Download Diapositiva 1 - EST - European Shared Treasure

Italy
Italy is a long peninsula shaped like a boot, surrounded on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and on the east by the Adriatic. It is
bounded by France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia to the north.boundary.
It is divided into 20 regions (103 provinces ) 5 of them are autonomous regions; Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, EmiliaRomagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia*, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna*, Sicilia, Toscana,
Trentino-Alto Adige*, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta*, Veneto
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The North
On the north , Italy is, for the most part , protected by the Alps, a mountain chain which act as a barrier wall against cold and
hot winds The Alps separates the Peninsula from the rest of Europe
The West
In the western part of Italy are large fertile plains which extend all the way to the Sea
The East
Along the eastern coast and running from north to south are the Apennine mountains, which make the eastern part of Italy
almost difficult to reach
The Coast
Throughout Italy's 2000 miles of coastland, the most beautiful bays are generally on the south or western coasts.
The Climate
The climate, like other Mediterranean lands, Italy has a nice mild temperature, without extreme heat or cold weather for the
most part.
Religion
Predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community
Language
Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small Frenchspeaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in Trieste and -Gorizia area) Ladino( small
community in Val Badia and Val Gardena -Bolzano
Resources
Agriculture - products: fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish
Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics
Government Republic since 1946
Population about 58.000.000
Population density 1889 per sq.km
Surface land area 301277squ.km
Much of Italy is covered by mountains.
The Dolomite mountains which extend across northern Italy are part of the Alps mountain range.
The Apennine mountains cut down the centre of Italy, stretching from north to south,
dividing the east and west coasts. The Po Valley, just south of the Dolomite mountains, is the basin of the
Po River.
The hills
Everyone knows the beauty of the countryside around
Tuscany region, due to the rolling hills,villas,vineyards,
olive trees and old villages dating back to the Medieval
times. A part from that area it is well worth to mentioning
the Langhe and MonferratoHills which are in Piemonte
region.
Monferrato is situated within Alessandria province,
stretching out towards Asti and Vercelli towns. It is a land
covered by extended woods and vineyards with a very
intense landscape. It is also a land rich in
traditions,art,architecture and handcraft. Its wine is
exported all over the world thanks to its smell, colours and
flavours.
On the Langhe hills every village has a castle or a tower
and every historic centre is distinguished by Medieval,,
Renaissance, Baroque and Liberty styles. The cuisine is a
great tradition of this land.Tartufo (truffle) and fine red
wines ( Barbaresco, Barolo ) are some of its own speciality
The lakes
Italy as any other countries with mountain ranges
and a volcanic history has many lakes ,(about
1000)ranging from very small ponds of azure water,
however suggestive, to very big lakes whose origin can be
either volcanic or glacial. The biggest one is, Lake of
Garda ,follows lake Maggiore and Lake of Como
In 1817 the famous French writer Stendahl wrote, “What
can one say of Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands
except to pity people who do not go mad over them.”That
is the idea of several other writers and poets such as
Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens William
Wordsworth and Lord Byron.A part from the green
scenery, the lake areas are characterized by the warm
climate and the ever blooming tropical flora of palm trees
,magnolias , roses and camellias
Lakes Maggiore and Borromean Islands
BORROMEAN ISLANDS Lake Maggiore
(region :Piemonte ).
Isola Pescatori,is a residential fishing
island.
Isola Bella, whose name derives from count Carlo
Borromeos’wife, Isabella. (16° century ) showcases a palatial villa
filled with stuccoes, frescoes, tapestries and crystal chandeliers. Rare
and unusual plants such as tea, coffee, lotus flowers and Egyptian
papyrus thrive in the terraced garden rising up from the water .
.
Isola Madre,
. The whole island forms one great garden filled with azaleas ,rhododendrons and different species of birds (parrots too )
The rivers
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Italy has also several rivers the most important ones are the Po,the Adige,The Tevere and the Arno.
The longest one is the Po.It springs from Monviso and flows into Adriatic see. It passes through many important cities such as
Torino, Asti Milano,Piacenza,Verona The river Po created the “Val Padana”,a plain (the biggest of Italy) that stretches across
northern Italy from the French border to The Adriatic sea on the east.
The Po valley is densily populated,a third of Italian people live there .It is an important industrial and agricultural
areas.Grain,sugarbeets and fruits are cultivated there
The Tevere, the third river longest, flows through Rome in its course from Monte Fiumarolo to the Tyrrenian sea.
On the whole Italian rivers can be divided into three kinds .
Alpine rivers ,springing from high mountains ,are very rich of water provided by rains and moulded ice They are very far from
the coast.
Appenine rivers which,being not always far from the coast and springing from lower mountains, are sometimes ,especially in
summer time ,lack of water
Insular rivers are in Sicily and Sardinia and very often they are in shortage of water because it depends only on rain
Italy includes two
large islands: Sicily
and Sardinia.
Sicily is the largest
island in the
Mediterranean,
with active
volcanoes .
Sardinia is less
fertile than Sicily
and with less
vegetation ,but its
coastline is surely
one of the most
beautiful in the
world for the
gorgeous colour of
its sea one can
hardly find in
other parts of the
world .It is also a
land with a lot of
savage places
National parks and protected areas
Nowadays in Italy there are 22 National Parks.. They cover, about the 5% of the
national territory.
The marine parks are also gaining an important role in the national safeguard
project:, they are aimed to protect in an integral manner stretches of sea and of coast
(often entire islands or archipelagoes) presenting unique environmental elements and
landscapes which are typical of the Mediterranian area.
The
Volcanoes
Italy has got several vulcanoes either active or
inactive ones.The highest and active ones are :
Etna in the north east of Sicily is the one of the
largest continental volcanoes,the largest in
Europe. The mean feature of Etnnean activity is
lava emission ,but strong explosive activities
occurs only occasionaly,mostly from its presently
four summit craters.
Vesuvio which dominates the gulf of Naples is
considered one of the most dangerous volcano on
earth due to its potential explosive activities and
unusual versatility . The violent eruption in
79AD,which destroyed Pompei and Ercolano
,buring them with dust and ash,is a proof of its
versatility.
Volcano areas
Some cities world heritage by Unesco
•
Rome is the capital of Italy ,very famous all over the world for its monuments, archaeological sites and
museums A part from being very interesting it is a very lively and exciting city
Venice is the capital of Veneto , the richest region of Italy.It is known as the city built on water. There are no
cars there The gondolas are used as transportation around the city. Venice is a very popular tourist area
because of its extraordinary beauty.
• Naples lies at the foot of a range of low hills on the west coast of southern Italy In Napoli you can enjoy the
wonderful Mediterranean weather and the marvellous landscape.It is the capital of Campania
Region,Campania alo boasts the islands of Ischia Procida and Capri .This last is one of the most enchanting
of the Partenopean islands and one of the world most sought after and constantly visited
destination,attracting tourist of every nationality
• Florence, capital of the region of Tuscany, has a population of around half a million inhabitants, spreads on
the banks of the Arno, between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas
•
Siena is a very appealing city town The well-conserved medieval streets and piazzas are home to the annual
festival of the Palio, a particular horserace which takes place in Siena's main square, the Campo,