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‘The creator made Italy from designs by Michelangelo’ – Mark Twain

Italy is style all the way. It’s shaped like a boot and no ordinary boot this! Italy's fashions are enduring, its cars snazzy, its cathedrals calm, its landscape awesome, its piazzas packed and its pizzas…lip smacking-phenomenal!

For the visitor, Italy is a feast for the senses. You can’t go through Italia without a heightened consciousness of beauty. Whether in the glorious hues of the Tuscan landscape, in the seamless amalgamation of the riches of the past, the reality of the present and the hopes of the future, or in the majesty of the Alps, Italy is all one elegant casket of flavourful stuff. You may choose to do the popular circuit of Rome, Florence and Venice where there are more than enough museums, churches, piazzas and gondolas on canals to keep you happy. Or you may choose instead to strike out into the countryside where the pleasures derived from the scenery and the passionate people are enormous.

At any rate, on any trip, Italy promises lots and delivers more.

The Italians sure drink a lot of coffee and eat pasta - 600 cups of coffee and 25 kgs of pasta per person per year!

Italy has many firsts to its name—they first invented ice cream, thermometer, typewriter and eyeglasses.

There are more grandparents than grandchildren around in Italy - the birth rate in Italy is one of the lowest in the world.

With almost 40 million tourists every year, Italy has the most hotel rooms in Europe!

You will see the symbol SPQR on many ancient buildings which stands for the ‘Senate and the People of Rome.’

Italy has more volcanoes out of which three are active and experience maximum earthquakes than any other European country.

You will find more masterpieces of art per square mile in the country than any other country in the world.

Italy is home to some of the greatest fashion houses like Dolce & Gabbana, Georgio Armani, Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, Ferragamo Salvatore, Gianni Versace, Valentino Garavani any many more.

Did you know Italy is the world’s largest Kiwi producing country in the world?

Italy

was home to famous explorers like Christopher Colombus and Marco Polo.

Most famous plays of the William Shakespeare were set in Italy like Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, The Winter’s Tale and The Two Gentleman of Verona.

In fact the word Trivia itself has been derived from the Italian/Latin word Trivium, meaning intersection of three roads or some unimportant place.

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Historically Speaking

Archaeological findings date the earliest of human presence in the region at 20,000 BC. Since then, till now, it’s been a story of rich intrigue, legendary conquerors, a manic dictator, and religious and cultural splendour.

The Greeks and Phoenicians brought to the region some degree of cultural sophistication, and the Etruscans who settled around Tuscany in 600 BC were similarly advanced, making bold endeavours in trade, art and agriculture. As various new city-states came up in different parts of the area, fierce rivalries developed over trade and territory. Rome grew to be the strongest and most successful of these, its influence spreading first across the neighbouring city-states, then further till the remarkable feat that was the Roman Empire came to be achieved. By the middle ages, when the Roman Empire was declining, Italy came under the rule of the Byzantine Empire and was subsequently divided into many small and independent states.

The ‘Black Death’ which hit Europe in the 13th century and handing over of temporal rights to the Papacy unleashed a fresh power struggle heralding the rebirth of cultural

rigour in art, architecture and literature which engulfed the entire continent. This remarkable phenomenon which so over whelmed the economy, culture and society had its roots in Italy and this period came to be known as the Age of Renaissance.

Italy, ever since the decline of the Roman Empire has always been divided into various independent states and provinces but in 1861 after a series of revolutions and revolts, Italy was finally unified under Garibaldi and the Kingdom of Italy, as we know it today, was born. After the Second World War, where it played a vital part, Italy’s economy has hit deep lows and soaring highs. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC) and joined the growing political and economic unification of Western Europe, accepting the Euro in 1999.

But all invasions have left their mark, and you get to see Renaissance palazzi, and Augustan arches vying for space against the Italian landscape. Streets and town squares are permeated with the legacy of its exciting past and continue to fascinate tourists…perhaps they always will! Viva Italia!

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Habitat

Occupying the distinctive boot-like protrusion into the sea, in the south of Europe, just north east of Tunisia, is the country of Italy. This peninsular country is surrounded to its east, west and south by the waters of the Adriatic Sea, the Tyrrhenian and Liguarian Seas and the Ionian Sea respectively. In the north, the Alps rise tall and sturdy, and the countries of France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia meet its borders. At the Austrian border lies the Alpine massif called the Dolomites. Most of Italy is mountainous. As you come down south though, the rugged terrain progressively gives way to gently rolling hills of a spectacular green, some plains and then craggy Apennines and eventually, low lying coastal areas where white sands are washed by waters of sun kissed azure.

The Apennines runs down the length of Italy. The Po River runs through the northern plains, its valley being one of the most industrialized and developed areas of Italy. The other major river is the Adige. The Lugano, Maggiore and Como, which is Europe’s deepest lake, are near the Swiss border where glaciers gouged out chunks of the land.

Italy may be divided into four distinct regions, each with its own peculiar natural vegetation. The Alpine region has a variety of flora that ranges from the oaks of the valley regions to beeches, conifers, alpine shrubs and moss and lichen at the snowline. The Apennines has a similar habitat to the Alps but the valleys and lower reaches have species that are characteristic of a temperate region. The fertile Po River valley is punctuated with forests of willows, poplars, oaks and alders. The Tyrrhenian, Liguarian and central and southern Adriatic Coasts enjoy the bounty of balmy Mediterranean climate. The vineyards are in this region, where typical Mediterranean plants like olives and other citrus fruits grow in abundance.

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