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Chef Gazpacho’s

Guide To

ITALY

By:Jannielle Antony, Kennedy Malone,

Megan Wells,

Myra Jansky

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Hi, my name is Chef Gazpacho! I’m going to teach you

a bit about my country, Italy. Follow me to our first

stop: Italy’s farmland! We will learn about the

agriculture in Italy. Here we go!

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Here we are, in Italy’s farmland! Did you know that

most of Italy’s farms are between 12 and 240 acres big?

And the main crops are olives and grapes? All of the

grapes grown need to be harvested in the lowland near

the Po River, and picked by hand.

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Fish are a great part of the Italian agricultural

industry. The main fish they catch are trout, pilchards,

anchovy, striped venus, cuttlefish, squid, octopus, and

shrimp. Due to global warming, the fish catching

industry is going down, but fish are still produced in all

parts of Italy.

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The main animals on Italy’s farms are cattle, sheep,

goats, and pigs. Meat production from these animals are

4,061 thousand metric tons. The northern part of Italy

has the most of the dairy production.

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Here are some fun facts on Italian agriculture.

Banana imports are 34,600 million. Cotton exports are

30,000 bales. Wine is produced in every one of Italy’s 20

regions.

Now we will move on to the pizzeria to learn about

Italian food!

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Here we are at the pizzeria! In Italy each region is

known for special foods. Naples is considered the

birthplace of pizza. Parma is known for ham, Lombardy

for rice dishes, Tuscany for soup, Sicily for sweets, and

the Alpine Valleys for cheese.

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Tomatoes are a very important food to Italy, even

though they borrowed the idea from Mexico, along with

many different recipes from other places. In the

summer, they have a tomato festival. They can eat

tomatoes all year long because they have so many left

over from the summer festival. Mama Mia! That must

be a lot of tomatoes!

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Italians eat a variety of different foods. Veal, beef,

and lamb are their favorite meats. In northern Italy

pasta and rice are liked a lot because they have them at

every main meal. The people eat chickpeas-a round bean.

They also eat fried cream puffs, Romaine salad with

fennel, spaghetti, olives, mazzarino salad, and tomato

sauce. They also like pizza, gelato (ice-cream), Formaggio

(cheese), and frutta. (fruit)

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Now, I would like to share a few fun facts about

Italian food with you. Did you know that coffee is a

favorite drink in Italy? They drink it out of little cups

and they call it Espresso. Italy is known for pasta;

pasta is an Italian word that means ‘dough’. And,

spaghetti and with meatballs is not a typical Italian

meal.

Now we will move on to the chapel to learn about the

Italian religion.

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Here we are in the Italian chapel! Did you know that

Roman Catholicism is the majority of 85% native born

citizens, and 20% participate in regular services of

worship? The Italian Constitution provides for freedom

of religion, so not all are Catholic.

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Italy has been a land of deep faith since time

immemorial. The landscape is still dotted with beliefs of

the past. Rome has been a religious capital for

thousands of years in the Catholic faith.

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Instead of ending time of holiness at New Years, it

lasts until January 6th. During that time, or around it,

they place presents around a manger and they pray. Boy

is it busy around that time of year because the festival

called Winter Solstice festival also happens!

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In 1984 Italy and Vatican City updated several

provisions of the 1929 packs. There is no state religion

and the Constitution prohibits state support and

private schools. The countryside is dotted with

monasteries and convents. Many are empty because

fewer people are becoming monks and nuns. Now we’re off

to the art museum!

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Many of the famous artists of Italy included

Leonardo De Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. These

artists were famous now and in the Renaissance. Italy’s

gallery includes Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, and the

Vitruvian man.

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Florence!

Florence is a well known city for art museums.

Did you know that the first operas were composed

in Florence, in the 1590’s? Many artists were born

near, or in Florence.

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Fame!

Raphael settled in Florence in 1504, where he

studied Leonardo De Vinci. Leonardo De Vinci was

born near Florence; he later became a court artist

for Lodivico Sforza (the duke of Milan) and was

later hired by the Florentine government to

decorate walls.

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Michelangelo!

Michelangelo’s style was distinct. End of story.

He got the style from Lorenzo the Magnificents

palace. All of these artists are now dead.

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Thank you for coming on this lovely tour with

me to show you my homeland. Now I must go back to

the pizzeria to eat my heart out. On you way out,

you may grab a piece of pizza. (If there is any left.)