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ITALY
Fast Facts
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Capitol is Rome
Government is a Parliamentary Republic
Religion is mostly Roman Catholicism
The language is Italian
One of 15 countries in the European Union
The Renaissance began in Italy
Considered the origin of Western
Civilization
• The birthplace of Democracy
Euro = $1.46
Countries that use the Euro currency:
Austria, Belgium, Cypress, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal,
Slovenia, Spain
Music
• Has been influenced by the many
different ethnic peoples that lived in
the area over the years including
Germans, Arabs, Greeks, French &
Spanish
• Italy is a center for European
classical music & opera
• Folk music is very different from
region to region
Food
Pasta
• Made of
flour &
water, but
may also
contain
eggs,
spices &
cheese
• Under Italian law, pasta may only be
made from a certain type of wheat
flour, but pasta made in other
countries can be made from a variety
of flour
• The story that Marco Polo brought
pasta back from his travels to China
is a legend. Although Chinese have
been eating noodles since 2000 B.C.,
the peoples around the Mediterranean
have been eating pasta since long
before Marco Polo was alive
Olives
Tomatoes
Gnocchi
Venice
• The city stretches across 117 small
islands in the Venetian Lagoon
• The islands are connected by about
400 bridges
• There are about 150 canals
• The buildings are constructed on wood
piles sunk into the clay & sand
• Venice is regularly in danger of
flooding & has been sinking into the
water, making the lower floors of
buildings unusable
• In the old center, the only way to get
around is either on the water or by foot
• The classic Venetian boat is the gondola
• Europe’s largest car-free zone
State of the Vatican City
• Is a walled city within
the city of Rome
• Is the smallest country
in the world with only
about 109 acres & a
population of only 900
• Is ruled by the Pope,
the only absolute
monarch in Europe
• 25 million people visit
every year
The Pontifical
Swiss Guard in
traditional uniform
Roman Empire
• Began in 753 B.C. & fell in 476 A.D.
• Conquered most of Europe, England &
Wales, the coast of northern Africa,
Egypt, the Balkans, the Black Sea, the
Middle east & Asia Minor
• It was the largest empire the world has
ever had
• Contributed to many modern things such as
the calendar, roads, democracy & law,
art, architecture, war, technology &
language
Roman Legion
• The Roman army was
the reason why the
Roman Empire grew to
be so large
• Was very disciplined &
organized, unlike most
of the tribal armies
they fought
• Was made up of
mostly professional
soldiers
• They wore heavy armor
which gave them better
protection than their
enemies had
• They were very good at
war strategies
• One technique they often
used was called the
turtle: when putting
their shields together
side by side & on top of
their heads, they
created a “turtle’s shell”
to protect them from
swords & arrows
Colosseum
• The largest amphitheater ever built by the
ancient Romans
• Built in 80 AD
• Was capable of seating 50,000 people
• Was used for various public spectacles for 500
years
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Gladiator fights
Executions
Mock sea battles & re-enactments of famous battles
Animal hunts
• In the center was a series of underground
tunnels used to keep animals & slaves called a
hypogeum
Pompeii
• Founded in 600 B.C.
• Was a wealthy resort town in
Roman times
• Was destroyed when Mt. Vesuvius
erupted & buried the city in lava
& ash
• No one knew there was a city
buried there until 1748 when a
foundation was being dug for a
king’s palace
Many buildings & wall paintings
were found intact
Empty spaces
were found in the
hardened lava &
ash. When the
spaces were filled
with plaster, the
forms of the
people who
couldn’t escape
from the volcano’s
eruption were
revealed
Leaning
Tower of Pisa
• Is the bell tower of
the Cathedral of
Pisa
• Was built in 1173
• Was intended to be
straight, but began
leaning soon after
being built due to an
unstable foundation
• It leans 13 ft to the
southeast
Ponte Veccio
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A Medieval bridge in Florence, Italy
Noted for having shops built on it
Built in 1345
The concept of bankruptcy was started on
this bridge: if the merchant couldn’t pay
his debts, his table was broken down by
soldiers so that he didn’t have a place to
sell anymore
• Was the only bridge in Florence that
wasn’t destroyed by the Germans in World
War II
Leonardo da Vinci
Was a philosopher,
scientist, engineer,
mathematician,
inventor, anatomist,
botanist, painter,
sculptor, architect,
musician & writer
• Regarded as one
of the greatest
painters of all
time & perhaps
the person with
most varied
talents who ever
lived
The Last Supper
• Had ideas
extremely
ahead of his
time such as a
helicopter, a
tank & a
calculator
• His notebooks
& journals
contain
13,000 pages
of notes &
drawings
• Most of his
notes are
written
backwards.
He wrote
with his left
hand & from
right to left
He wrote about a
huge range of
interests, including
boring things like
grocery lists & who
owed him money, &
many very
interesting things
like a design for
wings & for shoes
for walking on
water. One of his
favorite things was
anatomy.
Citations
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome
www.wikipedia.org.wiki/Colosseum
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_cuisine
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaning_tower_of_pisa
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Italy
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasta
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholicism
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice