1. Ethnicities of Italy Ethnicities Italy used to be a country of mass emigration from the late 19th century until the 1970s. Today, large numbers of people with full or Italian ancestry are found in Brazil, Argentina, US, France, Uruguay, Canada, Venezuela and Australia. During the 1980s, Italy became to attract rising flows of foreign immigrants due to profound economic and social changes induced by postwar industrialization, including low birth rates, an aging population and thus a shrinking workforce. Overall, at the end of the 2000s the foreign born population of Italy was from foreign people of other countries such as Europe (54%), Africa (22%), Asia (16%), the Americas (8%) and Oceania (0.06%). Research shows 84.9% of immigrants live in the northern and central parts of the country, while only 15.1% live in the southern half of the peninsula. Little Italy In NY, 1990 Nationalities

2. Ethnicities of Italy Centripetal ForcesCentrifugal Forces

3. Religions in Italy Roman Catholicism Today, Roman Catholicism is the largest religion in the country where as to a fully 87.8% of Italy's population identified themselves as Roman Catholic. Common beliefs of any Italian that was part of the Roman Catholic Church is that God exists or that a form of a spiritual life force exists within everyone. Other Religions The longest-established religious faith in Italy is Judaism, Jews having been present in Ancient Rome before the birth of Christ. During the 20th century religions such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Pentecostalism, Evangelicalism, and Mormonism were the fastest-growing Protestant churches. Immigration from Western, Central, and Eastern Africa, has increased the size of Baptist, Anglican, Pentecostal and Evangelical communities in Italy, while immigration from Eastern Europe has resulted in larger Eastern Orthodox communities.

4. Environment of Italy The natural environment in Italy are divided into six regions: The Italian Alps, the Po Valley, the Apulian foreland, the Tyrrhenian foreland, the islands and the Apennines. The coldest period occurs in December and January, the hottest in July and August. The climate of the Po Valley and the Alps is characterized by cold winters, warm summers, and considerable rain, falling mostly in spring and autumn, with snow accumulating heavily in the mountains. The climate of the peninsula and of the islands is Mediterranean, with cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The flow of tourists into Italy has helped raised millions of money for improving the quality of the Italian Coasts.

6. Popular vs. Folk Culture Popular Culture

7. Popular vs. Folk Culture Folk Culture

8. Popular Tourist Destinations # 1 The World Famous Colosseum The Colosseum also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. The Colosseum is an elliptical building measuring 189 meters long and 156 meters wide with a base area of 24,000 m² with In 847, the southern side of the Colosseum collapsed because of a devastating earthquake. The Colosseum was known to be used for gladiatorial contests and public shows such as animal hunts, mock sea battles, re-enactments of famous battles, executions and dramas. It is estimated that the lives of about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals were taken for the games played in the Colosseum.

9. Popular Tourist Destinations # 2 The Grand Canal The Grand Canal is approximately 2.5 miles long and averages at a depth of about 16 feet. There are over 170 buildings on the Grand Canal including restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues. Until the 19 th Century, the Grand Canal only had 1 bridge connecting it but now it has 3 bridges that connect it: the Ponte degli Scalzi, the Ponte dell'Accademia, and the recent, controversial Ponte della Costituzione. The Grand Canal is one of the largest and most important Canals in Italy since it connects the lagoon near the Santa Lucia railway station and the other end leads into Saint Mark Basin and also is an important transport corridor as it makes a large reverse-S shape through the central districts of Venice. The Grand Canal of Venice is host to an event that has been celebrated since 14th century known as the Rigata Storica boat race.

10. Popular Tourist Destinations # 3 The Leaning Tower of Pisa The creator of the Leaning Tower of Pisa was Bonanno Pisano. It took 344 years to build the Leaning Tower of Pisa, beginning in August 1173 because of the project being stopped due to wars. It weights approximately 14,500 metric tons (16,000 short tons) Inside the tower there are seven bells with each bell representing one note of the musical major scale. On the side where the tower is lower because of the lean, it stands at 187.27 feet and on the high side of the tower, it stands at 186 feet.

11. Popular Tourist Destinations # 4 The Pantheon The word Pantheon is a Greek adjective meaning “honor all Gods” meaning that the pantheon was first built as a temple to all gods. The dome was the largest in the world for 1300 years and until today it remains the largest unsupported dome in the world! The 16 massive Corinthian columns supporting the portico weigh 60 tons each. They are 39 feet (11.8 m) tall, five feet (1.5 m) in diameter and brought all the way from Egypt. In front of the Pantheon is the beautiful “Fountain of the Pantheon”. It was designed by famous architecture Giacomo Della Porta in 1575 and sculpted out of marble by Leonardo Sormani. A lighting effect can be viewed on April 21 when the midday sun strikes a metal grille above the doorway, saturating the courtyard outside with light.

12. Popular Tourist Destinations # 5 The Uffizi Gallery The building of Uffizi complex was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici so as to accommodate the offices of the Florentine magistrates. The Uffizi brought together under one roof the administrative offices, the Tribunal and the Archivio di Stato, the state archive. The offices are in two parts which face each other across a cortyard. One end opens onto the town square and the other opens onto the River Arno. The Uffizi Gallery has a comprehensive and voluminous collection of Florentine paintings from the Late Gothic through the Renaissance and Mannerist periods.