Guide to Italy

Facts About Italy

Italy is a parliamentary republic of southern Europe. The capital of Italy is Rome. It borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. Vatican City and San Marino are completely surrounded by Italian territory. In addition to the large islands of Sicily and Sardinia are several groups of islands.

Italy is a founding member of the European Union and is one of its 28 Member States. 18 of them form a monetary union, the euro zone. The country is a member of the United Nations, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) , the G8 (Group of Eight) and the G20 . Italy is one of the larger economies and was named highly developed countries by Human Development Index.

Here are some interesting facts about Italy :

1. Italy is famous for its sports cars (Ferrari, Lamborghini) and it's Vespa - scooter.

2. The Roman army was the best in ancient times.

3. Archimedes, a world-famous mathematician was born in Sicily.

4. Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' played in Verona.

5. Niccolo Machiavelli, a famous political scientist and author of  'The Prince' is Italian.

6. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was the famous painter of the Renaissance sculptors, architect, engineer and scientist.

7. Michelangelo (1475-1564), who painted the Sistine Chapel, was also sculptor and architect.

8. Spartacus, the slave, fought as a gladiator in the Roman Colosseum. He was able to escape as a miracle, then led a rebellion, but was  eventually killed in the battle of 71 BC.

9. The city of Pompeii was buried completely when the volcano Vesuvius 79 A.d. erupted in the year.

10. St. Peter who was one of the twelve apostles and  was the first of 265 Popes.

11. The Holy Shroud, a 14 foot-long linen revered by some as the burial cloth of Jesus, displayed at the Cathedral of Turin, Italy.

12. During the 14th century, the bubonic plague occured, known as the "black death",  because of this plague third of the Italian population was killed.

13. Galileo Galilei, the famous mathematician and astrologer, was born in 1564 in Pisa.

14. Italy is the birthplace of Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737), a designer of musical instruments, and most famous for his violins.