1. Italy

2. Italy
Once the center of a huge empire, Italy is now one of the most prosperous countries in Europe.

3. Italy: Ancient Rome
Roman influences can still be seen today. All around the world, people owe their ideas about art, government, law, and language to Italy and its people.
Built in the 700s BC as a tiny village, Rome grew to control nearly all of the land around the Mediterranean Sea. Romans helped spread Christianity.

4. Italy: The Renaissance
When the Roman Empire collapsed, Italy’s cities formed their own states. These cities became major centers of trade and people became rich. The money helped support the arts which led to…
The Renaissance!!  a period of great creativity in Europe lasting from s. Many Italian artists and writers created some of the world’s greatest works of art and literature.

5. Unified Italy DEMOCRACY
In the 1800s, Italy became a unified kingdom due to a strong sense of nationalism.
In 1920s, Benito Mussolini became dictator. Italy was defeated in WWII and then became a democracy. Since the end of the war, Italy has developed one of the strongest economies in Europe.
DEMOCRACY
From him to 

6. Italy Religion
Most people belong to the Roman Catholic Church, which has historically been the strongest influence on Italian culture. The city of Rome is home to hundreds of Catholic churches from all periods of history. Rome is one of the world’s most popular tourist sites because of its rich history

7. Italy Religion

8. Italy Religion
The pope (head of the Catholic church) lives on the Italian Peninsula in Vatican City – an independent state located within the city of Rome.

9. Italy Religion
Vatican City  is the smallest independent state in the world (both in area and in population) It is a landlocked enclave surrounded by the city of Rome. Enclave  country within a country
St. Peter’s Basilica

10. Italy Traditions
Italian food varies widely from region to region, but olives, tomatoes, rice, and pasta are common.

11. Italy Traditions
A picture from one of the many food festivals celebrated in Italy 

12. Italy Traditions
Italy is a center of contemporary arts, and its people shape worldwide trends in fashion. Milan, the largest city in Italy, is a global fashion capital.

13. Italy
Milan
Fashion
Week

14. Italy
Italy has also produced some of the world’s greatest painters, sculptors, authors, composers, fashion designers, and filmmakers.

15. Italy Today
Southern Italy: Southern Italy is the country’s poorer half. Its economy depends largely on agriculture because it has less industry than the north.

16. Italy Today
Southern Italy: Farming is especially important in Sicily, an island at the peninsula’s tip. Tourism is very important part of southern Italy’s economy. Beautiful beaches and ancient Roman ruins attract many visitors.

17. Italy Today

18. Italy Today Southern Italy
In recent years, Italy has tried to promote industry in the south by starting government programs and lowering taxes to companies that will build factories there. Many of these efforts involve the city of Naples, a busy port and now an industrial center.

19. Italy Today Northern Italy
Northern Italy is the country’s richer half – includes the country’s most fertile farmland, major trade centers, and its most popular tourist destinations.

20. Italy Today Northern Italy
Po River valley – best farmland, often called the breadbasket of Italy
Major industrial centers in cities such as Turin and Genoa
Milan is a major industrial center and famous for its fashion design
Railroads, highways, and tunnels allow
for shipment of goods through
the Alps

21. Italy Today Northern Italy
Venice  one of the country’s most visited tourist attractions. Instead of roads, there are canals because the city was built on islands – 118 of them! People move about the city on boats called gondolas.
Florence – in northern Italy, a center of Italian art and culture, where the Renaissance began
Rome does not fully belong to either the north or the south because it’s nestled in the center of the country. From there, the country’s leaders try to bring all the people of Italy together as one nation.