ITALY OUR WONDERFUL COUNTRY WHERE IS ITALY Italy

ITALY OUR WONDERFUL COUNTRY

WHERE IS ITALY? Italy lies in Southern Europe and it is easy to recognize as the country is shaped like a high-heeled boot

GEOGRAPHY In the North, the Alps separates Italy from the other European countries: France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The highest mountain in Italy is Monte Bianco, while Po is the Italian longest river.

VOLCANOES In the South of Italy there are three active volcanoes: Vesuvius near Naples, Etna in Sicily and Stromboli off the Coast of Italy.

The pope In Italy there are 20 regions and 2 of the world’s smallest countries: San Marino, in the centre of Italy, is the oldest republic in the world and Vatican City in Rome is the smallest country in the world. Vatican City is led by the Pope and is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, led by the Pope.

MUSIC Italian is a language which comes from Latin and it is still possible to recognize the roots. The pronunciation is soft and very melodic and, for this reason, it is still used in opera and it is very popular among young musicians. German composers used our language in opera as it sounded much softer than German.

ITALIAN CITIES TO VISIT Rome: Great place to learn about Romans and the ancient history Florence: Home of many of the Italian artists, such as Michelangelo. It has many interesting museums Pisa: The city with the Leaning Tower. Venice: Lagoon City built on islands and famous for its Carnival Alps: Great for skiing and relaxing holidays.

Italian People Italian people love sports. Cycling, Skiing, Soccer Swimming and Motor Racing are some of the sports towards which they have a very strong interest. There are very good teams of sportsmen and women. The Italian soccer league is also followed abroad: Inter, Milan, Lazio, Roma and Juventus are some of the Italian favourite teams.

INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES Italians are famous for their inventions and discoveries. The Italian explorers Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci discovered the Americas while Marco Polo explored the East.

Scientists and artists Leonardo da Vinci was a scientist and an artist and he was the first man who proved that the world was round and not flat. Alessandro Volta was the scientist who studied electricity: hence the name “Volt”, describing a unit of electricity.

Italian Food Pizza is surely one of the most famous exports and in Italy it is usually baked in a wood-fired oven. The Italian pasta is recognized worldwide and there are lots of different shapes and flavours.

TYPICAL ITALIAN FOOD Pizza: probably the most famous Italian dish, it was invented in Naples around 1860 Calzone: folded up pizza bread filled with tomatoes, ham, cheese and all kinds of fillings Pesto: thick green sauce with olives, herbs and olive oil, pine kernels and parmisan cheese. Gelato: the ice-cream is an Italian invention Lasagna: layered pasta filled with tomato, mozzarella cheese and mince meat. Mozzarella: Italian cheese balls made with buffalo milk

SWEETS AND CAKES In Italy there are delicious sweet cakes: Panettone (a yeast cake with raisins), Panforte (a hard and flat fruit cake) and amaretti (almond pastries).

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