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| Welcome to Italy! Home of my penpal Fre! |  |
| Italy is found in Southern Europe, bordered by France to the northwest, Switzerland and Austria to the north, and Yugoslavia to the east and northeast. Italy has 2 independant states inside her borders, San Marino and the Vatican city. Outside her borders are her two territories of Sardinia and Sicily. Imagine a line drawn from southern Rome, diagonally up to the port of Ancona. This line more or less divides between Northern and Southern Italy. Northern Italy houses the Alps, and the northern parts of the plains. This area's most important industry is tourism. The largest city is Genoa, which is an important port and the centre of Italy's ship building industry. Not only do the northern plains contain the most productive farmland in the country, but also the most industry. Milan is the nation's financial and commercial centre. Florence and Turin are also important cities.Also in Nothern Italy (or more Central really) lies the country's capital, Rome. Inside Rome is the Vatican city, home of the Pope. Rome is Italy's centre of government and communication. Southern Italy houses Naples which has industry important for the less developed south. It is the third largest city in Italy and an important port. Italy has a population of around 57.5 million of which around 70% live in urban areas.. Rome is the largest city with around 3 million people, followed by Milan (1.5 million,) Naples, Turin, Genoa, Palermo, Bolognia and Florence. There are many different dialects in Italy. I, myself, speak Australian English, but can understand English and Canadians (for example) with no problems at all. In Italy however, some dialects are so different, people from outside the area would not be able to understand them. These days many young Italians speak dialect at home, and Standard Italian outside the home. The dialects vary so much partly because the country was unified so recently, and also because the area has been invaded by so many races of people during history. The Aostan dialect sounds more like French than Italian, Venetian incorporates many Spanish and Portugese words, Piedmontese has some German mixed in, and many of the Southern dialects have a Greek influence. Luckily, when written down, mostly anyone who speaks Italian will be able to read them. The official Italian used is the dialect of Florence, however the standard Italian today is hedging more toward the dialect of Rome. Apparently, the best brand of Italian is the Florantine dialect with a Roman accent... Apart from all the dialects, there are lots of other languages spoken by Italians, German, Ladin (an ancient language similar to the Swiss language of Romansh,) Croat, Slovene, French and Albanian, all depending on their cultural background, and what border they live near. Among the many things Italy is famous for, Food is the most important. Every region and city has their specialities. Apparently the best olive oil comes from Tuscany, the best egg pasta, ham and Parmesan cheese comes from Emilia-Romagna (the region where Fre lives.) The yummiest pizza is from Naples, the most delicious gnocchi and pesto is from Genoa and the best Lasagne is from Bolognia. Is this making you feel hungry? There are lots and lots of different shapes of pasta, one is called "car-door handles" and about a million different names for coffee. It is beyond my comprehension (I am not a coffee drinker) that the same type of coffee can have a different name depending on whether it is served in a glass or a cup, or if it is made quickly or at a normal pace. In fact I am almost scarcely believing this is even true. I need an Italian to confirm this for me! (This information was obtained from The "Cultures of the World Series") |
 Venice |
 Tower of Pisa |
 Colosseum |
| If you want to compare the lira with anything else, go here To see pictures of this country's paper money, go to Ron Wise's Paper Money Homepage To see the language makeup of Italy, go to the Ethnologue. For a page showing the holidays of Italy, look at the Global Calender Can't link directly to the Italian page, because the webmaster asked us not to. |
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