Facts about Italy
Mussolini hoped for a quick victory but Italy suffered from the very beginning from the poor training of its army and the lack of experience of its generals.
Today, Italy is a highly developed country, a member of the G8 and a founding member of what is now the European Union, having signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957.
The Black Death (1348) inflicted a terrible blow to Italy, resulting in one third of the population being killed by the disease.
Many of Italy's top fashion designers have boutiques that can be found around the world.
The first Greek settlers, who arrived in Italy from Euboea island in the eighth century B.C.E., were possibly the first to use the reference land of bulls.
The alliance between reactionary Catholic Spain and the Holy See resulted in the systematic persecution of any Protestant movement, with the result that Italy remained a Catholic country with marginal Protestant presence.
The word Italy derives from the Homeric (Aeolic) word ??????, which means bull.
Serving as the center of the Roman civilization for centuries, Italy lost its unity after the collapse of the Roman Empire and subsequent barbaric invasions.
Different languages were spoken throughout the Italian peninsula, many of which were Romance languages which had developed in every region, due to political fragmentation of Italy.
The number of modern immigrants or foreign residents in Italy has steadily increased to reach 2,402,157, according to the 2005 figures of ISTAT.
The northern part of Italy, under the direct control of Vienna recovered its economic dynamism and intellectual fervor.
Some of Italy's most famous composers include the Renaissance composers Palestrina and Monteverdi, the Baroque composers Corelli and Vivaldi, the Classical composers Paganini and Rossini, and the Romantic composers Verdi and Puccini.
Having given birth to opera, for example, Italy provides many of the very foundations of the classical music tradition.
The republic won with a 9 percent margin; the north of Italy voted prevalently for a republic, the south for the monarchy.
French oaks (Quercus robur, Q. petraea) give the wine greater refinement and are chosen for best wines, since they increase the price compared to those aged in American oak wood.
After Magna Graecia, the Etruscan civilization and especially the Roman Republic and Empire that dominated this part of the world for many centuries, Italy was central to European science and art during the Renaissance.
Auto racing receives much attention in Italy, while the nation is host to a number of notable automobile racing events, such as the famed Italian Grand Prix.
The path to a modern liberal democracy was interrupted by the tragedy of the World War I (1914-1918), which Italy fought along with France and Great Britain.
In 1878 Umberto I succeeded his father Vittorio Emanuele II as King of Italy.
Ultimately Spain prevailed (the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis in 1559 recognized the Spanish possession of the Kingdom of Naples) and for almost two centuries became the hegemon in Italy.
A large alluvial plain called the Po-Venetian plain is drained by the Po River—which is Italy's biggest river with 652 km—and its many tributaries flowing down from the Alps.
Massimo d'Azeglio, one of Cavour's ministers, is said to have stated, following Italian unification, that having created Italy, all that remained was to create Italians.
The national territory was enlarged to Veneto and Venice in 1866 after the third War of Independence, fought by allied Italy and Prussia against Austria.
Austria succeeded Spain as hegemon in Italy after the Peace of Utrecht (1713), having acquired the State of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples.
The official language of Italy is Standard Italian, descendant of Tuscan dialect and a direct descendant of Latin.
Some of the world's most elite vehicles were developed in Italy: Lamborghini, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and Masarati are but a few of the well-known luxury cars that originated in Italy.
The majority of immigrants in Italy come from other surrounding European nations, and they number 1,122,276, coming chiefly from Albania, Romania, the Ukraine, and Poland.
Population estimates place Italy's population at roughly 41 million in 2050 if the current population trend continues.
Other Christian groups in Italy include Jehovah's Witnesses 400,000 and the Waldensians (35,000).
Excavations throughout Italy have found proof of people in Italy dating back to the Paleolithic period (the "Old Stone Age") some 200,000 years ago.
Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the Economic and Monetary Union and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates.
Briefly reunited under Byzantium (552), Italy was occupied by the Longobards in 568, resulting in the peninsula becoming seriously divided.
Each historical region of Italy had its own so-called ‘dialetto’ (with ‘dialect’ usually meaning, improperly, a non-Italian Romance language), with variants existing at the township-level.
Rugby union is very popular in Italy; clubs compete domestically in the Super 10, as well as the European Heineken Cup tournament.
The Apennine mountains form the backbone of this peninsula, leading north-west to where they join the Alps, the mountain range that then forms an arc enclosing Italy from the north.
The Italians love of automobiles and speed has made Italy famous for its production of many of the world's most famous sports cars and the industry that flourishes there.
According to the OECD, in 2004 Italy was the world's sixth-largest exporter of manufactured goods.
Despite the pronounced political and social isolation of these regions that prevailed throughout Italy's history, Italy's contributions to the cultural and historical heritage of Europe and western civilization at large, remain immense.
The north of Italy (Turin, Milan, and Bologna) has a true continental climate, while below Florence it becomes more and more Mediterranean.
Architectural ruins from antiquity throughout Italy testify to the greatness of cultures past.
Basketball (pallacanestro) is a sport gaining rapid popularity in Italy, although national teams have existed since the 1950s.
As all European countries, Italy is a safe country. Violent crime is low, and most tourists will never be bothered by safety concerns other that petty crime. It is ranked 34th on the ranking of world's safest countries.
The German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, unleashed the European war. Italy entered World War II on the Axis side on June 10, 1940, as the defeat of France became apparent. In July 1940, just weeks after the defeat of France, Hitler decided that Nazi Germany would attack the Soviet Union the following spring.
Following the March on Rome in October 1922, Mussolini became the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history until the appointment of Matteo Renzi in February 2014.
This page provides a quick sketch of Italy's role in WWII; the guidebook has much more information. In June 1940, Benito Mussolini chose to ally Italy's forces with those of Adolf Hitler. Soon German and Italian armies were battling Allied troops on several fronts.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia was never colonized by a European power, but was occupied by Italians in 1936 (see below); however, several colonial powers had interests and designs on Ethiopia in the context of the 19th century "Scramble for Africa." ... The Italians now came on the scene.
WW2: Italy invades Ethiopia. In 1935, the League of Nations was faced with another crucial test. Benito Mussolini, the Fascist leader of Italy, had adopted Adolf Hitler's plans to expand German territories by acquiring all territories it considered German.Mar 2, 2015
The number 13 is lucky in Italy, especially when gambling. The number 13 is also associated with the Goddess of Fertility and the lunar cycles. It is thought the number brings prosperity and abundant life. Although 13 is considered lucky, sitting down to a table with 12 others is an ill omen.Jan 10, 2014
In Italy, 17 is considered an unlucky number. One anagram of the Roman numeral XVII is VIXI, which in Latin translates as "I have lived", with the implication "My life is over" or "I'm dead".Nov 15, 2007
The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides.
The name Italia was in origin applied only to a portion of what is now Calabria, possibly from an Oscan name Víteliú, interpreted as "[land] of young cattle". It was not applied to the entire peninsula (now under Roman rule) until the 1st century BCE.
The formation of the modern Italian state began in 1861 with the unification of most of the peninsula under the House of Savoy (Piedmont-Sardinia) into the Kingdom of Italy. Italy incorporated Venetia and the former Papal States (including Rome) by 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71).
The future of the southern Italian peninsula was shaped by the different peoples who inhabited it between the years 800 and 200 BC. These include the Etruscans, Greeks and the many Italian tribes such as the Latins, Campanians, Samnites, Sabines, etc.
The Kingdom of Italy (Italian: Regno d'Italia) was a state which existed from 1861—when King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy—until 1946—when a constitutional referendum led civil discontent to abandon the monarchy and form the Italian Republic.
The Italians (Italian: Italiani [itaˈljaːni]) are a nation and ethnic group native to Italy, who share a common culture, history, ancestry and language. ... Italian people are generally known for their localism (both regionalist and municipalist) and their attention to clothing and family values.
The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides.
According to the founding myth of Rome, the city was founded on 21 April 753 BCE by twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who descended from the Trojan prince Aeneas and who were grandsons of the Latin King, Numitor of Alba Longa.
King Vittorio Emanuele II, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Prime minister Count di Cavour and Giuseppe Mazzini have been referred to as the Four Fathers of the Fatherland. Italy was unified in 1861 and Rome became its capital in 1870.
The name Italy (Italia) is an ancient name for the country and people of Southern Italy. Originally is was spelled Vitalia, probably from the same root as the Latin vitulus (a one-year-old calf), thus literally meaning 'calf-land' or "Land of Cattle".
1861