Alessandro ArduiniMY ITALIAN LEGACYK. If all of the world´s cultural heritage (sports, music, fashion, architecture, literature, painting, etc..) was contained in a time capsule, what would you include to demonstrate the legacy of your country?

Dante Alighieri

Poet of the 13th Century, Dante is best known for his work ‘La Divina Commedia’ (the Divine Comedy)

The poem is structured in three parts: Inferno, Purgatory, and Heaven It is written in vernacular ‘Fiorentino’ (Florence, main city in Tuscany,

home of the Renaissance period, of Michelangelo, the Medici…) This writing style is the reason why the ‘Fiorentino’ dialect is today

commonly considered to be the ‘real Italian language’, even though Italian consists of thousands of dialects across 20 regions

Dante shaped global literature from the Middle Ages until this very day; his works are an integral part of the must-be-taught literature of all Italian schools

Roman History

Begins with one of Italy’s most well-known myths: the Foundation of Rome, according to which the two brothers and semi-gods Romulus and Remus built the city in 753bc, before engaging in a deadly combat over who should be the sole ruler. (The name ’Rome’ should make the winner clear!)

The Roman Kingdom, Republic, and, finally, Empire, loomed large over Europe, North Africa, and much of today’s Middle East

Names of Emperors such as Marcus Aurelius, Hadrian, Titus, Augustus, Trajan have made Italian history, and their battles shaped global strategic military to the extent of, likely, only the Ancient Greeks

Politics was also vital in ancient Rome, as the Senate (the rich) governed the city from above and engaged in several cross-family scandals

Cibo, Auto, Design, Moda, Musica ad infinitum I consider today-Italy as the most niche and yet multi varied country across the

globe Our culinary tradition is second to none: every region has its own specialties (you

can have thousands of different traditional meals as you wander around Italy from north to south). Our stereotypical pizza and pasta get me through 90% of the days.

May I say, Italian music is also incredible! De Andre’ is our very own Dylan/Cohen, Lucio Battisti is one of our most romantic songwriter, in Naples they love Lucio Dalla, and you have probably heard of Pavarotti!

We have, for decades, been the number one in our expertise on numerous matters: from automobiles (Ferrari, Fiat, Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo…) to our fashion designers (Gucci, Armani, D&G, Prada…). We are always setting global trends, because Italian taste for aesthetic, the ’benessere’, is both incredible and incredibly rooted in our DNAs

Italian Landscape

In my opinion, if Italy were to be handled better (in terms of mafia, corruption, laziness, bad organization, etc.) we would be the best country in the world. Why? Well, it’s simple, we have everything!

You can go skiing in the Alps in northern Italy, on some of the most breath-taking slopes of the planet, and when you get bored…

Simple! It’s time for a swim. You can choose whether you want sandy, spectacular beaches, and in that case all you have to do is head south, towards Sicily, Sardegna, Puglia. Otherwise, if you’re more of the rough-swim, rocky beaches type, why not a trip to the costiera Ligure?

Type ‘Cinqueterre’ on Google images if you’re still on the fence…

I took this one!!

Antonio Conte

This one’s a little more personal! The application is about me, after all, and these are my picks for the Italian legacy!

For whom doesn’t know, Conte is a football coach who previously trained Juventus (the club I support) and is now amazing both English fans and press with his Chelsea point-machine in the Premier League. I do miss him dearly at Juve.

Italy is famous for its football. We are the second country with most World Cups, winning an incredible one in 1982 (beating Argentina and Brazil en route, two power-houses). Our ’catenaccio’ style is famous worldwide and our ’grinta’ makes us who we are on the football pitch

That grinta? Well, I believe it translates to our personal and professional life, too. Grinta is about resilience, strength, giving your 110% in all situations, tackling those issues that seem to be unsolvable: and never giving up until you get home with those 3 points. (I do hope a football enthusiast is having the pleasure of reading this! I’m not a football fanatic, I promise!)

Thanks for reading, I hope you like my picks for Italy’s most important world-wide contributions, and that perhaps you have learned something from it.

See you in IE!