Facts On Italy

Italy always interested me from the time I read about the gondolas of Venice in the Shakespearean play "The Merchant Of Venice" but as I grew, found out that there are more facts on Italy than just scenic beauty. Italy, the seat of the highest authority of the Roman Catholic Church has been an important backdrop in World History. It is the place where many of the most important events of historical significance took place. Italy is the fourth most visited country by the tourists from all over and it is statistically proved that Italy sees approximately forty thousand tourists each year. Italy was destined to several makes and breaks throughout its history. It faced turmoil during the Ancient Roman rule and the same turmoil during the First World War when it joined the Triple Alliance but ended up losing the war. After the war Mussolini took over Italy and did help the nation to achieve the required stability but also led to the disastrous defeat in the Second World War. In spite of facing two disastrous defeats, Italy leaped up to it feet fast and started the process of restoration without wasting much time.

Interesting facts on Italy

• Italy has a Republican government. The country has a population of approximately 58,103,033 and roughly 98% of the population is literate. It was one of the founding members of European Economic Community.
• Italy is the seventh largest economy in the world, which includes capitalism as well agriculture. Then raw materials and energy is imported from the other parts of the world. The major exports are Chemicals, petrochemicals, motor vehicles ( Duccati and Piaggio are some of the brands). Italy is also well known for its Fashion brands like Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Benetton and the like which are clothing all those people all over the world who frequent the red carpet.
• The official language of Italy is Italian. German, French, English and Slovene are among the other languages that are spoken in the tourist-frequented areas of the country.
• The Ethnic groups that inhabit the place are Italian, German, Slovene and Albanian-Italians. Italy was unified late as a result of which the culture that originated in the different parts of Italy merged to form a culture that we identify as distinctly Italian.
• As mentioned earlier about Vatican City that is an integral part of Italy yet exists as a different unit altogether. It runs its own government and police and is quite an individual state. Vatican City is well known for its significance in the world of Christianity. This is where the Pope, head of Roman Catholic Church resides. Quite naturally majority of the population of Italy follow Roman Catholic Church.
• Having mentioned about the Pope and his residence let me tell you that the Pope functions from Sistine Chapel. Yes, the same Sistine Chapel, the ceiling of which was painted by the great painter Michelangelo. He took approximately four years to complete the work.
• Italy is also home to one of the wonders of the world, the Leaning tower that is in Pisa. I always wondered how was the leaning tower made but then found out that when it was built, it stood straight but then after a point of time it started leaning. In fact it would collapse one day though nobody knows when.
• Italian Mafia has also been the subject of discussions, debates, films and novels across time. Mafia literally doesn’t mean crime and criminals. It just means that a group of people who come together for a common purpose. The criminal Mafia is a great part of Italy and its economy. It contributes to the economy of Italy in a large way, which is approximately $127 billion.
• The metropolitan cities of Italy are Milan, Naples, Rome and Turin. The other large cities of Italy are Genoa, Bologna, Venice, Catania, Florence, Verona, Bari, and Palermo.
• Italy had been the place of origin of artistic movements like Renaissance and Baroque. It attracted genius from all over Europe, writers, painters and scientists, all came to Italy to exhibit their talent to the world. It acted as the showcase to the world.