Italy Essay Paper Example For Students

Italy Essay Paper ItalyThe country I picked to do my report on was Italy. Italy, officiallythe Italian Republic, is an independent nation in southern Europe. The wordItaly comes from the ancient Oscan language and means Calf. Italy is afairly small, important mediteranean country of about 116,328 square miles. Its capital city Rome is both the industrial center as well as the culturalcenter of Italy. Romes current population is about 2,786,307 people. With thecountries over all population estimated at 57,904,628 people, at a density of498 people per square mile. 72% of these people living in urban areas, while28% of the population resides in rural areas. Some of Italys major importsinclude industrial raw materials, petroleum, meat, and cereal grains. Theprincipal exports are manufactured goods and craft items, along with fruits andvegetables. Italy usually suffers a trade deficit, but the difference ispartly offset by its large and profitable tourist industry and by money sent byItalian citizens working abroad. Italy is a country far from being land-locked,with 9 major ports including Genoa, Trieste, Taranto, Venice, Savona, andNaples. Italy has been historically important since Roman times, and millionsof tourists are attracted each year to its ancient cities and art treasures. In the 400s and 500s the popes increased their influence in bothreligious and political matters in Italy and elsewhere. The popes were usuallythe ones who made attempts to protect Italy from foreign invasion or to softenforeign rule. The popes for almost 200 years had opposed attempts by theLombards, who controlled most of Italy, to take over Rome. The popes defeatedthe Lombards with the aid of two Frankish kings, Charlemagne and Pepin the Short. The papal states were created out of land won for the popes by Pepin. From the 10th century on, Italian cities began to grow rapidly andbecame increasingly independent of one another. They flourished because oftheir access to the Mediterranean trade routes and almost had a completemonopoly on all spice and silks coming into Europe. They became centers ofpolitical life, foreign trade and banking. At this time, the church grew inpower also. The Italian popes became increasingly more involved in the Europeanpolitical scene. Many of these city states became extremely wealthy andpowerful and resisted the attempts of noblemen and emperors to control them. During the 1300s, one of the greatest eras in human history occurred,The Renaissance. The Renaissance occurred primarily in Italy in the variouscity states. Many great artists and philosophers lived during this period andenhanced Italys prestige. The kingdom of Italy was formed in 1861. Five years later, in 1866,Venetia became a part of that kingdom. Rome became its capital in 1871. Benito Mussolini became premier in 1922. In 1940, Italy entered WorldWar II on the side of the Germans. Italy surrendered in 1943 and established anew republic in 1946. Culture and CustomsThe population of Italy is approximately 58 million people, most of whomlive in the urban cities. The four largest cities in Italy, in order ofpopulation are Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin. The most densely populated areasof the country are the industrialized regions of Lombardy and Liguria in thenorthwest region of Campania in the south. The areas with the lowest populationdensity are the mountains of both the north and south. More than two thirds of Italys population reside in cities. Most livein large, concrete apartment buildings. A few of the more wealthy people livein single-family homes. The oldest sections of an Italian city are made up olow buildings that have apartments around a central courtyard. Newer parts ofthe city often have larger apartment buildings. Poor neighborhoods are usuallyfound on the outskirts of the city. Most unmarried children live with their parents. Parents often help anadult son or daughter purchase an apartment near their own. Many young womenwork outside the home, and grandparents often help care for the children ofworking mothers. Many urban areas provide public child-care centers. City growth and the increased use of the automobile have led to someserious problems with urban pollution in Italy. In large cities, the airpollution poses a health hazard and has damaged priceless architecture. Manycities have banished private cars from the city centers. Most rural communities in the past consisted of a compact settlementsurrounded by a large area of agricultural land. The farmers usually lived intown and traveled to work in the fields each day. This pattern of living wasespecially common in southern Italy, in northern Italy the farmers usually livedon their land. Italians take great pride in the quality of their cooking. Theytraditionally eat their main meals at midday. Large meals usually consist of apast course, followed by a main course of meat or fish. Italian foods varygreatly by region. In the north, flat, ribbon-shaped pastas served with creamsauces are most popular. In the south, macaroni served with tomato-based saucesis the favorite type of pasta. Italians enjoy a wide variety of sports. Soccer is the most popularsport in Italy. Every major city has a professional soccer team. But soccer isnot just a spectator sport- on weekends Italys parks are filled with childrenand adults playing the game. Basketball is also very popular, and some citieshave more than one professional basketball team. Other popular sports includefishing, hunting, cycling, roller skating, and baseball. Major ReligionsAbout 95 percent of the population in Italy is Roman Catholic. Mostreligious ceremonies such as baptisms, weddings and funeral services are held inchurch. Only about 30 percent of all Italians attend church regularly. Manyothers occasionally attend church. An agreement called the Lateran Pact governsthe relationship between Italy and the Roman Catholic Church. For example, thepact exempts priests and other members of religious orders from military serviceand gives tax exemptions to Catholic organizations. The Lost Colony at Roanoke The first effort made b EssayThe third region is the Adriatic Plain. It is a small region north ofthe Adriatic Sea. Its eastern edge borders Yugoslavia. This area is not verywell suited for farming. The fourth region is the Apennines. This region stretches almost theentire length of Italy. The mountains in this region have steep inclines ofsoft rock and are constantly eroding as a result of heavy rain. The northernApennines have some of the largest forests in the country and much pasture land. The central part of the range has productive farmland and grazing. The southernApennines include the poorest part of Italy. This area has plateaus and highmountains, but few natural resources. The fifth and sixth regions are the Apulia and southeastern Plains. These form the heel of the boot-shaped peninsula. This region is composed ofplateaus that end as cliffs at the Mediterranean Sea. The seventh region is the Western Uplands and Plains. This areastretches along the Tyrrhenian Sea from La Spezia, a port city just south ofGenoa, southward past Naples to Salerno. It is a rich agricultural region,second only to the Po Valley in agricultural output. Sicily is the eight region. Sicily is the largest island in theMediterranean Sea. It is separated from mainland Italy by the Start of Messina. The island has mountains and plains. Mount Etna, one of the largest activevolcanoes in the world, dominates the landscape of northeastern Silicy. Severerosion caused in part by the clearing of forests, has hampered agriculture andmade travel in many inland areas difficult during the wet season. The climate of Italy is temperate. The spring, summer and fall aregenerally sunny, but winter is rainy and cloudy. In early spring, hot dry airfrom the Sahara expands and covers Italy. The summer climate of much of Italyis dry, with occasional rainstorms. TechnologyItalys technological level is equal to that of the U.S in certain areas. The northern part of Italy uses some of the most advanced manufacturing methodsin its factories. One quarter of the countries power is supplied through stateof the art hydroelectric dams. More than 450 privately owned televisionstations and over 1000 private radio stations are operating in Italy. Italy has an excellent system of roads. Large, modern superhighways runthe length of the Italian peninsula. Tunnels though the Alps link the highwaysystem to those of neighboring countries. Italy has an average of about 1 carfor ever 3 people. When compared to the United States, Italy is only slightly behind. TheUnited States has more advanced computers and telecommunications system. Inmedical technology, Italy is equal to the U.S but the technology is not aswidely available as it is in the United States. Natural ResourcesItaly is limited in the number of natural resources and must rely onimports. Much of the mineral deposits in Italy are found on the islands ofSicily and Sardinia and in the regions of Lombardy, Tuscany and in the north--central and northwestern parts of the peninsula. The most important naturalresource of Italy is natural gas, which is found primarily in the Po Valley. Italy also produces abundant amounts of marble and granite. Other mineralsimportant to Italy are feldspar, pumice and sulfur. For it its energy supply, Italy relies upon other countries. Petroleumimported from Libya provides more than half of the countries energy. Italyimports much of its oil from Iran and Libya. Italy produces very small amounts of petroleum. Most of Italyspetroleum is found in Sicily. I found Italy to be an interesting country. Many of the greatest andmost important eras in mankind occurred in Italy. The Renaissance, The RomanEmpire and some of World War II all happened in Italy. I believe the historicaland cultural significance of Italy is largely overlooked. Another reason I chose Italy is that it is a country we rarely study inschool. When we study European history, we mainly cover France or Germany, etc. We rarely get into countries that are just as important as Italy. When we dostudy them, we blend them all together and just get a brief overview of thecountries history and culture. One of the things that fascinated me about this country was its place incurrent world economics. Italy has a high GDP and is heavily involved in tradeon the Mediterannean. Italy has the largest shipping fleet in the world. Whenthe news mentions the strongest economic nations, you never hear about Italy. Yet I found that Italy is a significant player in world economics. The government and political system of Italy also fascinated me. Thepolitical system there seems more complex than the one in the United States. The House of Deputies has over 600 members and the Senate over 300. I alsofound It interesting that ex-presidents are given permanent positions in theirgovernment as Senators. One of the things that bothered me in researching this paper was that itwas difficult to summarize the history of the country. Many of the books I hadwere long and covered the history in so much detail that it was hard to skimthrough and take out the important events and make them fit into this paper. When researching this paper at the library, many of the books were either travelguides or books about the art of Italy. There were quite a few about theculture and past but it took awhile to find them among all the travel guides. If I had a chance to visit this nation I definitely would. Italy seemslike a fun place to visit because of all the old historic sites. It would beinteresting to visit all the old Roman and middle age ruins that are located inItaly.