ITALY SPACE TEDS’ ADVENTURES AROUND EUROPE ROMANIA1

President: Giorgio Napolitano (2006) Prime Minister: Matteo Renzi (2014) Land area: 113,521 sq mi (294,019 sq km); total area: 116,305 sq mi (301,230 sq km) Population (2012 est.): 61,261,254 (growth rate:.38%); birth rate: 9.06/1000; infant mortality rate: 3.36/1000; life expectancy: Capital: Rome, million Other large cities: Milan million; Naples 2.27 million; Turin million; Palermo 872,000 (2009) Monetary unit: Euro (formerly lira)

Geography Italy is a long peninsula shaped like a boot, surrounded on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and on the east by the Adriatic. It is bounded by France (488 km), Switzerland (740 km), Austria (430 km) and Slovenia (232 km) to the north. The Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's backbone; the Alps form its northern boundary. The largest of its many northern lakes is Garda (143 sq mi; 370 sq km); the Po, its principal river, flows from the Alps on Italy's western border and crosses the Lombard plain to the Adriatic Sea. Several islands form part of Italy; the largest are Sicily (9,926 sq mi; 25,708 sq km) and Sardinia (9,301 sq mi; 24,090 sq km). It also contains two other (very small) countries: Vatican City and San Marino. The distance between north to south is about 1200 kilometers. From east to west the distance is never more than 170 and never less than 54 kilometers (except in the north).

History The migrations of Indo-European peoples into Italy probably began about 2000 B.C. and continued until 1000 B.C. From about the 9th century B.C. until it was overthrown by the Romans in the 3rd century B.C., the Etruscan civilization was dominant. By 264 B.C., all Italy south of Cisalpine Gaul was under the leadership of Rome. For the next seven centuries, until the barbarian invasions destroyed the western Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries A.D., the history of Italy is largely the history of Rome. From 800 on, the Holy Roman Emperors, Roman Catholic popes, Normans, and Saracens all vied for control over various segments of the Italian peninsula. Numerous city-states, such as Venice and Genoa, whose political and commercial rivalries were intense, and many small principalities flourished in the late Middle Ages. Although Italy remained politically fragmented for centuries, it became the cultural center of the Western world from the 13th to the 16th century.

Languages Italian is the official language but in the provence Bolzano (southern Tirol) a lot of people speak German (about 200,000 people), in some of the valleys of Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta people speak French (about 100,000 people); in the valleys of the Dolomites and the region Friuli-Venezia Giulia some speak Raetoroman. In the provence of Basilicata, southern Italy, a part of the population even speaks Albanese.

Climate Italy has a predominantly Mediterranean climate; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south. In summertime the average temperatures in the lowlands are 28°C in the south and 22°C in the north. The winter is very cold in the Alps, cold and foggy in the Po Plain and the central Apennines; mild and even warm on the Ligurian coast, the Neapolitan coast and in Sicilia.

Flora and fauna In Alpine regions, fauna includes marmots, ibex and chamois, sometimes even brown bears, lynx, ermines and blue hares. Mountainous regions are abundant in vultures, buzzards, falcons and kites. Reptile species that are common in Italy comprise numerous lizards and snakes, even poisonous vipers, some areas show populations of scorpions. In the past, most of Italy was covered by trees, however, intense deforestation during centuries gone-by led to a significant reduction in woodland.

Architecture Italy has a very broad and diverse architectural style, which cannot be simply classified by period, but also by region, because of Italy's division into several regional states until This has created a highly diverse and eclectic range in architectural designs. Italy is known for its considerable architectural achievements, such as the construction of arches, domes and similar structures during ancient Rome, the founding of the Renaissance architectural movement in the late-14th to 16th centuries, and being the homeland of Palladianism, a style of construction which inspired movements such as that of Neoclassical architecture, and influenced the designs which noblemen built their country houses all over the world, notably in the UK, Australia and the US during the late 17th to early 20th centuries. Several of the finest works in Western architecture, such as the Colosseum, the Milan Cathedral and Florence cathedral, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the building designs of Venice are found in Italy.ancient RomeRenaissance architectural movementPalladianismNeoclassical architectureColosseumMilan CathedralFlorence cathedralLeaning Tower of PisaVenice

Duomo from Florence Pisa tower Duomo from Milan

Literature and theatre The basis of the modern Italian language was established by the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri, whose greatest work, the Divine Comedy, is considered among the foremost literary statements produced in Europe during the Middle Ages. There is no shortage of celebrated literary figures in Italy: Giovanni Boccaccio, Giacomo Leopardi, Alessandro Manzoni, Torquato Tasso, Ludovico Ariosto, and Petrarch, whose best-known vehicle of expression, the sonnet, was created in Italy.Dante AlighieriDivine ComedyMiddle AgesGiovanni BoccaccioGiacomo LeopardiAlessandro ManzoniTorquato TassoLudovico AriostoPetrarch Dante

From folk music to classical, music has always played an important role in Italian culture. Instruments associated with classical music, including the piano and violin, were invented in Italy, and many of the prevailing classical music forms, such as the symphony, concerto, and sonata, can trace their roots back to innovations of 16th- and 17th-century Italian music.folk musicclassicalsymphonysonata Italy is widely known for being the birthplace of opera. Italian opera was believed to have been founded in the early 17th century, in Italian cities such as Mantua and Venice.MantuaVenice

Sport The most popular sport in Italy is, by far, football. Italy's Squadra Azzurra has won four FIFA World Cups (1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006), currently ranking as the world's second most successful national football team, just after Brazil. Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful nation in European football.Squadra AzzurraFIFA World Cups