COOL GOAL ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO DI CASTELNUOVO:

SCHOOL OF CANALE

WELCOME TO ITALY

OUR FLAG The Italian flag, called the "Tricolore", was adopted on January 1, 1948. It has three equally sized vertical stripes of green (left or hoist side), white (middle), and red (right).

The green stripe represents hope or the green hills of Italy.

The white stripe represents faith or the snow-capped Alps.

The red stripe represents charity or the blood spilt during the war for independence.

WHERE IS ITALY? Italy is in southern Europe, it looks like a boot. Italy includes two large islands: Sicily and Sardinia. Italy is divided into 20 regions. The regions are then divided into smaller provinces.

We find France on the West, Switzerland and Austria in the North and Slovenia on the East.

Italy is surrounded by seas on three sides, with the Mediterranean, Ligurian and Tyrrhenian to the west and the Adriatic and Ionian to the south and east

FACT FILE

Capital: Roma (Rome), which is often called 'Eternal City', with 2.6 million inhabitants and Italy’s biggest city.

Population: 61.6 million people live in Italy (2016)

Name: Repubblica Italiana (Italian Republic) or simply: Italia, Nickname: 'Bel Paese' which means = beautiful country

Government: Democracy, Republic

Language: Italian as well as German, French and Ladin in some regions in Northern Italy.

Literacy: More than 98% can read and write.

Religion: mainly Christians (Roman Catholics 90%)

Currency: 1 Euro=100 cents, before 2001 Italian Lira

DID YOU KNOW THAT ITALY SURROUNDS TWO OF THE WORLD’S SMALLEST COUNTRIES? THESE ARE SAN MARINO IN NORTHERN ITALY, THE OLDEST REPUBLIC IN THE WORLD AND THE VATICAN CITY IN ROME, THE SMALLEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. THE VATICAN CITY IS LED BY THE POPE AND IS THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, LED BY THE POPE.

GEOGRAPHY

In the North, the mountain range of the Alps separates Italy

from the other European countries France, Switzerland, Austria

and Slovenia.

Italy has many hills and mountains and the highest mountain of

Italy can be found in the Italian Alps. It is the Monte Bianco,

better known as Mont Blanc, which is 4,807. There are many

long and deep lakes in the North of Italy, before the country

flattens in the Po Valley. The river Po is Italy’s longest river. The

Tiber River is the river that runs through Rome. The Tiber River is

the second longest river in Italy

The Apennines are another big mountain range which go all

along the boot and separate the East and the West of the

country.

VOLCANOES!

In the South of Italy you will find Italy’s three active volcanoes:

Vesuvius - near Naples,

Etna in Sicily,

Stromboli - off the Coast of Southern Italy.

Italy’s largest cities are

ROME, MILAN, TURIN,

PALERMO, BOLOGNA ,

NAPLES, FLORENCE

MAJOR WATER BODIES

Po River,

Adige River,

Tiber River,

Arno River,

Lake Garda,

Lake Maggiore,

Lake Como

Lake Trasimeno,

ITALIAN WONDERS!

Colosseum in Rome - Venice Carnival - Cinque Terre Rialto Bridge in Venice

Pisa

MORE FAMOUS MONUMENTS AND MASTERPIECES

David - by

Michelangelo

The Pity – by

Michelangelo

La gioconda - by

Leonardo

Pantheon in Rome

Reggia di Caserta

The Sistine Chapel – by

Michelangelo Milan

Cathedral

SOME FAMOUS ITALIANS IN THE PAST

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.

Leonardo da Vinci was a scientist and artist who was the first to prove the world is round and not flat and Alessandro Volta, was the pioneer who did studies in electricity, hence the name 'Volt' describing a unit of electricity.

Did you know that Italians also invented the piano and the thermometer?

Christopher Columbus -

explorer Galileo Galilei -

astronomer

Michelangelo –

painter, sculptor Leonardo da Vinci –

painter, scientist,

sculptor….

Dante Alighieri –

poet

SOME FAMOUS ITALIANS IN THE PRESENT

Monica Bellucci -

actress

Andrea Bocelli -

tenor

Valentino – fashion

designer

Renzo Piano -

architect

Alessandro del

Piero – football

player Armani – fashion

designer

Sofia Loren -

actress

FOOD The Italian main dishes contain: pork and beef, seafood as well as potatoes, rice and pasta (wheat and egg noodles) products and of course, tomatoes.

Here is some typical Italian food:

Pizza: probably the most famous Italian dish, it was invented in Napoli/Naples around 1860

Calzone: folded up pizza bread filled with tomatoes, ham, cheese and all kinds of filling

Pesto: thick green sauce with basil, and olive oil, pinoles and parmesan cheese. Healthy and mmmmh!

Gelato: ice-cream is an Italian invention

Lasagna: layered pasta dish with tomato, white sauce and mince meat filling.

Mozzarella: Italian cheese balls, originally made from buffalo milk

Did you know that Italians eat spaghetti only with a fork not using a spoon?

Typical Italian food - which

ingredients can you name?

TRADITIONAL DANCES

Ballo delle Quattro

Province – north Italy Saltarello – centre

Italy

Tarantella - south

Italy

SPORT Italians love sports. Cycling, Skiing, Football and Motor Racing are just some of the sports Italians have very strong interest in and good teams of sportsmen and -women.

The Italian Football league is followed by many Italians abroad too: Inter, Milan, Lazio, Roma, Juventus and Turin are just some of the Italian teams which are LOVED by Italians.

NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

New Years' Day (January 1),

Epiphany (January 6),

Easter Monday,

International Workers' Day (May 1),

Republic Day (June 2),

Assumption Day (August 15),

Immaculate Conception (December 8),

Christmas (December 25),

St. Stephen's Day (December 26)

SEE YOU SOON