 Traces of Italy's glorious past can still be seen all over the country, including of course in its capital, Rome. Important cultures and civilizations have existed in Italy since the pre-historic era, while the Etruscan civilization and the Roman Empire have shaped the European cultures for centuries.
Italy boasts quite a few personalities who have left a permanent mark in history. For example, Marco Polo was 17 when he left Venice, and was the first European to reach China. Christopher Columbus was the first sailor to reach the West Indies and find the American continent shortly after. Leonardo Da Vinci was a renaissance painter, architect, engineer, mathematician and philosopher, a genius the world has never seen again so far. Galileo Galilei invented the telescope and made important discoveries in the field of mechanics, and especially of dynamics.
The most beautiful masterpieces of the Renaissance art were realized in Italy. For instance, Michelangelo completed the statue of David in Florence in 1504, and began to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome in 1508, while Leonardo Da Vinci started the portrait of Mona Lisa in 1503.
Gegraphy and Climate
Italy, slightly larger than Arizona, is a long peninsula shaped like a boot, surrounded on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and on the east by the Adriatic. It is bounded by France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia to the north. The Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's backbone; the Alps form its northern boundary. The largest of its many northern lakes is Garda (143 sq mi; 370 sq km); the Po, its principal river, flows from the Alps on Italy's western border and crosses the Lombard plain to the Adriatic Sea. Several islands form part of Italy; the largest are Sicily (9,926 sq mi; 25,708 sq km) and Sardinia (9,301 sq mi; 24,090 sq km).
Italy has a largely temperate climate with regional variations. In summer the Northern parts of Italy are warm with occasional rainfall, the central region is somewhat stifled by humidity and the south scorches under the dry heat. In winter, conditions in Milan, Turin and Venice are dominated by cold, damp and fog and Tuscany's winter temperatures approach freezing, while temperatures in the south of the country are more favourable averaging 50-60ºF (10-20ºC). Most people visit Italy between June and August, however the best time to visit is in Spring (April-May) and Autumn (September-October) when the weather is good and the tourists are few. The sea is warm enough for swimming between June and September. Most Italians take their vacation in August and many shops and restaurants are closed during this period. The ski season runs between December and April and the best time to walk in the Alps is between June and September.
Fast Facts
Location
Italy is located in Southern Europe. It is a boot shaped peninsula which extends south into the Mediterranean Sea, as well as Sicily, Sardinia, and some smaller islands - northeast of Tunisia.
 Area
The total area of Italy is 301,230 sq. km (116,273 sq. miles). Of that, 294,020 sq km is land and 7,210 sq. km is water. Italy is just a bit larger than Arizona.
Population
The population of Italy from the last official census taken in 1991 is 56.8 million. Italy has one of the highest population densities in Europe.
Population Growth Rate:
The population growth rate is 0.09% (2000 est.)
The birth rate is 9.13 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
The death rate: 9.99 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Capital
Rome with population of about 2,650,000.
Language
Italian is the official language, although there are small areas where French, German and other languages are spoken.
Literacy: 98% of the population, age 15 and over can read and write (1998)
Religion
Italy is predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community
Currency
The euro: 100 cents = 1 euro.
Time
1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+1)
Required Clothing
- How to dress for my holiday in Italy?
This is a very common question among the tourists traveling to Italy.
For the clothing choice based on weather matter, keep in mind the temperatures can vary widely from north to south of the peninsula.
So, basically, have a look to the temperature average of the destinations you are going to visit, before you pack your luggage.
 Also more concerns are about “how to look not out of style”. The comparison with the myth of the italian elegance is the risk that scares many women traveling to Italy.
Advice: don’t try to imitate what italian women wear. Wearing habits are the result of culture-rooted traditions.
- A few tips for special events
Restaurant: unless you are going to dine in the top-class restaurants formal dresses are not required.
Social meeting: formal dress is required when it has been stated in the invitation you received. When an invitation stating informal dress, you may want to wear casual but good-quality clothes.
Visiting churches and monasteries: you’ll are required to avoid shorts, tops and similars.
People & Culture
Italians are passionate about their culture and the Italian language. Italian is a musical language that Italians sing with a joyful cadence. Italian descriptions are much more beautiful and flowery, and long winded than those in English. They will take two sentences to say what we can say in one. They love their Italian way of life and Italian traditions and stubbornly refuse to change it.
They consider their Italian food to be the best in the world, their Italian wine the nectar of the Gods and their siesta the only way to live your day.
Life is Italy is a dichotomy. On one hand it is a European nation with all the modern inventions of 21st century life but on the other hand life is unchanged in the small villages and moves at the slow pace that it always has. |
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