Italy is a peninsula with a shape of a boot. It extends into the
Mediterranean Sea and includes the isles of Sardinia another minor
islands. Some of these smaller islands are historically famous.
For instance, Napoleon was exited on the island of Elba. The island
of Montecristo became famous through the novel of Alexander Dumas,
The Count of Montecristo, wich is title after the island. Capri
was already mentioned by the ancient Greek poet homer and it was
chosen as a Summer residence by many Roman Emperors and still
today vips from around the world spend their holidays there.
Italy is situated in the southern part of the European continent,
to which it is united by the Alps. The Alps constitute a natural
border with other European countries and Mont Blanc, which is
the highest mountain in Europe, is situated in the Alps, too.
Along the Alps there are several sky resorts that attract large
numbers of winter tourists and for of the presence of many Winter
sports facilities, Italy was chosen to host the Winter Olympics
games in 2006.
The Italian peninsula is surrounded by the Adriatic sea to the
East, the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Seas to the west and the Ionian
sea to the South.
The Italian territory is mainly constituted by mountains and hills.
There are few plains, mainly along the coasts. The biggest plain
is the Po valley, in the North. This valley is crossed by the
river Po, (Italy’s longest river).
Italy has many lakes, some of which have volcanic origins. In
fact, in Italy there are still active volcanoes. The most famous
is Vesuvius, near Naples, which destroyed Pompei in 76 BC, and
Etna, in Sicily, the biggest volcano.
Italy is administratively divide into twenty regions. Its territory
also comprises the independent Republic of San Marino (in the
centre-North) and the Vatican State.
The name Italy has uncertain origins. It is believed that it derived
from the name of pre-Roman people living in the south, who were
called “Vituli”. Ancient Greek translated this name
into Italòi, which was later transformed into Italia. Emperor
August extend the name of Italia to the entire peninsula. Following
the collapse of the Roman empire, Italy was divide into several
states. The Italian territory was unified in 1861. however, in
spite of this territorial division, already in the XIII century,
Italy’s biggest poet, Dante Alighieri, expressed the concept
of Italy as a united national territory. Dante called Italy the
Bel Paese ( the “beautiful country).
The Bel Paese has indeed a lot of natural beauties and its cities
are famous for their monuments, as testimony of a rich ancient
and contemporary history and art. Among the most known cities
there are Venice, Florence, Naples, Palermo and, of course, Rome,
which is also the capital city of Italy. These cities were a must
in the European “grand tour” of nineteenth century
travellers, such as Goethe, Shelley, Lord Byron and Oscar Wilde.
Rome is built on seven hills. It is crossed by the river Tiber
and, according to legend, was founded by the twin brothers Romolo
and Remo. The legend narrates that the two brothers were the children
of the God mars and a priestess who attended his temple were supposed
to remain virgins, she had to abandon her children. They were
eventually nursed by a she-wolf. In fact, the emblem of Rome represents
the she-wolf who is nursing the twin brother.
Italy has been the motherland of famous scientists, philosophers,
artists and musicians. Among the most renowned there are geniuses
such as Archimedes, Thomas of Aquinas, Dante, Leonardo Da Vinci,
Michelangelo Buonarrotti, Christopher Columbs, Galileo Galilei,
Luigi Pirandello, Guglielmo Marconi, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini
and many others.
