOR GLADIATORIAL FIGHTS. THE COLOSSEUM IS ONE OF ROME’S MOST POPULAR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS.

THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA The Leaning Tower of Pisa wasn’t supposed to lean at all. It was supposed to just be the bell tower for the Cathedral of Pisa. It was to hold the bells that rang to tell people when to come to church. When they built it, in the Early Middle Ages, about 1173 AD, nobody in Europe had been building anything much for several hundred years and the architects were not really experienced.

FAMOUS PEOPLE FROM ITALY LEONARDO DA VINCI – ARTIST, INVENTOR GALILEO – MATHEMATICIAN, ASTRONOMER & PHYSICIST GUGLIELMO – INVENTOR AND PHYSICIST

LEONARDO DA VINCI LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519) WAS AN ITALIAN IVENTOR , ARTSIST , ARCHITECT , AND SCIENTIST. DA VINCI HAD AN INTEREST IN ENGINEERING AND MADE DETAILED SKETCHES OF THE AERORPLANE , THE HELICOPTER (AND OTHER FLYING MACHINES), THE PARACHUTE , THE SUBMARINE , THE ARMOURED CAR , THE BALLISTA (A GIANT CROSSBOW), RAPID-FIRE GUNS , THE CENTRIFUGAL PUMP (DESIGNED TO DRAIN WET AREAS , LIKE MARSHES), BALL BEARINGS,THE WORM GEAR (A SET OF GEARS IN WHICH MANY TEETH MAKE CONTACT AT ONCE , REDUCING THE STRAIN OF TEETH , ALLOWING MORE PRSSURE TO BE PUT ON THE MECHANISM), AND MANY OTHER INCREDIBLE IDEAS THAT WERE CENTURIES AHEAD OF DA VINCI’S TIME.

LEONARDOS PAINTINGS The Last Supper Madonna and child Mona Lisa

FACTS ABOUT ITALY Cars such as Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Lamborghini are Italian. The flag is green, white & red. Italy is shaped like a boot. It is famous for its pizza. Pizza , Olives , Pasta & Spaghetti are all foods from Italy. The leaning tower was not supposed to lean, it was supposed be the bell tower for the Pisa cathedral. The capital city is Rome.

ITALY Italy is a country in Southern Europe and is about four times the size of Ireland. The population of Italy is 58 million people and their official language is Italian: Ciao (Hello) and Addio (Goodbye). The country has a Mediterranean climate which means that the summers are hot and dry and the winters are mild and damp.

DID YOU KNOW? The city of Venice is built on water. Instead of roads there are canals and people travel by boat instead of car! There are unusual boats called gondolas. They are all painted in black because of a law passed in 1562 to stop people from wasting money on paint!