Italy

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Italy

• Introduction to Italian history and geography

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Outline

• Introduction
• Part I. Geography
• a. General information
• b. Major cities
• Part II. History
• a. Ancient history
• b. Modern Italy
• Conclusion
• References

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Introduction

• Italy (Italian Italia), republic in southern
  Europe
• It comprises, in addition to the Italian
  mainland, the islands of Elba, Sardinia, and
  Sicily, and many lesser islands
• Enclaves within mainland Italy are the
  independent countries of San Marino and Vatican
  City
• The area of Italy is 301,323 sq km
• One of the most visited countries for its
  beautiful landscapes, great architecture and rich
  history

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Part I. Geography
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a. General information

• Shaped much like a boot, the Italian Peninsula
  extends generally southeast into the
  Mediterranean Sea
• One-third of the total land surface of Italy is
  made of plains
• On the northern frontiers are the Alps (highest
  peak Monte Rosa 4,634 m)
• Three famous volcano Mount Etna 3,323 m,
  Stromboli and Vesuvius
• Member of the G7 (the seven most industrialized
  countries)
• Major industries tourism, engineering, textiles,
  chemicals, food processing, motor vehicles,
  clothing footwear

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b. Major cities

• The 2002 estimated Italian population is
  57,715,625
• The capital and largest city of Italy is Rome
  (population, 2000 estimate, 2,644,000)
• Milan (1,301,000), an important manufacturing,
  financial, and commercial city
• Turin (904,000), a transportation junction and
  major industrial city
• Genoa (636,000), the leading port in Italy and a
  major trade and commercial center
• Florence (377,000), a cultural, commercial,
  transportation, and industrial center
• Palermo (684,000), the capital and chief seaport
  of Sicily

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Part II. History

• Three majors periods Ancient Rome, the
  Renaissance and contemporary Italy
• A rich and ancient culture that influenced all
  the Western world
• A huge number of famous artists and thinkers like
  Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante, Puccini and
  Galileo

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a. Ancient history

• 753 Foundation of Rome by Romulus and Remus.
• 753-509 Kingdom. Romulus first king
• 509-27 Republic
• 44 Caesar killed by Senators
• 30 Cleopatra killed herself. Egypt becomes a
  Roman province
• 27 BC-476 AD Empire (first emperor Augustus)
• c.79 Vesuvius erupts in Pompeii
• 116 - 17 Roman empire reaches its greatest
  extent, under Emperor Trajan (98-117)
• 330 New city of Constantinople (now Istanbul)
  inaugurated on site of ancient Greek city of
  Byzantium in European Turkey
• 391 Christianity official religion of the Roman
  Empire
• 476 Fall of the Roman empire

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b. Modern Italy

• 800 Pope crowns Charlemagne emperor of Rome
• 1020 Rome, Florence and Venice, become city
  states
• 1072 - 91 Norman armies conquer Sicily
• c. 1254 Explorer Marco Polo born in Venice
• 1478 - 92 Rule of Renaissance art patron, Lorenzo
  de' Medici
• 1506 - 1612 Construction of basilica of St
  Peter's in Rome
• 1519 Death of Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo
  da Vinci
• 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte, later Napoleon I,
  invaded Italy
• 1861 the kingdom of Italy proclaimed unification
  
• 1922 Mussolini becomes prime minister dictator
  from 1925
• 1946 Italy became a republic
• 2001 Berlusconi Prime Minister

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Conclusion

• In May 1999 former prime minister Carlo Ciampi
  was elected president
• For centuries, all the Mediterranean ruled by
  Rome, with a single official language, Latin, and
  a single currency
• Now, Italy, one of the leading countries in the
  EU, adopted the Euro in 2002
• In 2004, 10 more countries from Eastern Europe
  will join the European Union

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References

• http//encarta.msn.com
• http//www.cnn.com/TRAVEL/atevo/city/Rome/intro.ht
  ml
• http//www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/it
  aly
• http//ww2.webcomp.com/virtuale/us/roma/movie.htm