GEOGRAPHY

Italy is in south-central Europe. The capital of Italy is Rome. It is bordered by France, Switzerland,

Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican city.

The main mountains are the Alps. The main river is Garda.

Italy is located in southern Europe. It sticks out into the Mediterranean Sea like a boot

It takes about eight hours to fly from New York to Italy. If you leave New York at 9:00 at night you arrive in Italy at about 11:00 the next morning. That is because of the different time zones you fly through.

Italy is about 116,000 square miles in size. The United States is about 3.79 million square miles. Meaning that the United States is about 33 time LARGER than Italy. About 58 million people live in Italy.

POLITICS

The basic political system in Italy is a Parlamentary republic.

The President is Giorgio Napolitano. The Prime Minister is Silvio Berlusconi.

INHABITANTS

Around 60.4 million people live in Italy. The most important cities are Rome,

Milan, Naples, Venice, and Turin.

Rome is the capital of Italy and its largest city. Today, about 2,656,000 people live in Rome.

LANGUAGE AND RELIGION

The most important language is Italian. There are 55 millions speakers. The main religion is Christianity. 91.6% of Italians are catholic.

FOOD

Their speciality is pasta, pizza, lasagna focaccia and gelato.

If you ever go to Italy you should drink espresso.

SPORTS

The most important sports are: Football, basketball, volleyball and Formula One.

The National Sport Of Italy Is Soccer.. Italy has got the best Formula One

team.

APENNINE MOUNTAINS

Italy is a beautiful country. The Alps are located in northern Italy. The Apennine mountains cut down the center of Italy, stretching from north to south, dividing the east and west coasts. The cities of Italy are popular vacation spots for travelers from all over the world.

The Alps

Italy's climate changes depending on where you are. The northern areas are cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Snow can begin in the Alps as early as the middle of September. As you travel south, the temperature becomes more mild. In the summer, extremely hot temperatures can be found in the areas south of Rome.

Pasitano Beach

The Alps

Italy's largest cities are Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, and Palermo. Florence, Genoa, and Bologna are other important cities. Venice

, Italy

Rome, Italy

OPERA Opera was born in Italy. While this first opera was written for

the church, the College of Cardinals in Rome to be precise, most early works were secular. The Medici in Florence staged operas and Monteverdi staged his Orfeo for them in 1607.

There is a famous saying, "All roads lead to Rome." Rome is Italy's capital and its largest city. Over 2,500,000 people live there. Rome is known as "the eternal city." It is filled with some of the world's most famous buildings like the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain. If you throw a coin over your left shoulder while you have your back to the fountain, it is supposed to bring you good luck and a quick return to Rome.

Coloseeum Trevi Fountain

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. About 5 million people live on the island of Sicily. You can also find the volcano Mount Etna on Sicily. Farmers grow oranges and olives on some lower mountain slopes. Wheat is its most important crop.

Florence is located in the Tuscany region at the bottom of the Apennine Mountains. It is known for its famous museums, architecture, and artwork. Florence is one of the world's most visited cities because of the amazing paintings and statues that you can see here. Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci are two of the famous artists whose work you can see here.

Florence, ItalyDavid by Michelangelo

Mona Lisa by da Vinci

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Luciano Pavarotti is famous because he is one of the most famous tenors of all time.

A famous scientist is Leonardo Da Vinci Famous people of Italy are: Sergio

Leone, Gianluigi Buffon, Galileo Galilei, Giancarlo Fisichella…

Venice is in northeastern Italy. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is known as "the city of canals.". Today Venetians travel by motor launch to get from place to place. Visitors can still use a gondola to see the city.

Gondola

Grand Canal ,Venice Italy

Italy is certainly one of the most beautiful places in the world. From the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the canals of Venice, Italy is truly wonderful!!