ITALY

Aner , Maria , Paula and Iván

GEOGRAPHY Italy is situated in the southeast of Europe , in the south of Italy is the Mediterranean sea , in the east is the Tyrrhenian and in the west the Adriatic. In the north of Italy are the Alps. Italy has two islands : Sardinia and Sicily. Italy has a very peculiar form , because it looks like a boot.

INTERESTING DETAILSThe capital of Italy is Rome . In Italy there are 58.093.000 inhabitants. The official language is Italian. The official currency is the euro .Italy is 301.227 sq km big.

THE FLAGThe Italian flag is green , white and red.

HISTORY The state of Italy was founded in 1861 by King Victor Emmanuel II.Inside Italy , there is a city-state called ``Vatican city´´ . The Pope lives in Vatican city .

POLITICSItaly is a democratic Republic , so it hasn´t got a king, it has got a president . Last year the president was Silvio Berlusconi and now it is Mario Monti.

SPORTSFootball is the most popular sport in Italy , Italy has been 4 times World Champion , in 1934, in 1938, in 1982, and in 2006.Formula 1 is popular too ,because there is a very famous Italian team called Ferrari . Ferrari has 16 constructors´ championships and 15 drivers’ championships.

CLIMATEIn most parts of Italy the climate is Mediterranean , except in the Alps.

NATIONAL ANTHEMThe Italian national anthem is called “Il canto degli Italiani”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3RToBymttA

FOODIn Italy the most popular food are pizza and pasta like : macaroni , spaghetti , lasagna or cannelloni.

VENICE

• This town is characterized by the canals surrounding the entire city.

• Venice is composed of 120 little islands connected by 455 bridges and 177 rivers.

The city has got 412 km² and 271.009 residents

Since the city was constructed, it has had a lot of floods. In springs and autum, the disaster called aqua alta takes place. Twice a day San Marcos square is flooded.

The famous public transportation is the gondolas, little rowboats.

The popular festival in Venice is the Carnival.

These are some of the landmarks in Venice

San Marcos square

Ducal Palace

Palazzo Dolfin Mannin

Palazzo Grassi

Constitution bridge

San Rocco church

Rome

Fontana di Trevi

It is situated in the middle of three streets, where the water of the Tiber river passes. People took a lot of water from there and because of that Pope Nicolas V reappeared in 1453. It was designed by Leon Battista Alberti, to announce the coming of the water.A legend says that the people who go to the Fontana de Trevi and throw one coin, will come back to Rome. If you throw two coins, you’ll have a romance, and if you throw three coins, there will be a marriage or a divorce. Another legend says that if you throw the coin with the right hand over your left shoulder, you will have luck.

Piazza di Spagna

It is one of the most famous squares in Rome. It has this name because, it was given by Fernando the Catholic. When you go up on the stairs you, find the Trinita Dei Monti.In the middle of the square it is the famous Fontana della Barcaccia. The staircase has 135 steps, Pope Benedicto XIII inaugurated it.

Coliseum

It is an amphitheater of the season of the Roman, Empire it was constructed in the first century. It is one of the most famous monuments of the classic antiquity. It can accommodate about 50.000 people. The people that were in the first row were the important ones, and the people that were at the back, weren’t as important as the others. In the Coliseum there were fights of gladiators and public spectacles. In 64 A.D. the Coliseum was destructed by the Big fire of Rome.

Piazza Del Popolo

It is one of the most famous squares in Roma. The architect who designed it was Giuseppe Valadier in the years 1811-1822.

Vatican City

It is an independent country that is inside Rome. When you visit Rome, it is typical to visit the Vatican too. The Vatican is the only country where the first language is Latin. The Swiss Guard is in charge of the Vatican security. They wear unusual clothes. In this country they have their football team.

Location

● Toscana is a region of Italy.

● It is in the centre.● It has 22.994 km2.

Geography● It has got a lot of

mountains there are 25,1%. The highest mountain is Monte Prado. It also has volcanoes, for example Monte Amiata.Forests are the 8,4% of the geography.

Climate

● The climate is very rainy and it has sharp changes of temperature between summer and winter.

Provinces● Arezzo,Florencia,

Grosseto,Livorno,Lucca, Massa-Carrara,Pisa ,Pistoia,Prato and Siena.

● The capital city is Florence.

● There are 3.734.355 inhabitants

Places to visit

● There are a lot of cities to visit Florence,Pisa,Siena,Pienza ,The valley of Orcia.

Economy

● The agriculture has importance in the economy.They produce a lot of wine.

● Industry has importance because they have minerals.