1. Country: Italy Book: The Thief Lord Dixon Wingrove Mrs. Gaspari English 10 January 10, 2012

2. Monuments In Italy One important monument is the Arch of Constantine. This Arch is the largest of 3 arches in the capital, Rome. This arch has been around since 315 AD. Another famous monument is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This tower is the freestanding bell tower in the town of Pisa. It began to be built in 1173 but was not completed until 177 years later. The most impressive natural monument is possibly the country itself, which is shaped like a boot.

3. Important Events Italy engaged in World War 1 in 1915 after being neutral up until this point. The Italians sided with Germany and Austria. In 1922 Mussolini rises to power. Mussolini was a fascist and after a threatened march on Rome, the president appointed Mussolini in charge. Lastly, in 1946, Italy was officially declared a republic. After a public vote was cast, it was decided 12 million votes to 10.

4. Festivals Many people in Italy enjoy music festivals. These are by far the largest festivals in Italy. Some music festivals include the Verona Opera, the Puccini Festival, and the Stresa Festival. Many people socialize and enjoy the music during these festivals, that are usually during the summer.

5. Interesting Facts Italy borders Austria, France, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, and Switzerland. The longest river in Italy is the Po. Pizza was "invented" in Naples around 1860s. Italy is the fourth most visited country in the world. Since the end of WWII, Italy has seen almost 60 governments come and go.

6. Text Connections Several connection can be made in The Thief Lord. First the story takes place in Venice, Italy. This would be an example of a world connection. Another text connection that can be made is that the story is a fantasy story. This in a text connection because many other books are fantasy stories. An example of a text to self connection would be that the main character has a younger brother, and so do I.

7. Themes One theme in the book is friendship. The story is about a group of friends that stick together all the time and help each other out. This is how friendship is presented in the book. Another theme in the story is greed. The antagonist in the story is so greedy that he tries to steal a expensive item from a man called the Conte. The Antagonist is caught and this ultimately leads to him being turned into a young child, who cannot help himself.

8. Changed Views My views have changed because after reading the story I learned that not all people in Venice ride on boats. I have always thought that there are no sidewalks in Venice. But after reading this story, I have learned that you can get around the city without using a boat at all.

9. Cultural Differences and Similarities Differences – The main difference between the main character and me is that the main character, Prosper, is completely independent. He is an orphan who has run away from his mean aunt with his younger brother. The two live without any help from adults. I have a lot of help from adults in my daily life. Similarities – The main similarity between the main character and me is that we are both around the same age. In the story, Prosper is 13 years old and I am 15 years old.

10. Fascinating Cultures One thing that is very interesting with this culture is that many people are Roman Catholic. In the story, the author describes great cathedrals in almost every square. This is where many people go on Sundays for mass. Another interesting part of their culture is that a lot of people steal things. In the story, the main character and his friends do steal things to live. They are not the only one to do this however. The author describes shops filled with stolen items.

11. Conflict The main conflict in the book is that the children must steal a mysterious wing from some women’s house. The children have been paid by the Conte to steal the wing and bring it to him. This is an external conflict as well as an internal conflict. It is external because the children must break into the lady’s house and this is very difficult. It is external too because Prosper feels guilty and is having second thoughts about stealing the wing. He must decide if he should steal it by himself. The culture affects the conflict because if it was not in Venice then the children might not have been stealing at all, let alone breaking into a women’s house.

12. How I Would Handle the Problem If I was in Proper's position I would not steal the wing. I would not steal the wing because I would not want to put my younger brother by himself if I were to get caught by the police. I would also not steal the wing because I would feel to bad about it and would have to turn myself in. so if I was faced with this conflict then I would not steal the wing.

13. Alternative Ending In my ending I would have made it so that the Conte was able to fix the carousel so that Scipio could become young again. I would also make it so that all the children stayed together and not just Hornet, Bo, and Prosper. Lastly I would have made it so that Victor and Ida got married. This would be my alternate ending.

14. Citation Potpourri. "Fun Facts About Italy | Italy." All You Need to Know about Italy. Copyscape. Web. 13 Jan. 2012.. Bakerjian, Martha. "Summer Festivals and Holiday Events in Italy - Music and Performing Arts Festivals in Italy." Italy Travel - Italy Vacations and Travel Guide. About.com. Web. 13 Jan. 2012.. Wilde, Robert. "Key Events in Italian History - Italian History Key Events." European History – The History of Europe. About.com. Web. 13 Jan. 2012.. EuropeCities. "Attractions and Monuments of Italy. Italy Monuments." Europe Travel & Europe Hotels Reservation System. Europe- Cities, 2004. Web. 13 Jan. 2012..