1. French History and Culture Michelle Chang

2. Cuisine The basis of French cuisine comes from Italian food. When Catherine De Medicis (Florentine Princess) married Henry duc d’Orleans (King Henry II of France), Catherine brought in Italian chefs who introduced Italian dishes in France. Until then, France wasn’t known for food or culture.

3. Renaissance The Italians not only influenced French cuisine but also art during 15 th century when Charles VIII returned from his conquest of Naples accompanied by several Italian artists. This influenced Leonardo da Vinci in his later years as he lived in Chateau d’Amboise, which was made with Italian decorative elements.

4. Politics The French organized centralized political administrative system as the contacts with neighboring countries were easy. Often, they accepted the influence of other civilizations such as cultural laws. Moreover, because the regional differences were great, a powerful centralization was needed.

5. Building Paris and the five other major cities around Paris makes a big part of the French culture. The reason for such popularity can be explained by what happened after the second world war. After the World War II, France put a great effort to reconstruct the buildings and cities that were destroyed by the war. Many people from different regions of the France moved into the big city to find work along with the French people from Algeria’s independence, increasing the housing demand. As a result, there are lots of HLMs near the city. Then when the worker’s bed town was constructed, the five major cities around Paris was formed.

6. Rome France was influenced by Rome greatly at it’s early history. French language comes from Rome (Roman Language) along with many other European countries. Wine was also introduced by the Romans, which France is famous for.

7. Bibliography http://www.hotel-palmeraie.com/en/destination/recettes-de- cuisine.html http://www.hotel-palmeraie.com/en/destination/recettes-de- cuisine.html http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ch%C3%A2teau_d%27A mboise_07.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ch%C3%A2teau_d%27A mboise_07.jpg http://geology.com/world/france-map.gif http://kin.naver.com/detail/detail.php?d1id=6&dir_id=612&eid=dV UzW9CT2ol/k95PlZYu4W/OTEV7kcvU&qb=7ZSE656R7IqkIOus uO2ZlA==&enc=utf8&pid=fm2oesoi5ThsstTIfSGsss-- 482504&sid=ShreX3KyGkoAACmTRGI http://kin.naver.com/detail/detail.php?d1id=6&dir_id=612&eid=dV UzW9CT2ol/k95PlZYu4W/OTEV7kcvU&qb=7ZSE656R7IqkIOus uO2ZlA==&enc=utf8&pid=fm2oesoi5ThsstTIfSGsss-- 482504&sid=ShreX3KyGkoAACmTRGI http://www.wineterroirs.com/2007/08/russia_wines.html