Greece and Italy

History, Culture, and Government/Economics

Greece

Was first made up of independent city-states. Would eventually become part of the Roman

Empire until the empire divided. Greece was the eastern half of this empire that

split. This empire was known as the Byzantine Empire.

Most spoke Greek and followed the eastern traditions of Christianity – Greek Orthodox Church

1453: Byzantine Empire conquered by Ottoman Turks, who were Islamic

Greece

During the late 1700s, the Greeks were gaining nationalism and liked the idea of independence as they began to develop a high level of interest and pride of their Greek history.

1829: Greece claims independence and formed a monarchy.

1967: Military officials took over the government. The government would fail in 1975

Since 1975: Parliamentary Democracy

Greek Culture

Most speak Greek and are apart of the Greek Orthodox church

Every major town has a patron saint, where townspeople celebrate their saint every year through a festival.

2/3 of people live in cities with many people living in Athens, Greece’s capital.

Blend of old sections with narrow streets and newer areas that have shopping centers and high rise apartments. Coffee houses can be found here where friends often meet.

Greece Government/Economics

Parliamentary democracy President does ceremonial duties Prime Minister and his/her cabinet along with

Parliament governs the country Voting is compulsory (mandatory) as failure to

vote is against the law. Has fewer high-tech and service jobs than other

countries in Western Europe Agriculture, tourism, shipping, and fishing are

important

Italy

Was once apart of the Western Roman Empire (prior to the late 400s when this Empire fell).

When the Empire split, the Italian Peninsula was split into small kingdoms and city-states.

In 1796, France controlled much of this peninsula and helped improved conditions here

Better roads, common currency, new laws were created.

Italians saw the benefits of unity and wanted the same.

Italy History

Italian patriots unified Italy in 1861. Giuseppe Garibaldi and Camillo Cavour were 2 major

patriots involved. Benito Mussolini – promoted fascism in Italy when he

took over the government in 1920 Fascism – a political system based on fierce nationalism

and strong central government led by a dictator. Mussolini was able to gain the trust of the Italians for his

style of government as he promised the return of a powerful Roman Empire.

Mussolini would face harsh defeats in World War II and tried to escape Italy. He was captured and killed while the government was replaced with a democracy.

Italian Culture

Speak Italian (official language). This is known as one of the Romance languages.

Romance Languages – come from Latin and are spoken in places that used to be part of the Roman Empire.

Most are catholic as church leaders and the government were very tight.

The Vatican is in Italy, the political and religious center of the Catholic Church. It is an independent country and it’s the smallest country in the world.

More Italian Culture

Agricultural/Rural modern, urban society Becoming more diverse as of late Northern and Southern Italy are very different from

each other. Northern: richer with more people working in

manufacturing and different styles of food (risotto- rice dish).

Southern: more people work in agriculture and pasta with tomato sauce food here

All of Italy is heavy in sports as many enjoy watching race car driving, cycling, and soccer

Italian Government

Parliamentary Democracy where voters elect ¾ of parliament

¼ of Parliament is selected through a complex system that has all of the political parties represented in Parliament

Prime Minister is head of government and is selected from the Political party that receives the most votes in Parliament.

Due to the large number of political parties, some group together for a common purpose (coalition). This is often temporary and allows for Italian government to always be changing.

Italian Economy

Prosperous industrial nation today but was mostly an agricultural nation in the past.

Famous for fashionable clothing, shoes, and CARS!

EU member, helped Italy’s economy grow. Due to EU membership, Italy was able to open

new markets for its products. Northern Italy benefited the most as Southern Italy

still remains largely farmland. Still working on bringing better prosperity to the

southern parts