19/09/17
- Structure of Italian government
- Different areas of Italy
- Famous land marks
- Inventions and creations
- Famous Italian faces
The Italian Government:
Italy was a monarchy from its unification in the second half of the 19th century until 1946, when it became a parliamentary republic following a national referendum. The Italian government has two chambers, the Senate of the Republic ( Senato della Repubblica) with 315 members (called senators) and the Chamber of Deputies ( Camera dei Deputati) with 630 members (deputies). The assemblies enjoy equal power and are both elected by universal suffrage.
For administrative purposes, the country is divided into 20 regions, which roughly correspond to the historical regions of the country. The regions are further divided into 110 provinces ( provinci province, three of which will come into being in 2009), which are further subdivided into town councils or communes ( comuni).
Different areas of Italy:
The Italian state is divided into 20 regions. Each region is subdivided into a handful of provinces. The smallest administrative unit is a comune, which has a mayor and a local authority, but may contain just a few hundred residents. Each region has its own different character and cuisine there, and most have airports to be able to fly tourists in to. Some examples of Italian regions are Sicily, Lazio and Veneto.
Famous Landmarks:
Colosseum in Rome- The Colosseum is one of the landmarks most people can easily link to Italy. The huge oval amphitheater stands in the city center of Rome and construction was started in 70 AD. Built in Roman design borrowed from the Greeks, the amphitheater was build in the bad of a dried out lake. The Colosseum was the place in those days where the Romans held their popular fights and games. There were gladiator games, animal hunts and mock sea battles held in the Colosseum. About 50,000 people could be seated on the steps of this ancient amphitheater.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa- The famous Leaning Tower is in fact the city cathedral’s bell tower, in Italian called ‘campanile’. The tower was constructed in 1173 but the structure was miscalculated and built on not so solid ground, so the tower began leaning early on! It is said that Italian scientist Galileo Galilei used the tower for various gravity experiments, such as dropping various objects from the top of the tower. The tower is only about 56 meters tall while the tower’s tilt is actually more than 4.3 meters, when measured. Meaning the top is leaning over so much the tower seems to fall. In 1999 some soil was taken away from underneath the tower, to lower the degree of the tilt and pull the tower more upright so it would not topple over. You are able to climb the tower, which has 294 steps!
The Pompeii ruins- The ancient ruins of Pompeii near Naples in southern Italy are one of Italy’s major tourist attractions. The ancient town which was once home to over 10,000 people was destroyed in 79 AD by an eruption of the nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, which is still active today. The magnificent amphitheatre is one of the most intact buildings and structures still to be seen on this UNESCO world heritage site.
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