Map Introduction History Geography/ Landscape Food & Drink L’Italia Ciao Map Introduction History Geography/ Landscape Food & Drink Language, Currency, Religion Famous landmarks Holidays & Festivals Credits

Map of Italy

Introduction Italy is an unique country with a rich and interesting history. Ciao! Buongiorno! Salve! – Italian Greetings The capital of Italy is Rome. Italy’s land area is 294,019 square kilometres. Italy’s population in 2008 was 58,145,321

A Brief History 1861- Giuseppe Garibaldi invades Southern Italy. Italy becomes one nation/country except for Rome who is still ruled by the Pope. 1861- Vittorio Emanuele II is King of Italy. Capital city of Italy is Torino. 1870- Italy takes control of Rome from the Pope. Rome is named the capital city of Italy. 1914- World war I begins. 1918- World War I ends. 1922- Benito Mussolini Becomes Prime Minister of Italy. 1925- Benito Mussolini becomes the dictator of Italy. 1929- Benito Mussolini and the Pope sign documents that creates the independent state of the Vatican which has its own laws. 1940- World War II begins 1946-Italy votes against the monarchy and becomes a republic. 1965- Il Duomo Cathedral of Milan is completed after six centuries of work. 2006- Silvio Berlusconi is defeated by Romano Prodi to become Prime Minister. 2008- Silvio Berlusconi becomes Italian Prime Minister again.

Geography/ Landscape Italy is located in Southern Europe. It is a long boot shaped country. Italy is a very mountainous country. It has two major mountain ranges called the Alps (in the north) and the Apennine (down centre of Italy). The largest river in Italy is the Po. Italy is surrounded by the Adriatic, Tyrrhenian, Ionian and Mediterranean Seas. Italy has a few active volcanoes Etna, Vesuvius, Stromboli & Vulcano. Several islands form part of Italy the two main ones being Sicily and Sardinia.

Food & Drink Italians are known for their love of food and drink. Italians enjoy nothing more than the company of family and friends enjoying a meal and drinks together. Some famous Italian foods include: Pizza Pasta- gnocchi, lasagna, cannelloni, spaghetti Gelato Tiramisu, crostoli, pannettone, pannacotta, biscotti (dessert) Polenta Antipasto (cold meats, cheeses-parmesan, olives etc.) Risotto Coffee Bruschetta Wine

Language, Currency & Religion The official language of Italy is Italian. Some regions speak their own dialects. Dialects are languages spoken by smaller groups of people in each region of Italy. For example in Milan they speak Milanese or in Calabria they speak Calabrese. Some people in Italy also speak German and French. The majority of Italians are Catholic. The official currency in Italy is the Euro. Italians started using the Euro in 1999. Before the Euro Italy’s currency was called the Lira.

Famous Landmarks The Leaning Tower of Pisa Italy is an ancient city that has many famous attractions fro tourists. Some of these include: Canals of Venice Ruins of Pompei The Colosseum St. Peter’s Square & The Vatican The Roman Forum The Fountain of Trevi The Catacombs

Holidays & Festivals Italians celebrate many festivals some of these include: Natale- Christmas (25th Dec) Capodanno- New Year’s Eve (31st Dec) L’epifania- La Befana-The Epithany (6th Jan) Venice Carnival Easter Celebrations All souls day (2nd Nov) Liberation Day- celebrates the end of WWII (25th April) Labour Day- (1st May) Proclamation of Italian Republic (2nd June)

Credits http://www.facts-about.org.uk/history-and-events-timeline-italy.htm http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/italians.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107658.html http://www.kidport.com/Reflib/WorldGeography/Italy/Italy.htm www.worldatlas.com