ITALY’S INTERESTING FACTS

The official name of Italy is the Italian Republic, founded in 1946. Its flag is formed by three equally sized vertical stripes of green, white and red.

The capital of Italy is Rome (also known as the Eternal City) and is almost 3,000 years old. It has almost 3 millions inhabitants in the city limits

No other country in Europe has as many volcanoes as Italy. This is because the Italian peninsula stands on a fault line. Three major volcanoes (Etna, Stromboli, and Vesuvius) have erupted in the last hundred years.

Etna Stromboli

Vesuvius

Almost four-fifths of Italy is either mountainous or hilly

The first thermometer (called thermoscope) was made by Italian inventor Santorio Santorio in 1612

There are two independent states within Italy: the Republic of San Marino (25 square miles) in the central Apennines

and the Vatican City (just 108.7 acres) in Rome.

The highest peak in Europe is in Italy. Monte Bianco (White Mountain) is 15,771 feet (4810 m) high and is part of the Alps.

Over 50 million tourists a year visit Italy.It’s the fourth most visited country in the world

Italy is the world largest exporter of wine

Venice, is one of the world's most beautiful and unusual cities. It was founded over 1,400 years ago on a collection of muddy islands in a wide and shallow lagoon.

Ferrari is the Italian most famous sport luxury car in the world, racing in F1 championship

May – Oct 2015 Italy hosted EXPO Milan 2015 Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life. The World’s Fair embraced technology, innovation, culture, traditions and creativity and how they relate to food and diet

Italy has 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites,, the most of any

country in the world

Palermo, Valley of the Temples

Many Shakespeare’s plays were set in Italy, including Othello and the Merchant of Venice