ITALY
By Eleanor
th
4 Class
THE ALPS
Map of Italy
RIVER PO
RIVER TIBER
THE
APENNINES
SARDINIA
ISLAND OF SICILY
LOCATION
Italy is located in
Southern Europe, on a
peninsula that extends
out into the central
Mediterranean Sea,
northeast of Tunisia. It
stands out distinctively
like a large boot on the
map.
Countries surrounding Italy
include: France,
Switzerland, Austria &
Slovenia.
POPULATION OF ITALY
THE POPULATION IS
ESTIMATED AROUND 60.6
MILLION
THE CAPITAL OF ITALY
Rome is now the capital city of Italy.
2,000 years ago it was the Roman empire. Twin boys
Romulus and Remus were the sons of Mars (the Roman
god of war). Years later the twin sons fought over Rome.
Romulus killed Remus and Romulus won Rome.
It was once the most important city in the world.
The ancient Romans had an advanced system of
law and government. They built stone roads
throughout their empire and some houses even
had a type of central heating.
Other Cities
Rome
Florence
Milan
Naples
Turin
MILAN
The city was founded by the Insubres, a Celtic people. Milan was
later captured by the Romans in 222 BC, and later was the
capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 286 until 402
AD. Milan became one of the most prosperous Italian cities
during the High Middle Ages, playing a primary role in the
Lombard League. Later Milan became the capital city of the
Duchy of Milan, being ruled by the Visconti, the Sforza, the
Spanish and the Austrians. In 1796, Milan was conquered by the
French troops of Napoleon I, who made it the capital of the
puppet state of the Kingdom of Italy in 1805.Later Milan became
the capital city of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, which was
part of the Austrian Empire. In 1859 the city was unified with
the Kingdom of Sardinia, which later became the Kingdom of
Italy. During the Romantic period, Milan was a major cultural
centre in Europe, attracting several artists, composers and
important literary figures. Later, during World War II, the city
was badly affected by Allied bombings, and after German
occupation in 1943, Milan became the main hub of the Italian
resistance. Despite this, Milan saw a post-war economic growth,
attracting thousands of immigrants from Southern Italy and
abroad.
Currency
The currency in Italy is
just the same as in
Ireland – euro and
cent.
LANGUAGE
Italian is the official language of Italy and 93% of
the population are native Italian speakers.
Around 50% of the population speak a regional
dialect as the mother tongue.
Here are some basic words:
 SÌ = yes
 no = no
 grazie = thanks
io non parlo italiano = I don’t speak Italian
 ciao = hello
RELIGION
The main religion in Italy
today is Roman
Catholicism.
.
THE CLIMATE OF ITALY
Most of Italy has a
Mediterranean type of
climate, which has cool,
rainy winters and hot,
dry summers. Winter
temperatures along and
near the coasts of
southern Italy seldom
drop to freezing in
winter and summer
temperatures often reach
90°F (32°C) of higher.
VOLCANOES
MOUNT ETNA
MOUNT
VESUVIUS
MOUNT ETNA
Mount Etna is Europe’s
highest and most active
volcano. Towering above
the city Catania on the
island of Sicily , it has
been growing for about
500, 000 years and is in
the midst of a series of
eruptions that began in
2001. It has experienced
a variety of eruption
styles , including violent
explosions and
voluminous lava flows.
FOOD & FARMING
Northern Italy’s Po Valley provides good
farm land for rice, wheat and other
grains.
Southern Italy grows fruit, olives and
tomatoes, where irrigation is possible.
ITALIAN FOOD
1.Spaghetti
2.Olives
3.Pasta
4.Pizza
Transport in Italy
The Italians are not that different to us
when it comes to transport. They use
cars, trains, buses, boats etc. but not in
Venice; they have to use boats because
their city is built on water.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
 THE COLOSSEUM
 THE VATICAN
 LEANING TOWER OF PISA
THE COLOSSUEM IN ROME
FACTS
BUILT 70 – 80 AD
THE COLOSSEUM’S ORIGINAL LATIN NAME WAS AMPHITHEATRUM
FLAVIUM.
IT WAS USED FOR GLADIATORIAL FIGHTS.
THE COLOSSEUM IS ONE OF ROME’S MOST POPULAR TOURIST
ATTRACTIONS.
THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
wasn’t supposed to lean at all.
It was supposed to just be the
bell tower for the Cathedral of
Pisa. It was to hold the bells
that rang to tell people when
to come to church. When they
built it, in the Early Middle
Ages, about 1173 AD, nobody
in Europe had been building
anything much for several
hundred years and the
architects were not really
experienced.
FAMOUS PEOPLE FROM
ITALY
 LEONARDO DA VINCI – ARTIST,
INVENTOR
 GALILEO – MATHEMATICIAN,
ASTRONOMER & PHYSICIST
 GUGLIELMO – INVENTOR AND
PHYSICIST
LEONARDO DA VINCI
LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519) WAS AN ITALIAN IVENTOR ,
ARTSIST , ARCHITECT , AND SCIENTIST. DA VINCI HAD AN
INTEREST IN ENGINEERING AND MADE DETAILED
SKETCHES OF THE AERORPLANE , THE HELICOPTER (AND
OTHER FLYING MACHINES), THE PARACHUTE , THE
SUBMARINE , THE ARMOURED CAR , THE BALLISTA (A
GIANT CROSSBOW), RAPID-FIRE GUNS , THE CENTRIFUGAL
PUMP (DESIGNED TO DRAIN WET AREAS , LIKE MARSHES),
BALL BEARINGS,THE WORM GEAR (A SET OF GEARS IN
WHICH MANY TEETH MAKE CONTACT AT ONCE , REDUCING
THE STRAIN OF TEETH , ALLOWING MORE PRSSURE TO BE
PUT ON THE MECHANISM), AND MANY OTHER INCREDIBLE
IDEAS THAT WERE CENTURIES AHEAD OF DA VINCI’S TIME.
LEONARDOS PAINTINGS
The Last Supper
Madonna and
child
Mona Lisa
FACTS ABOUT ITALY
Cars such as Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Lamborghini are Italian.
•The flag is green, white & red.
•Italy is shaped like a boot.
•It is famous for its pizza.
•Pizza , Olives , Pasta & Spaghetti are all
foods
from Italy.
•The leaning tower was not supposed to lean,
it
was supposed be the bell tower for the Pisa
cathedral.
•The capital city is Rome.
ITALY
Italy is a country in Southern Europe and is about four times the size of
Ireland. The population of Italy is 58 million people and their official
language is Italian: Ciao (Hello) and Addio (Goodbye). The country
has a Mediterranean climate which means that the summers are hot
and dry and the winters are mild and damp.
DID YOU KNOW?
The city of Venice is built on water. Instead of
roads there are canals and people travel by
boat instead of car! There are unusual boats
called gondolas. They are all painted in
black because of a law passed in 1562 to
stop people from wasting money on paint!