2. Italy is a huge country. It borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the ALPS. The population in Italy 61.148 million people. Italy is the 23 rd largest population worldwide. Its capital city is Rome. Rome is the biggest city in Italy. In Italy there is lots of art work and sculpture. Italy is my favourite country.

3. Venice is a big city. Venice has no roads but has rivers and lakes. The population of Venice is 27816. Venice is also known as Vento Regions. The whole city is built on water instead of roads. They travel by boats through canals. Their unusual boats are called Gondolas. Their boats are all painted black because of a law in 1562 to stop wasting money on paint.

4. Rome is a very big city that is very beautiful. Once it was known as the most important city in the world. Romans spoke Latin. Rome is sometimes called the Eternal City. Rome is Italy’s biggest city. They built stone roads throughout their empire and some houses even had a type of central heating. Rome was founded as the capital city in 753 BC. It is the central city of Italy. In Rome there is 90% of Catholics. Rome has been founded by twins Romulus and Remus.

5. Leonardo da Vinci was born in a town called Vinci {the Italian word “da” means “from”} in Italy in the fifteenth century. His skills wenre drawing, painting and sculpting. He painted Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa hangs now in the Louvre art gallery in Paris. Leonardo was also an engineer and scientist. He created scissors and helicopters. However someone stole his idea. Leonardo could write with one hand and draw with the other hand.

6. Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in Tuscany, Italy in 1475. He studied art and anatomy and his most famous marble sculpture, the Pieta, was completed before he was 15. Michelangelo’s most famous painting was done on a church ceiling. It took him years to finish his painting.

7. The ancient Romans called the area around Vesuvius “The Gateway to the Underworld”. In Pompeii the population is 3,000. Mount Vesuvius was a volcano. Every morning the volcano has smoke coming out of it. One morning it smoked a little bit more. It started to rain dust, ashes and cinders on the countryside. Gas, ash and rocks, travelling at a speed of 100kph. Pompeii was buried. BY: DANIEL KURKIN!