Italy is amazing. This volcano cultural life, spewing tourist plenty of reasons to admire and be admired.
Italy receives over 50 million tourists annually. There are a lot of interesting facts about Italy.
And having arrived in Italy, you will notice them even more!
Italy is an incredibly interesting and diverse country.
This territory was inhabited several thousand years ago and to this day has preserved its unique way of life.
Italy had a huge impact on the development of mankind and was once the center of the mighty Roman Empire.
Now this country is a cultural and historical center of Europe and a highly developed state.
This collection contains 63 facts about Italy that will help you to know this amazing country even better!
1) The origin of the word Italia is still not precisely defined. According to historical theory, this name was given to this area by the Greeks,
and the word means "country of calves."
What does the calves have to do with it? Just a symbol of the Italian tribes from the southern part of the country,
to which the word Italia used to refer, was a bull!
2) No other country in the world has such a number of objects included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In Italy, there are 53 of them. And about 3 thousand museums.
3) Italy - the seas are washed immediately from three sides - in the west the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian, on the eastern side - the Adriatic,
and on the south - the Ionian and Mediterranean.
4) In Venice there are not only expensive gondolas for tourists, but also much cheaper gondolas - tragetto. Like minibuses for local residents.
5) In Italy there are two mini-states - San Marino and the Vatican.
6) In Florence, the biggest pedestrian zone in the world.
7) Italy has the largest number of volcanoes among European countries. What is it worth - one Vesuvius!
8) Bologna University is the oldest in Europe. It was founded back in 1088. There are 13 universities in Italy that are over 500 years old.
9) Italy is recognized as the country where the strongest marriages are made. Indeed, the divorce process in this country takes from three years!
10) Italy has the largest number of hotels among European countries.
11) This country has 20 regions, each of which has its own dialect and traditions.
Regions are divided into communes, the total number of which is more than 8000.
12) The first and most famous film festival in the world is the Venetian. Passes since 1932.
13) Life expectancy in Italy is a record among European countries - 83 years.
14) Italy largely determines the global fashion trends. Gucci, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Prada, Valentino,
Roberto Cavalli, Trussardi, Fendi are all Italian brands.
15) The official Italian language dates back to the Tuscan (Florentine) dialect, which Dante Alighieri used in his works instead of Latin.
Now in Italy there are many different dialects that are divided into three groups - North, South and Center.
16) Italians produce expensive, prestigious cars: Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, De Tomaso, Bugatti.
17) The most popular dishes in the world, pasta and pizza, relate to Italian cuisine.
Moreover, each region has its own traditional dishes, which are prepared according to special recipes.
18) In the town of Pessione near Turin in the 1860s, the production of Martini, one of the most successful alcohol brands in the world, began.
19) Etna volcano on the island of Sicily - the highest among the active brothers in Europe - is actively erupting.
Despite this, a walk on its landscape slopes is considered a completely safe event.
20) In the Tuscan town of Pistoia, a 45-minute drive from Florence, there is a Museum of lies.
21) Italians use more than 250 hand gestures in their speech.
Active gestures are associated with differences in dialects and emotionality of the inhabitants of this country.
22) On the embankment of Rome there is - the Museum of the Soul and Purgatory.
23) The fact of large Italian families has long become a myth - as of 2015, there is a clear demographic crisis in the country.
In 2015, Italy recorded a record low number of babies.
24) In Italy, the Mussolini regime was officially condemned, but in its homeland, in the city of Predappio, there is a Museum of fascism.
Although, of course, he does not deal with the propaganda of fascist ideology. In Rome, you can meet the monument "Duce".
25) Italy is considered one of the most religious countries in Europe.
When submitting a tax return for the year, the Italian must indicate that he made a donation to the church.
26) Between the cities of Rapallo and Portofino, on the shore of the Ligurian Sea, they laid a red carpet 8.5 km long.
27) In Italy, it decided to send two invitations to the wedding. One invites to the church, and the other to the celebration after marriage.
You can go to one event and refuse another.
28) In the town of Vacone, near Rome, in the restaurant “Solo per due” there is only one table! For two.
29) The best restaurants in Italy - without signage. You can get there only on the recommendation.
And in general, the recommendations - the Italian tradition for residents of the country strange to go somewhere for a reason.
30) Is it any wonder that many Italians have a poor understanding of foreigners who speak English. So bad that in some cafes and bars,
hearing your phrase about martini or coffee in English, immediately raise the price of drinks in 2 times.
So it’s better to ask in Italian if you know at least a few phrases. Or get ready to pay more.
31) 34) From one o'clock until five in the morning in Italy is strictly forbidden to visit the beach. The fine is 150 euros.
32) Sign language - is international and intelligible. Italians are said to be gesturing so powerfully, not only because of their southern temperament,
but also in order to be better understood by those living in other regions and countries. And even a little hold on the elbow - for greater persuasiveness.
By the way, if sign language is entirely organic in Italy for a man, then the desperate gestures of a woman can pass for quite vulgar behavior.
33) In August, all Italians go on vacation without exception - even large enterprises. This month in the country usually comes a very hot time.
34) The nudist beaches in Italy are completely legal and about 600 thousand people visit them every year.
35) Northern and southern Italians do not like each other. In the north, southerners are considered to be lazy, and in the south, they are called nerds.
36) Swimming in fountains is not encouraged. And there are a lot of fountains. For example, in Rome hundreds.
The most famous among them is the 18th century Trevi Fountain - one of the symbols of the city.
Tourists throw coins at him - for good luck and to return to the “eternal city”.
Each year, the fountain brings Rome about 1.4 million euros. To all the cities of the world on such a fountain!
37) Italians do not really like to work, so the term Italian strike is not a myth.
38) In Italy there are more than 2 thousand types of pizza! The most traditional is Margarita pizza with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.
Real Italian pizza is baked in a wood-fired oven. By the way, pour pizza with ketchup is a bad manners.
39) For Italians, it’s normal to live up to 30 years with their parents. Rarely will anyone marry or have children before this age.
40) Pasta is very popular. Especially with tomato sauce. During the year, the average Italian eats about 25-30 kg of pasta.
But juices are not widespread and are absent in the menu of many cafes.
41) Football is without a doubt the most popular sport in Italy. Many Italians are ardent fans (tifozi) who do not miss matches of their favorite teams.
They make colorful performances before the games, make huge slogans and bring forbidden fireworks to stadiums.
Football in Italy is not just a sport, it is a lifestyle.
42) Despite the ancient history, as a single state, Italy appeared only in 1861.
43) Be prepared for the fact that many Italians are not punctual. Do not be offended by them.
Perhaps they just looked at some masterpiece of architecture or fashion. And they forgot about the fast flowing time.
Not only people can be late in Italy. But also buses, trains and planes too.
44) Another case, part of the strike - may not walk the train and did not fly airplanes.
Italians also invented the phenomenon of “Italian strike” - an obstruction that slows down all work processes.
45) All windows in Italy have shutters, and it is impossible to make them according to your own design.
They must match those of the neighbor so as not to violate the architectural style.
46) Do not tell Italians about their tradition of throwing out old furniture from the window of a house before the New Year.
Such a tradition has already receded into the realm of tradition.
But to celebrate Christmas in red lingerie for good luck is still accepted.
47) The Italians have a real cult of their national cuisine. In 1986, at the opening of the first McDonald's,
nearby servings of spaghetti were handed out for free, to remind visitors of Italy’s rich culinary heritage.
48) You will immediately recognize a foreigner if you ask for tea for breakfast. Or order a cappuccino after lunch.
Italians drink cappuccino in the morning.
And only in the morning, not after dinner. Or start drying an open umbrella in the room. In Italy, this is considered a bad omen.
In restaurants and shops, wet umbrellas are left in a special basket at the entrance.
Do not carry the bag on your shoulder. Italians wear bags over their heads so that thieves on motorbikes are not tempted to rip them off.
Do not be scared - there are not so many of them, but they do occur. Especially in Naples.
By the way, having recognized visitors, taxi drivers can turn on the counter for suburban rates. Be carefull.
If possible, it’s best to agree on the price of the trip on the spot.
49) The worst insult to an Italian is to pour ketchup on pasta. They have a special reverent attitude to this dish of national cuisine.
50) Each region in Italy has a specific list of distinguished names and features.
Italians themselves almost always can understand by name and dialect which city they come from.
51) The Italians categorically cannot stand the cold, so a trip to the northern countries is like death for them.
The same goes for bad weather - in the rain most Italians are attacked by melancholy.
52) Italians are late in the blood, it is absolutely normal for them to come a couple of hours later. Bureaucracy in Italy also works slowly.
People have been waiting for some documents for years, for example, a university diploma can be obtained even after 4 years.
53) Shops in Italy are open until 19-20 pm, and most have lunch from 12 to 16 hours. Sunday is a mandatory day off.
54) In Italian cinemas, there is a five-minute break in the middle of the film to go to a cafe or toilet.
55) In Italy, girls dream of working on television as assistants. They are called Velino, and the profession is very popular.
56) Unlike other countries, Italy has an unlucky number of 17. Especially if it falls on Friday! This superstition has come from the past.
The fact is that if you depict this number in Roman numerals, you get XVII.
Changing these numbers, we see the letters that add up to the word VIXI, which from Latin translates roughly as "life is over."
57) The wolf is considered an unofficial symbol of Italy (everyone remembers the legend of Romulus and Remus and the founding of Rome),
the national flower is a lily, and the bird is a blue.
58) The colors of the flag of Italy can be deciphered as follows - faith (green), love (red) and hope (white).
Italians themselves joke that red is tomatoes, white is mozzarella, and green is basil.
Popular ingredients of Italian national dishes, in particular Margherita pizza!
59) Rome, the capital of this country, is considered one of the oldest cities in the world. It was founded in 753 BC.
60) The first bank in Europe appeared in Italy.
Experts believe that the prototype of this institution was the association of money changers in Venice in the XII century.
61) In Italy, women are highly esteemed - for many men it is normal to do household chores, live with mom and help her cook and do laundry.
Yes, and on the playgrounds with children for the most part dad walks. You could even say that matriarchy reigns in Italy!
62) Italy ranks fourth in Europe in terms of population.
This trend is due to the high birth rate and low mortality rate.
In its territorial area, the country of wine and the sun is comparable to the US state of Arizona,
however, the population on the Apennine Peninsula exceeds that of Arizona by ten times (about 60 million Italians and 6 million Arizona).
For every square kilometer in Italy, there are about 200 inhabitants.
63) Italy has the highest mountain in Europe.
And it is called Mont Blanc (translated "white mountain"). This peak is part of the Western Alps and is located on the border between France and Germany.
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