ITALY

Martina Simm & Aurora MasiItalian flag

Emblem of the Italian Republic

Capital: RomeArea: 302 073 sq km Population: 59,685,227 inhab. Density: 197.59 inhab. / Km ²

HistoryThe cradle of European civilization

The city of Rome was founded in 753 B.C. The Ancient Romans conquered step by step the Mediterranean area and half of Europe.

Roman law, the cattolicesmo, art and culture as well as the technical progress characterized not only the history of Italy, but also the history of

the entire Western world.

HistoryItaly in the Middle Ages

Germans, Goths and Lombards reigned one after the other the different parts of the peninsula.

After the destruction of the Lombard kingdom the country was divided into three parts:

1. the Holy Roman Empire in the North; 2. the Papal State in the center;

3. different powers was alternated to reign in southern Italy.

HistoryFrom the unification of Italy until now

With the discovery of America, Italy became the toy of the new European powers France and Austria. The Italian cities were united for the first time since the

fall of the Roman Empire when Napoleon proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy and crowned himself king of

Italy. The Italian people revolted against Austria and in 1861 founded the kingdom of Italy.

Geography Italy is a peninsula, it is

bordered to the north with the mainland and the remaining part is surrounded by the Mediterranean sea.

The hilly areas are prevalent compared to plains and mountainous areas.

The largest islands are Sicily and Sardinia, but there are also many smaller islands, mostly collected in archipelagos.

Political geography Italy is a member of the European

Union, it is located in the Southern Europe with capital Rome. Bourded on the north by the Alpine, its borders are:-to west with France;- to north with Switzerland and Austria ; -to east with Slovenia.

The local authorities that constitute the Italian republic are:- regions (15 with an ordinary statute and 5 with a special statute)- provinces and municipalities.

ClimateThe climate is influenced

by the seas that surround almost every side of the country. In fact they determine a particular climate and its name is temperate Mediterranean. There are many different climates in the country thanks to its special position.

Italy is the fourth most populated country in the European Union. The population is concentrated mainly in the coastal and plains areas of the country and it is characterized by a high number of older people, a low birth rate and a life expectancy medium-high.

Population

The number of regular immigrants or foreign residents in Italy has increased considerably in recent years: the larger communities are Romanian, Albanian and Moroccan.

Population

ReligionIn Italy we have the principle of the secular state

and for this reason there isn’t an official religion.The majority of Italian citizens is Christian.

Language Italian is the official language and the most spoken. At the

local level are recognized as co-official languages the following languages:french: in Valle d'AostaSlovenian : in the provinces of Trieste and GoriziaGerman : in the province of BolzanoLadin: in some municipalities of Trentino-Alto Adige.

Map of the languages and dialects spoken in Italy: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Dialetti_parlati_in_Italia.png

PoliticsItaly has been a unitary

parliamentary republic since 2 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by a constitutional referendum. The President of Italy is Italy's head of state.

The President is elected for a single seven years mandate by the Parliament of Italy in joint session.

President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano

Government Italy has a parliamentary

government based on a proportional voting system. The parliament is bicameral: there are two houses, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic.The Prime Minister is Italy's head of government.

the Italian parliament

A peculiarity of the Italian Parliament is the representation given to Italian citizens permanently living abroad: 12 Deputies and 6 Senators elected in four distinct overseas constituencies.

In addition, the Italian Senate is characterized also by a small number of senators for life.

Government

the new Italian Prime Minister, elected on the last 22nd of February

Foreign relations Italy is a founding member of the

European Union (EU), and of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Italy was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and it is a member and strong supporter of many international organizations.

Education system Education in Italy is regulated in

different ways according to the legal form (public schools or private schools). The vocational training, including vocational schools, depends on the regions.

Compulsory education ends at 16 years. The Italian school system is structured in three cycles of education :- primary education, duration of five years;- secondary education that include lower secondary School with a duration of three years, and upper secondary school with a duration of five years;- higher education, including the university and specialized training.

Economy Italy has a market economy

characterized by high per capita GDP and low unemployment rates. In 2012, it was the ninth-largest economy in the world and the fifth-largest in Europe in terms of nominal GDP.

It is a developed country and it is a founding member of the G7, G8 and the Eurozone.

After World War II, Italy was rapidly transformed from an agriculture based economy into one of the world's most industrialized nations.

EconomyThe country is well known for its influential and innovative

business economic sector and for its creative and high-quality automobile, industrial, appliance and fashion design.

Italy has a smaller number of global multinational corporations than other economies, but there is a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Italian economy today suffers from many problems: a high public debt as a proportion of GDP, the high tax burden, the presence of a large informal economy caused by political corruption and organized crime.

Primary sectorThe Italian agricultural area used is 12.7 million acres.

Mainly concentrated in the South. The major crops are devoted to wine grapes, wheat, olive oil

and tomatoes. Cattle, pigs and poultry are used for the production of dairy

products and meat. Very important are also sea and lagoon Fishing.

Intensive agriculture

Secondary sector The specificity of the Italian

industry is the processing and production of manufactured goods. The most important industries in the Italian economy are mechanical, chemical , electronic, fashion, textile, metallurgical and food products.

Italy is one of the leading countries in the production and design of cars and motorcycles with car companies such as Fiat and Lamborghini.

Italy is renowned throughout the world for its luxury products in the fashion industry.

The Fiat industry

Tertiary sector Services in Italy are the most important sector of the economy

(67% of the total). Important activities in Italy are tourism, trade, services to individuals and businesses.

The banking sector has experienced a decline in the number of employed, but still retains a central role in Italian capitalism.

Tourism is one of the profitable sectors of the national economy: Italy is both the fifth most visited country and highest tourism earner in the world.

Square of miracles of Pisa

Transport Italy has well developed public and private

transportation options. Railways: Italian rail network is extensive,

especially in the north.Most of this is managed and operated by “Ferrovie dello Stato”, a state owned company.

Roads: Italy is one of the countries with the most vehicles per capita.

Waterways:Italy has 2,400 km of navigable waterways for various types of commercial traffic.

Airports:Italy is the fifth in Europe by number of passengers by air transport. Most of passengers in Italy are on international flights.

Transport

Protected AreasProtected natural areas in Italy are 871, corresponding to about 11% of the Italian territory. The law about protected areas divides them into:Italian National Parks:

they are 24 and correspond to about 5% of the national territory. Their supervision is entrusted to the State Forestry Corps.

Gran Paradiso National Park

Italian regional parks: they are 134.The regional parks consist of land, river, lake areas and parts of the sea near the coast, which constitute a homogeneous system, identified by the nature of the structure places and by artistic and cultural traditions of the local people.

Protected Areas

Natural Park of Migliarino, San Rossore and Massaciuccoli

State nature reserves, 147 in total, and regional nature reserves that are 365. These nature reserves consist of land, river, lake or sea areas that contain one or more species of naturalistic importance of fauna and flora.

Protected Areas

Nature Riserve of Calafuria, in the province of Livorno.

Italian Protected Marine Areas: they are made up of parts of the sea, coastal or not, in which human activities are restricted. They are 27 and the most important is the Cetacean Sanctuary.

Protected Areas

Cetacean Sanctuary

Other protected areas, national and regional: They are protected areas that are not covered by the previous categories and they are more than 170.

Protected Areas

Oasis Dunes Tirrenia

To these must be added the Italian wetlands, 52 areas considered of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

Protected Areas

Lagoon of Orbetello

ArtOver the centuries, Italy has

brought an important contribution to world culture. From its history, Italy has many national monuments declared as such by a specific law that recognizes the cultural and artistic importance for the community.

“La Gioconda” painted by Leonardo da Vinci.

Architecture• Italy brings the testimonies of

different types of architectures. The most important architectural styles are Palaeochristian and Byzantine, Romanic, Gothic, Baroque and Neoclassical.

Palaeochristian and Byzantine: In the Palaeochristian era, with the spread of Christianity, italian churches resumed models of the Roman basilicas, with a central nave flanked by side corridors.

The interior of San Pietro's Basilica in Vatican

Romanic:The Romanesque architecture in Italy covers a period of XI century. The art scene is very varied, with "Romanesque" with regional characteristics, both in terms of the types of construction materials to be used, the latter depended heavily on local availability.

Architecture

the cathedral of Pisa

Gothic:The Gothic in Italy is not implemented technical and structural innovation of French cathedrals, preferring to keep the construction tradition established in previous centuries.

Architecture

Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi

Baroque: Baroque architecture developed in the seventeenth century, during the period of absolutism. In fact the fundamental characteristics of Baroque architecture are curved lines, sinous trends such as ellipses and spirals.

Architecture

San Pietro’s Square in Rome

Neoclassical: Neoclassical architecture emerged in Italy in the second half of the eighteenth century. The period of development of this style corresponds to what economic historians call the industrial revolution.

Architecture

Church of San Francesco di Paola in Naples

Painting and sculpture With the late Empire and the barbarian

invasions start the process of decentralization leading to flourish most capital and artistic centers such as Milan, Ravenna and Pavia. The paintings remained firmly anchored to the Byzantine models until the thirteenth century. In Tuscany Nicola Pisano, Cimabue and Giotto pose the basis for a real revolution figurative, characterized by the true representation of space, the human figure and its suffering.

The painting of the nativity of Jesus made by Giotto

In the fifteenth century, in Florence, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio stimulate the development of the perspective.In the sixteenth century thanks to some artists such as Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo, Italy became the model for all European art. The seventeenth century opens with the invention of the Baroque in Rome.

Painting and sculpture

interior of Cupola of Brunelleschi in Florence

Traditions Italy has many historical traditions of various kinds, also

known internationally such as the Palio of Siena. In addition to the Palio, characteristic manifestations are the Carnival of Venice, the one of Viareggio, the rites of the Holy Week in some areas of the south, nominated by UNESCO as intangible heritage of humanity, as well as various traditions such as the historic Florentine soccer.

The Palio of Siena The Palio of Siena is a competition

between the districts of Siena, in the form of a carousel horse of medieval origin. The district is each of seventeen historical divisions within the medieval walls of the city.The "Career", the traditional name of the race, usually takes place twice a year: on the 2nd of July there is the Palio of July, and August 16, the Palio of Mid-August.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EZ05UY8LH0

Carnival of Venice The Carnival of Venice is one of the most famous in the world.

In 1797, with the French occupation of Napoleon and the Austrian next one, the long historic tradition was interrupted for fear of riots and unrest among the population. Only in 1979 the age-old tradition of Venice Carnival officially resources, thanks to the initiative and efforts of some citizens' associations and the logistic and economic contribution of the Municipality of Venice.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVS5NumnY-U

Carnival of Viareggio The Carnival of Viareggio is

considered one of the most important carnivals in Italy and Europe. The Carnival of Viareggio represents the artistic and organizational capacity of the Italians in the world. The wagons parade is along the bigger street of Viareggio. The tradition of the parade of Viareggio was born in 1873, when some wealthy burghers decided to dress up in protest against the taxes.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkMm1RmkvYE

Italian gastronomy Italian cuisine relies a lot of

different gourmet products, varied from area to area, thanks to historical factors and climate-territorial.Some foods, such as pasta and pizza, are universally recognized symbols of Italian cuisine.The main feature of Italian cuisine is its extreme simplicity.

Pasta

Pizza

Tuscan foodThe Tuscan cuisine consists mainly of traditional dishes

and desserts that will retain their preparation for many years. The first product is the characteristic Tuscan bread, characterized by a lack of salt. In Tuscany, the sacredness of bread is evidenced by a long series of ancient recipes still widespread: panzanella, pappa al pomodoro, garlic bread, vegetable soup. Another feature of the Tuscan culinary tradition for excellence is the use of white meat. The traditional Tuscan cheese is Tuscan pecorino.

Pappa al pomodoroThe pappa al pomodoro is a

poor dish of the peasant origins of Tuscan cuisine. This is evidenced by its ingredients: Tuscan homemade bread, tomatoes, garlic, basil, broth, Tuscan extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Panforte Panforte is a traditional Christmas cake

that has very ancient origins. It was called Christmas Bread or Bread Aromatic. The ingredients were more or less the same until 1879 the year in which Queen Margaret went for a visit to the city of Siena. For the occasion, an apothecarie prepared a gingerbread without tanning and melon with a coverage of vanilla sugar instead of black pepper. He offered to the Queen as "Panforte Margherita", the name by which this gingerbread "white", more delicate, is still known and marketed.

Our schoolOur school’s name is ITCG Enrico Fermi, it is a commercial

technical institute and for surveyors. It is located in Pontedera, a small town in the province of Pisa. In the school we have the possibility to choose between different courses of study such as agrarian, tourism, international relations, administration finance and marketing and course for surveyors.Our school is one of the biggest school of the town because includes 3 buildings, it is the only one that has the gym in the school yard and also has a lot of laboratories to deepen different subjects such as math, informatics, physics, chemistry and languages but there are also laboratories with interactive whiteboard used for all subjects, and a library and an auditorium.

Our timetable is very different than yours: we have lesson from Monday to Saturday from 7.50 to 12.50, we have three days with the hours of 50 minutes and three days with hours to 60 minutes and it is to satisfy the demands of the teachers and the needs of pupils who fail to follow an entire lesson of 60 minutes; we have only two breaks of 10 minutes every two hours.

Our school

PontederaPontedera is an Italian town of 28 256 inhabitants, it is

located in the province of Pisa and it is far 22 kilometers from the provincial capital. The city's name is derived from the bridge that was on the river Era.The municipal area is completely flat with the exception of the east, corresponding to 3 fractions that are Montecastello, Treggiaia and La Rotta. These locations are part of the so-called Pisan hills.

Pontedera, although it is not a big city, has a lot of interesting buildings, churches and important bridges to see because it is very ancient: it was inhabited from 5000 years ago. Pontedera is the center of the lives of young people that living in Valdera, the majority of young people from 14 to 18 years old when they go out with friends in the afternoon and in the evening go here because there are cinema, a long street called “Corso” where you can walk and where there are a lot of shops, and there are some pubs where they can spend their evenings.

Pontedera

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTZTTNWqGmI