HCS 330 Healthcare Science Literacy and Advocacy

Paige Catizone

When eating with guests, Italians do not usually hurry; a meal may last one to four hours.

Strong, traditional ties bind the Italian family together. Family association is of great importance.

Italy is a major center of the European fashion industry and Italians believe it is important to dress well.

Italians enjoy visiting friends, family and neighbors, especially on holidays and on Sundays.

Capital: Rome Government Type: republic Currency: euros(EUR) Population: 61,482,297 Total Area: 116,347 Square Miles 301,340 Square Kilometers Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia Language Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)

For more than 2,000 years Italy experienced migrations, invasions and was divided into many independent states until 1861 when it became a nation-state. Due to this comparatively late unification, and the historical autonomy of the regions that comprise the Italian peninsula, many traditions and customs that are now recognized as distinctly Italian can be identified by their regions of origin. Despite the political and social isolation of these regions, Italy's contributions to the cultural and historical heritage of Europe and the world remain immense.

Italian literature began after the founding of Rome in 753 BC. Roman, or Latin literature, was and still is highly influential in the world, with numerous writers, poets, philosophers, and historians, such as Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger, Virgil, Horace, Propertius, Ovid and Livy. The Romans were also famous for their oral tradition, poetry, drama and epigrams. Even though most of these were inspired from the Ancient Greeks, Roman epigrams were usually far more satyrical, sometimes using obscene language to give them an exciting effect. Most of the Roman epigrams were inscriptions or graffiti.

The still-standing aqueducts, bathhouses, and other public works of both ancient republic and empire testify to the engineering and architectural skills of the Romans. The rebirth of science during the Renaissance brought the daring speculations of Leonardo da Vinci (including discoveries in anatomy, meteorology, geology and hydrology) advances in physics and astronomy by Galileo Galilei, and the development of the barometer by Evangelista Torricelli.

At the start of the 20th century, Guglielmo Marconi carried out experiments in electricity and developed the wireless, but he was preceded by Count Alessandro Volta, one of the pioneers of electricity, over 100 years earlier. By the end of the Second World War, EnricoFermi's work in nuclear physics led to the development of both the atomic bomb and peaceful atomic applications. On September 25, 2001, US Congress passed a resolution that officially recognized the Florentine immigrant to the United States, Antonio Meucci, as the inventor of the telephone

Pregnancy rates tended to remain stable or decrease through the 1980s, with some notable exceptions. Germany, Federal Republic exhibited the highest adolescent pregnancy rates; the rate increased from 16% to 21% among 16- to 18-year-olds from 1985 to 1987, and then decreased to 13% by 1989. The United Kingdom had the second highest rate of adolescent pregnancy, although in the 16- to 18-year-old group, the rate decreased from 9.1% in 1985 to 8.6% by 1989. The Netherlands and Denmark had the lowest adolescent pregnancy rates, with a cumulative total of 0.9% in both countries for adolescents under age 18 years in 1985 and 1987; data for 1989 were not available at the time of the survey.

Abortion rates among adolescents--expressed as a percentage of the total number of abortions performed in each country--increased in most countries during the 1980s. By 1989, Hungary and Finland had the highest abortion rates, 11% and 9.5%, respectively. Belgium had the lowest rate; only 1% of abortions performed were in women aged 18 years and younger. Most of the countries included in this survey require parental consent for termination of pregnancy. Although the medical complications of pregnancy and birth in adolescents can be minimized with good management and follow-up, the social and psychological implications continue to take a toll. Sex-education programs are one means of reducing the rate of adolescent pregnancy. For adolescents who do become pregnant, however, psychological and social support must be provided in addition to medical care.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Italy