1. By: Alex Houtz

2.  The founding of Rome is more of a legend than fact. Supposedly, two twins were sent down a river, they were called Romulus and Remus.  The twins landed on the bank and a wolf found them and took them in. A farmer found them and took the twins away from the wolf. He and his wife took them in and raised them. Vatican City, Rome.

3.  When the twins grew up, they decided to build a city near where they were found by the wolf. There was a dispute where to build it though.  They decided to look for a sign from the gods to tell them where to put the city. There was another argument over the signs and Romulus killed Remus. That was supposedly how Rome was founded. Vatican City, Rome

4.  Later, around 180 B.C., Rome wanted to control the Mediterranean trading routes, so they went to war against the Carthaginians in the Punic Wars. Rome won and got the trading routes.  Eventually, Rome realized they had a powerful army and wanted riches in Western Europe. They conquered those lands and went down to the Middle East and conquered it. At the peak of their power in 150 A.D., Rome had controlled the greatest empire that had ever been seen in Europe during that time. The Roman Empire fell though because of inside rebellions, thinned out troops, soldiers quitting because of low wages, and lands too far away from the capital. The Roman Empire’s land

5.  About 1,500 years after the Roman Empire fell around 150 A.D., the Italian Renaissance was a period in Italian history when art was looked at in a different way. It started in Florence, Italy and worked itself around the boot. In many cities it had a lasting impact, like Venice.  The Renaissance was when artists’ work showed more perspective, more real life situations, and the idea of realistic proportions. It was also the first time in history that artists were considered talented and unique. Florence Venice

6.  Famous sculptors, artists, and inventors also lived in this time. People like Leonardo DaVinci, a painter and inventor, and Michelangelo Buonarroti, a sculptor and painter, were some of the more well known ones. Mona Lisa By DaVinci Michelangelo Buonarroti

7.  In the 1940’s, Italy was on Germany’s side in World War II, the leader Benito Mussolini, had dreams of restoring Italy’s power of when the Roman Empire was the world conquerors. That is why he joined the Germans on their quest for world domination. However, his dream failed because the Axis were defeated. Benito Mussolini

8.  Italy is now a very popular tourist destination because of its huge, rich, cultural, and old history. It is also a soccer powerhouse and exports many automobiles out of their country. Inter Milan, one of Italy’s best soccer club teams, won the Serie A and best FIFA club team tournament in 2010. Italy’s country team won the World Cup in 2006. Lamborghini, one of Italy’s car manufacturers.