Country of the Week: Italy!

In this edition, we chose Italy as the country of the week because its band Måneskin won the Eurovision song contest this May. Italy is a country in Southern Europe, known for its tasty foods like pasta and pizzas, for the tower of Pisa, the Roman Empire, the Colosseum, figures like Leonardo Da Vinci and Dante Alighieri, Venice, Milan fashion week, and the Vespa scooter. Check out some facts about this amazing country down below!

• Did you know that in Italy, a cat inherited 10 million euros from its owner? It is absolutely crazy! Maria Assunta, a wealthy widow from the country, decided to leave all her earnings to her four-year-old cat Tommaso, who is now the world’s third-richest animal. The cat is now looked after by a nurse that the woman hired, and they live on her estate.

• Tourists throw around 3000 euros into the Trevi Fountain each day as they pass by. Legend has it that throwing a coin into the fountain means that you get to return to Rome. Back in the Roman period, they threw coins in the water so the gods of water would keep them safe on their journeys.

• In Italian, ‘tiramisú’ is a famous dessert, but the name means ‘pick me up’ when translated to English. It is literally telling you to eat it. It could also mean that it will ‘pick you up' because of the caffeine and high sugar content it has.

• Another fun fact is that there is a country inside of Italy! The Holy See, also known as Vatican City, is a territory where only Roman Catholic clergy members and Swiss guards live. With a size of 44 ha, it is the smallest country in the world. The president of the 92-year-old nation is Giuseppe Bartello, a cardinal.

• In 1986, the first Mcdonald's in Italy was installed in Rome, and Italians responded negatively. There were protests because they are proud of their nation’s cuisine, and in my opinion, it undoubtedly opaques the fast-food chain.

• Italy is the place with more UNESCO sites, including Mount Etna (an active volcano), the city of Verona, and the archeological areas of Pompeii. In fact, the previously mentioned volcano recently erupted four times in the sparse of six days. Mount Vesuvius, another active volcano, is the one that destroyed the entire city of Pompeii in AD 79. And curiously, the city of Verona is where Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is set!.

Bibliography

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Barone (n.d.). Mount Etna [Photograph]. Google Images. https://www.visitsicily.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Etna_crateri_sommitali_Ph.Barone.jpg

Food Editorial Team (2019, March 13). Tommaso the Cat: ONCE Homeless, now a millionaire. One Green Planet. https://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/tommaso-the-cat-once-homeless-now-a-millionaire/

Geology (n.d.). Italy map and satellite image. Geology.com. https://geology.com/world/italy-satellite-image.shtml

Mussio, G. (2020, April 20). 9 surprising Trevi Fountain Facts: Rome Blog. Walks of Italy. https://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/art-culture/9-surprising-facts-trevi-fountain-rome

Prior, E. (2021, April 27). 17 fun facts you didn't know ABOUT ITALY. Flavours Holidays. https://www.flavoursholidays.co.uk/blog/facts-about-italy/

The Intrepid Guide (2021, March 09). Italy fun Facts: 126 unique things you didn't know ABOUT ITALY. The Intrepid Guide. https://www.theintrepidguide.com/fun-facts-of-italy/

UNESCO World Centre (n.d.). Italy. UNESCO. http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/IT

Wikipedia Authors. (2021, May 25). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City

Wikipedia Authors. (n.d.). Wikibooks. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior:Europe/Vatican_City

Wikipedia Authors (2021, April 29). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Bertello