Understanding Italy

No matter how many times I return to my beloved Italy (14 years, 36 tours, 20 flights - just saying), I am never any less excited than my first time in 2009. I feel so at home and can’t wait to revisit the places I love with a passion; renew friendships; explore new towns and regions and share all of this with those who choose to travel with me.

Over the many years I have been on a journey of learning that has given me a deeper appreciation and understanding which in turn enhances the experience of travelling. This week, a little history and geography!

A Brief History

Italy has a colourful history. It has been the home of many European cultures, such as the Etruscans and the Romans. It was the birthplace of the Renaissance that began in Tuscany and spread throughout Europe. Italy’s capital, Rome, has been the centre of Western civilisation and Vatican City in Rome is the centre of the Catholic Church and the spiritual home of the world’s 1.1 billion catholics.

It’s easy to forget that Italy is one of Europe’s newest countries, having only been unified as a nation in 1861. Prior to that, Italy was divided into many city states, some at times independent and glorious, but most for centuries under the domination of Spain, France, Austria or the Papacy.

The Roman Forum was the political, religious and commercial centre of the city. Everything happened here. Religious processions, political demonstrations, elections, important speeches. As Rome’s empire expanded, these few acres of land became the centre of the civilised world.

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome lasted a thousand years from 500 BC to AD 500. In its first 500 years, Rome was a Republic ruled by a Senate of wealthy landowners. The city became master of the Mediterranean and accumulated wealth and slaves. However, there was unease and bickering between the Senate, the working class and the rebellious slaves. Amidst all this chaos, charismatic generals like Julius Caesar became dictators.

The Roman Empire

For the next 500 years Rome was a dominating empire, a political system where the people are ruled by a single individual, an emperor or empress. After Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in 44 BC, aged 55, his great nephew Octavius, renamed Augustus, became Caesar’s successor. The Roman Empire began with the reign of Emperor Augustus. He ended civil wars and set in place a pattern of rule for the next 500 years. Rome ruled an empire of 54 million people from England to Africa and from Spain to Turkey. It was the marvel of the modern world.

Rome Falls

The Romans ruled Italy and the Roman Empire for many centuries. Although the boundaries of their empire changed over the years, the city of Rome and the Italian peninsula remained secure. However, in AD 330, Rome was no longer the centre of the Roman Empire. Emperor Constantine, who had become a Christian, rebuilt the city of Byzantium in modern day Turkey. The new Christian capital for the Roman Empire was renamed Constantinople. We know it today as Istanbul. The western Roman empire falls in AD 476. Rome and Europe entered 1000 years of darkness.

Medieval Rome: 500-1500

The once great city of a million people had dwindled to a rough village of 20,000 with a corrupt pope, forgotten ruins and malaria carrying mosquitoes. Cows grazed in the ruined Forum and Colosseum and wolves prowled the Vatican at night. During the 1300s, the popes left Rome to live in France. What little glory Rome retained was the knowledge and wealth of the Catholic Church.

The birthplace of the Italian language

The Romance languages are the modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin between the third and eighth centuries. The name ‘vulgar’ is derived from the Latin word ‘vulgaris’, meaning ‘common’ or ‘of the people’. it was the spoken Latin of the Roman Empire.

The five most widely spoken Romance languages are Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Romanian. There is something intoxicating and seductive about the Italian language. It speaks of romance, art and music and is more closely tied to its Latin roots than almost any other language.

When Italy was a collection of independent city-states, each had its own language. Many are still used, but now we call them dialects. One of the dialects from pre-unification Italy was the Tuscan dialect, which was spoken by Dante Alighieri.

Dante, the famous poet and philosopher, was born in Florence 759 years ago in 1265. He died of malaria at the age of 56. His poems, written in the Tuscan dialect, were widely read well beyond his native Tuscany. The ‘Divine Comedy’ was not translated into every dialect, but was considered a sign of one’s educational status to be able to read the original text. The upper classes in every region were reading Dante’s work, resulting in the dialect becoming the most widely understood throughout the country.

Dante is therefore considered the father of the Italian language as we know it today.

ITALY FACT SHEET

Regions

Italy is quite a small country with 20 regions. It is the variety and contrasts between all of the regions that make Italy a fascinating and diverse place to visit, time and time again. Most Italians still identify with their town and region more strongly than with the nation.

The three biggest regions are Sicily, Piedmont and Sardinia.

Countries within Italy

Vatican City: 0.44 square kilometres, the smallest country in the world. San Marino: 61 square kilometres, fifth smallest country in the world.

Oceans on 3 sides

North west: Ligurian sea
West and south west: Tyrrhenian sea
South and south east: Ionian sea
East: Adriatic sea

Borders 4 countries

France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia.

Length and width

Length: 1,185 kilometres
Average width: 160 kilometres
Widest part: 480 kilometres
Narrowest part: 112 kilometres

Geographic centre of Italy

115 kilometres north of Rome

4 biggest lakes

Lake Garda: 370 square kilometres
Lake Maggiore: 212 square kilometres
Lake Como: 146 square kilometres
Lake Trasimeno: 128 square kilometres

Lake Garda, lake Maggiore and Lake Como are all located in the region of Lombardy.
Lake Trasimeno is located in the region of Umbria.

Mountains

Ranges over 700m high cover a third of the country. The Alps separate Italy from the other European countries. The Dolomites are a small section of the Alps in the north east. The Apennines are the spine of Italy separating west from east.

3 active volcanoes

Mount Vesuvius, Naples: only active volcano on mainland Europe
Mount Etna, Sicily: highest, most active volcano in Europe
Stromboli, Aeolian Islands: continually active

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana,

Deb