An Overview of Italy for travelers
From a European perspective, there is little doubt that Italy is the foundation of modern society in the West. This is the conclusion was primarily due to two factors, the reign of the Romans and the Roman Catholic Church.
In more modern times, Italy was a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor Emmanuel II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito Mussolini established a fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy’s defeat in World War II.
A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of the European Economic Community. It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, low economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.
Rome
Rome is the capital city of the Italian Peninsula and is located in the central western portion, in the Lazio region. It has a history of around two and a half thousand years. Rome is home to the Pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic religion, where he lives in the Vatican City.
Rome has been influential to other countries in architecture, culture, politics, literature, law, philosophy , religion, art and education .
Rome’s main attractions are:
In the Vatican city’s premises one can visit, St.Peter’s Square , St.Peter’s Basilica , Vatican museum, amazing gardens including numerous fountains and the sistine chapel with it’s famous painted ceiling dating back to medivial times.
The Colosseum took ten years to build and was used for combats between gladiators and wild animals. It is one of the Major attractions in Rome.
Pantheon is a building of the imperial Rome, built as a temple to all Gods.
Castel Sant Angelo, a mighty fortress , was used as a prison and also as the pope’s residence. In the Fortress there’ s a passage that connects the castle to the Vatican City.
Trevi fountain is the most visited fountain in rome, with it’s baroque architecture and impeccable craftsmenship it is a top attraction. The Central figure is Neptune, the god of the seas with two horses on both his sides that contrast the moods of the sea, calm and rough. This fountain was used in many films such as La Dolce Vita , Fellini’s creation in the 1950′s. Tradition is to throw a coin in the fountain for goodluck.
The Spanish Steps is a masterpience of a square with an irregular shape. It was built between 1723 – 1726 and designed by Francesco Desanctis. In the middle of the square one finds the small but beautiful Baraccia Fountain which was built to commemorate the disaterous flood caused by Tevere river the very same year.
Important Things to Know
If you want to Italy, here are some basic things you should know.
First Northern Italy is wealthy, while the southern part is not.
Second Italy is slightly larger than the state of Arizona.
3rd Italy’s climate is predominantly Mediterranean with Alpine in far north and hot, dry areas in the south.
4th Vatican City in Rome qualifies as an independent country.
5th You can not get into any area of the Vatican wearing shorts.
6th Rome had the first paved streets in the world in 170 BC Vehicles to be banned because of traffic jams!
7th Roman gladiators were the first athletes to endorse products.
8th Considered one of the oddest Emperors, Caligula appointed his horse to the Senate position among other more notorious actions.
9th Roman statutes were very utilitarian. The heads could be removed and replaced to reflect the changes in the political climate.
10th When the Roman army lost a battle, they really took it hard. Commanders would kill every tenth soldier under their command. This action is the root of the word “decimate”.
11th Surprising to many is the fact that there were significant periods when ancient Rome had no Emperor. The Senate would rule. In times of threat, would the Senate select a person as Emperor. He had absolute power, giving rise to the term dictator.
12th Large percentages of Romans died of lead poisoning. They used is as a sweetener!
13th At the beginning of the 1900s invented the Prince Piero Ginori Conti geothermal pump. He is considered the father of modern geothermal energy.
14th 20 Italians have won the Nobel Prize.
15th Michelangelo’s real name is Michelangelo Buonarroti.
16th The people of Italy from 2005 was 58,103,033 people.
17th The flag of Italy was inspired by the French flag brought in 1797 by Napoleon.
18th Lehman Brothers owns seven percent of Ferrari.
19th Italy trails only Brazil in the World Cup winner.
Italy is a great country with colourful, animated people. From ancient culture to a bustling modern country, a trip to Italy hard to beat.
With the advent of the World Wide Web, it’s easier than ever to do research into those vacation spots that you’ve longed to visit. With the cost of travel these days, it’s important that you do as much research as possible so that you can pack as much into your vacation as possible.
However, even though you want to experience as much as possible on your vacation, one of the major mistakes that the vacationer makes is to try to do too much. You end up returning home needing a vacation from your vacation!
The best thing to do is make plans to visit one or at most two tourists spots each day. Have a backup site you’d like to visit in case something happens to one of your first two choices.
Well, what’s to see in Italy?
That all depends on your interests. There is indeed something for everyone.
All roads lead to Rome, as the saying goes, so let your feet take you in that direction. There are so many museums, churches, art galleries, and other places of interest there that you could spend your entire vacation in the capital city of Italy quite easily.
The Colosseum, located in the center of Rome, is over 2000 years old. Pictures in books do not do this ruined edifice justice, it must be seen to be believed. During its heyday it could seat 50,000 people, gathered together to watch the famous ‘circuses’ of gladiatorial combat. Nearby is the Forum, where Julius Caesar was killed by his Senators on the Ides of March.
After Rome its on to Naples. Well, Naples is just the starting point to get to Pompeii, and nearby Herculaneum. These are the cities buried under the ash of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the 1st century AD, and forgotten about for 1600 years. Excavations began in the 1700s and are still going on today. You’ll travel first to Naples, and from there go on to these famous cities frozen in time.
It’s possible to make a daytrip from Rome to Pompeii, so don’t miss out.
All Roads Lead To Rome, And Away From Rome
Where to go from Rome? Well, you could go north east, up to Venice. Venice, the city of canals. Indeed, Venice is surrounded by water – the best way to get there is by boat or train. This unique city is located on the southern coast of Italy, with far above it the country of Austria and to the west, Slovakia. Known as the city of canals, it’s also the city of bridges. Venice actually covers 117 small islands, with 409 bridges traversing 150 canals. You have never seen any city like it.
If you don’t want to go north you can go south, to Tuscany.
Are you a wine enthusiast? Or an oenologist, to put it technically. (That’s pronounced een-ol-o-gist, by the way.) If you are, you’ll want to visit the region of Tuscany, famous for its winemaking. There are fourteen “wine roads” throughout the region. Each road identifies the type of grape grown in that area, and has signs pointing to the various vineyards and other businesses open to the touring public. You might want to start your tour in the city of Florence, as you’ll be able to get in a little culture as well, by visiting the famous Uffizi Gallery.
The island of Elba, famous for its wine, is also a renowned tourist resort. And it’s the place where Napolean Bonaparte was first imprisoned (before escaping, regathering his army, losing at Waterloo, and ending up at St. Helena.) You can visit the two villas that Napolean occupied there.