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Italy
“Ciao! My name is Isabella and I am from Italy. This is
my friend Giovanni. We live in a beautiful city called
Florence. Come visit Italy with us and we will learn lots
of fun things!”
“Italy is located in Southern Europe. To the north is France,
Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The mountain range of
the Alps separates Italy from the rest of Europe. The
Apennines mountains run down Italy’s western side.”
“Italy is shaped like a boot with a heel. It looks like
the boot is kicking a ball, the island of Sicily.
Italy is a penninsula which means it is surrounded
by water on three sides.”
“How big is Italy? Italy is 116,000 miles. Does
that sound big to you?
Well here is Italy compared to the United
States. It doesn’t look very big now does it?”
“Here is a picture of Italy’s flag. The colors mean special
things to Italians. Green means Hope. White means Faith.
Red means Charity.”
“Italian food is wonderful! Pasta is one of our famous dishes – there
are more than 200 shapes of pasta in Italy. Italians eat between nearly
77 pounds of pasta per person on average in a single year!
“Italy’s weather is pretty mild. Our weather is similar to
America’s North. We have warm summers, but not too
hot, and our winters are cool, but not too cold.”
Winter highs are in the 40-50’s
Summer highs are around 85 degrees
“Italy has a chaparral biome. That means that it’s habitat is a shrubby
coastal area that has hot dry summers and mild, cool, rainy winters.
Chaparrals have areas of tall, dense shrubs with leathery leaves or
needles; the shrubs are interspersed with some woodland (scrub oak).
The word chaparral comes from "chaparro," which means scrub oak in
Spanish. Chaparrals are also called Mediterranean scrublands.
There are chaparral biomes on every continent in the world.”
“Most of the animals that live in Italy look like animals you would find in a
northern forest. We have foxes, wolves, rabbits, brown bears, hawks and
owls. Squirrels, foxes and woodpeckers live here too. Farmers raise sheep
and goats.
There are some species that are only found in Italy. You can see the wild
goats called mufloni in Tuscany, the Apennine shrew, Sicilian Wall Lizard,
Italian Aesculapian Snake, the Parnassus Apollo butterfly and the Pond
Turtle Emys Trinacris.”
“One of the main things we grow in Italy are olives,
which grow on olive trees. We press the olives to make
olive oil.
“We also grow grapes on grapevines and lots of fruit
throughout the countryside. Aren’t the grapes beautiful?”
“Italy is the only country in Europe that has
active volcanoes. The country's volcanism is
due to it’s location. The Eurasian Plate and the
African Plate meet to the south of Italy.
“Italy’s volcanoes are formed because it is located North of where
two tectonic plates (Eurasian and African plates) meet. These plates
are constantly moving. When one plate pushes under the other,
subduction, the pressure causes pockets of lava to rise through
cracks or weak spots to the surface.
Eurasia Plate
Subduction Zone
(earthquakes)
African Plate
When enough magma builds up and pushes to the
surface, the volcano erupts. Mount Etna in Italy
erupted recently in 2011.
Fun Fact: Did you know that when the magma
(melted rock) is cooled it becomes igneous
rock?
Diorite
Granite
Pumice
Igneous rocks can be formed when magma cools above ground
(extrusive), when lava pours out of a volcano, or when the
magma rises below the earth’s surface and cools underground
(intrusive).
Extrusive igneous rocks cool very
quickly, because they are above the
earth’s crust and exposed to air. Because
they cool so quickly, crystals do not have
time to form. Extrusive igneous rocks
have tiny crystals or are glassy.
Intrusive igneous rocks cool very slowly,
because they are below the earth’s crust
where it is still warm. Because they cool
so slowly, crystals can grow over time.
Intrusive igneous rocks have large
crystals.
“Here are some of the traditional outfits of Italy.
Women usually wear a headdress to cover their
hair. Today, Italy is known for creating cutting
edge clothes and fashion design.”
“In Italy, the money used to be called Lira. This is
what our money used to look like a long time
ago.”
“Here is what our paper money used to looked like.”
“Now, Italy has joined with other countries in
Europe and all have the same money, called
Euros.
“That way, when you travel from one country
to the other in Europe, you can use the same
money wherever you go.”
“Isn’t it colorful?”
“One Euro is the same as $1.33 in
American money.”
“In Italy, we speak Italian. Here are some things for
you to try to say in Italian. E bello!”
English
Hello
Thank you
You’re Welcome
Please
What’s your name?
My name is ____.
How are you?
I love you.
Italian
Ciao!
Grazie
Prego
Per favore
Come si chiama?
<Coh-meh si Key-a-ma>
Mi chiamo sono ____
<Me key-a-mo son-oh>
Come va?
<Coh-meh vah>
Ti amo
<Tea ah-mo>
“Rome is the capital of Italy. It sits on the
Mediterranean Sea. Rome was founded more than
2,500 years ago, in 753 BC. A long time ago it was the
capital city of the Roman Empire.”
“The Roman Empire ruled most of Europe for almost 500 years.
Modern day Spain, France, Egypt, Greece, England, and parts
of Asia and Africa were all under Roman rule.”
Italy was a monarchy (ruled by a king), but
in 1946, they became a democratic
republic.
The president is the head of state and
appoints (picks) the Prime Minster, who
actually leads the government.
Italian President
Giorgio Napolitano
The Prime Minister is the head of the
Council of Ministers, a group that can
introduce bills and laws into government.
Also, there are two Houses of Parliament,
which introduce and decide on which bills
are voted into law. Finally, there’s a
Judiciary, which is separate from the
executive and legislative branches.
Italian Prime Minister
Enrico Letta
Timeline cards: The following cards are to be cut out and laminated and used for an
ongoing World History Timeline. They are color-coded Green for historic events and
Red for famous people (artists, government leaders, scientists/explorers).
500 B.C.
750 B.C.
Greeks, Etruscans and others settle in Italy
Rome is built
509 B.C.
202 B.C.
Rome becomes a Republic with
elected officials
Rome’s power spreads beyond Italy
130 B.C.
Romans conquer Spain and Greece
455 A.D.
End of the Roman Empire. German King
rules Italy
700-1100 A.D.
Italy is a large collection of
independent regions
1200-1600 A.D.
Italian Renaissance brings new culture,
sculpture and art to Italy.
1861 A.D.
1946 A.D.
Italy becomes a unified nation.
Italy ends the monarchy and establishes a
democratic republic.
1922 A.D.
1940 A.D.
Benito Mussolini declares himself dictator.
Italy enters World War II on the Axis Side
(aligns with Germany)
Caravaggio
Leonardo Da Vinci
1600 A.D. – Painter known for light/drama
1475 A.D. – Painter, inventor
Michaelangelo
Bernini
1500 A.D. – Painter, Sculptor
1620 A.D. - Sculptor
Julius Caesar
Marcus Aurelius
46-44 B.C. – Ruled Rome as dictator
161-180 A.D. – Ruled Rome as Emperor
Napoleon
King Victor Emmanuel II
1805-1814 A.D. French Emperor who ruled
Italy
1861 A.D. – Became King of a newly united
Italy
Marco Polo
1290 A.D. – Italian explorer who traveled
through Asia
Columbus
1492 A.D. – Explorer whose voyages to the
Americas led to the first lasting European
settlements
Galileo
1581 – Italian astronomer improved the
telescope
Pavarotti
1961 A.D. – Opera tenor
Here are some famous sites
in Rome. The Trevi Fountain
(left), the Vatican (the center
of the Catholic Church), and
a view of some of the ruins
found around the city
(bottom right).
The Colosseum is an oval shaped
ampitheater in the center of the
city of Rome. It was built of
concrete and stone in 80 AD to hold
huge public events.
“The Colosseum could hold almost 80,000
people and was used for gladiator contests, mock
sea battles, plays and performances.”
“Florence is a city in the Tuscan region, one of the largest agrarian
regions in Italy. That means it is known for it’s farming. In the
Tuscan region, they grow olives and make olive oil, grapes for wine,
and wheat for pastas. They also have lots of fruit trees and raise
livestock like pigs, cows and goats.”
“Florence is the busiest city in Tuscany, and has lots of
museums, architecture and monuments. Florence was once
ruled by a powerful family called Medici. It is thought that the
Renaissance movement started in Florence.”
“Venice is a city that is built on water. There are hundreds of small
canals throughout the city and people take small boats called
gondolas, or water taxis, to get from one place to another.”
“Because of it’s location on the water, Venice was a very important
city for trade of spices and silk. Venice is known for it’s glass
making, called venitian glass.”
Here are some other things to see in Italy. The Leaning Tower of
Pisa, the beaches of Naples, and the Duomo in Milan.
“One of the most important time in Italian art, is the period
known as the Italian Renaissance. Before the Renaissance,
artists were thought of as craftmakers, and paintings were
mainly about the church or portraits of famous people.
Once the Renaissance began (1400s), artist used new,
creative ways to paint things. They painted people to look
more real and lifelike, with brighter, bolder colors and
shadow. Artists became much more important.”
Before Renaissance
After Renaissance
“Michaelangelo is a Renaissance sculptor and painter known for his
Statue of David, the Pieta, and for painting the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel in Rome.”
Look at the detail on Michaelangelo’s works. They look very lifelike
and real. This was a completely new way of creating art that had
never been done before.
Here is what
the Sistine
Chapel looks
like on the
outside.
“Da Vinci was known as a ‘Renaissance Man’ because he
loved learning about the world around him. He was an
inventor that studied art, medicine, astronomy, botany
(plants), mechanics, construction and flight.”
“Two of his most famous works are the Last Supper and the
Mona Lisa. Da Vinci was dedicated to making sure that
people in his paintings appeared very real and lifelike.”
The Last Supper
Da Vinci
Bernini
“Italy is known as the birthplace of opera. Opera is a play that
is set to music and all of the words are sung. A composer is
the person that writes the words and the music for the opera.
Some famous composers are Vivaldi, Paganini, Rossini,
Verdi and Puccini. Pavarotti is a famous opera singer
from Italy.
Did you know that the piano and the violin were invented in
Italy? The symphony as we know it today came from Italian
music in the 1500’s.
“Italians have invented a lot of other famous things too, foods
like Pizza (Naples, Italy), Pretzles, and the ice cream cone all
came from Italian inventors. Things we use everyday like the
telephone, the radio, the typewriter, eyeglasses, plastic, the
electric battery and the helicopter were all invented in Italy.”
“Galileo was born in Pisa and was a very important
scientist. He developed the scientific method to make
sure that people thought about their experiments and
properly wrote down their results. He worked with
gravity, and did experiments to show that no matter how
heavy or light something is, it will fall to the ground at
the same speed. Galileo built a telescope similar to one
from Holland, and proved that the Earth revolved
around the sun.
“Marconi was born in Bologna, northern Italy. In 1885 Marconi,
invented a radio antenna, which led to the first working radio.
The first wireless messages were broadcast across the
English Channel in 1899.
“The most popular sport in Italy is, by far, what American’s call
soccer. In Italy, we call soccer “football”. Italy also has one of
the best volleyball league in the world. Bicycle racing is a very
popular sport in our country. Because of our large mountains,
people come from around the world to ski on Italian slopes.”
“Marco Polo was an Italian explorer who
was one of the first Europeans to reach
Asia. His travels inspired Christopher
Columbus to search for a shorter way to
Asia.”
“Christopher Columbus was a famous
Italian cartographer (mapmaker) who
completed four travels across the
Atlantic Ocean and was the first to
establish lasting European settlements
in the Americas. He explored the
Americas and reached as far as
Nicaragua and Honduras. “
Lamborghini
Ferrari
Maserati
Alfa Romero
“Italy is also known for its fast cars. Alfa Romero,
Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati are all made in Italy.”