Italy Facts: Interesting Facts about Italy

As I dug into the delicious pasta at a restaurant, I wondered how my love affair with Italy began. Was it the feeling of awe at seeing the martial monuments in the capital city of Rome, the fascination with the Renaissance history of Naples and Florence or the love for the absolutely scrumptious Italian food of Bologna that drew me to this fascinating place! Italy is a place where the riveting man made architectural specimens go hand in hand with the simplicity and the beauty of the countryside. Besides, Italy is also a treasure chest of art, the site of one of the most famous ancient civilizations and of course, a culinary delight.

Located in the Italian peninsula of southern Europe, the country shares its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. It also includes within its folds, two independent states; San Marino and the Vatican City. However, the fascinating part of Italy is the culture of this place. From the famous Italian art by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Botticelli, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, Bernini, Titian and Raphael to literary works of Dante, Italy has a rich cultural and historical heritage. So for those people who are enamored by this beautiful country, here are some interesting facts about Italy which you will absolutely love.

A List of Interesting Facts about Italy

The official name of Italy is the Italian Republic and the name "Italy" comes from the Greek word "italos", which means calf. It was only in 1863 that Italy became a unified country.

Ancient Italy was the cradle of Roman civilizations, the first and largest empire in Europe, North Africa and the Near East.

Rome is the capital city of Italy and is also known as the Eternal city and the Caput Mundi, which means, the capital of the world. It was founded by Romulus and Remus who were also the first kings of this ancient city. According to legend, the brothers were raised by a she-wolf in a cave on Palatine Hill and thus the origin of Rome's emblem of a she wolf suckling the two brothers.

The colors of the Italian flag are green (hope), white (faith), and red (charity). There is another version of the meaning of these colors where Green stands for the Italian landscape, the white for the snow of the Alps and the red for the blood of the Italian people.

The total area of Italy is around 301,230 sq. km, which makes it marginally bigger than New Zealand. Most of the region is rocky and mountainous.

The climate of Italy is a Mediterranean type of climate with cold winters towards the northern regions of Italy. Southern Italy on the other hand offers a dry, intense summer and a mild, rainy winter There are essentially four seasons, a cold winter, a warm summer, a rainy spring and a generally stable and pleasant fall.

The only three active volcanoes in Europe namely, the Etna, the Stromboli and the Vesuvius, are all in the South of Italy. Its is said that the ancient cities of Pompeii and Ercalano in Italy were completely buried after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Also the highest mountain of Europe, the Monte Bianco is in Italy.

Although the official language is Italian, there are 15 minority languages officially recognized in Italy. These include native languages such as Sardinian and Friulian, and languages of some neighboring countries such as Catalan, Occitan, French, Slovenian, Croatian, Albanian and Greek.

The majority of Italians are Roman Catholics although there are other religions found in Italy too, a majority of the other kinds being, Protestants, Jews and Muslim.

The smallest country in the world is the Vatican City which is inside Rome and covers an area of just 108.7 acres, surrounded by a wall. It is headed by The Pope and is the home of the Roman Catholic Church. The walls of the holy Vatican City are guarded by the smallest and oldest army in the world-The Swiss Guard. It has its own post office, fire brigade, police service, supermarket, railway station, bank, electricity generating plant, newspaper, publishers, radio and television center, and internet site.

Italy is a treasure trove of ancient sites with one of the most popular being the Leaning Tower of Pisa (La Torre Pendente di Pisa). This bell tower in the city of Pisa, Italy was built over a period of 174 years. In the last stage of its construction, the tower began to sink to its left due to faulty a foundation. The other notable architectural wonders are Saint Mark's Basilica and its famous bell-tower in the city of Venice, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Colosseum, the Arena of Verona, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, il Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Well, the list is almost endless!

The image of Italy especially Venice, Italy brings to mind the romantic gondolas floating across the waters and the happy couples. The city is built on 122 little islands which are connected by about 400 bridges and the roads comprise mostly of canals of sea water. Well, so the obvious way to travel in Venice is by means of a boat, known as a gondola. The tradition of Venice states that couples traveling in a gondola must kiss as they pass under every bridge for acquiring eternal happiness! The city also plays host to the oldest film festival in the world, the Venice Film Festival.

The national football team wears a blue shirt and is known as 'the blues' or the Gli azzurri. The word for 'football' is 'il calcio', which also means 'the kick.' It is the most popular sport of the country and the national team has won the World Cup four times.

Well, this is not surprising but do you know that the average consumption of pasta in Italy is 25 kg per person per year. Do you know that there are approximately 350 different shapes and types of Italian pastas.

The Italian pizza originated in Naples during the 18th century. Initially it was just a dry, flat bread and was considered food for poor people. However, during a tour of her country in 1889, Queen Margherita of Italy tried some of the flat bread and liked it so much that she ordered her chef to prepare various types of pizza for her.

There are different categories of 'eating place' or Italian restaurants. A Ristorante serves food except pizza. A Trattoria is an informal restaurant which serves all types foods again except pizza. A Pizzeria serves only pizzas, while a Spaghetteria serves pasta. A Tavola calda is a self-service restaurant and literally means 'hot table'. On the other hand a Rosticceria is a 'take-away' serving roast meat, especially chicken.

Italy is a fashion paradise with Milan as the hub. Famous Italian fashion designers such as Armani, Gucci, Prada, Versace, Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana have their roots in Italy. Italy is famous for producing some of the best cars in the world. Notable among them being Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Fiat.

The Scuderia Ferrari is the oldest and most successful team left in the Formula One championship and has won 14 Constructor's Championships and 14 Driver's Championships since its start in F1 in 1948.

Italians love to ride the i motorini or the scooters with the most famous one being the vespa (wasp). It was designed in 1946 by the Piaggio Family.

Other notable Italian inventions are the ice cream cone, a typewriter, a viol, violin, cello, piano, mechanical clock, barometer, thermometer, optical glasses and telephone. It holds the Guinness record for the country with the most number of elevators.

Italy has the lowest birthrate in the Western world and one-fifth of the 59.1 million population is over 65.

A few more interesting Italy facts and figures

• The national game of Italy is Football.
• The national cuisine of Italy is Pasta.
• The national bird of Italy is Bluebird.
• The Italian Wolf is considered the national animal of Italy.
• Italy's national flower is the Lily.
• The official currency of Italy is the euro which replaced the lira.

Italy is a wonderful place where the ancient and the modern cultures work in tandem to create a place which has the power to thrill and excite you forever. These fun and interesting facts about Italy may well be a testimony to that.