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Portale Italia

Italy (Italian: Italia, Italian: [iˈtaːlja] ^ⓘ), officially Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana, Italian: [reˈpubblika itaˈljaːna]), is a country in Southern and Western Europe. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, it consists of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and surrounded by several islands. Italy shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. It has a territorial exclave in Switzerland (Campione) and an archipelago in the African Plate (Pelagie Islands). Italy covers an area of 301,340 km² (116,350 sq mi), with a population of nearly 60 million; it is the tenth-largest country by land area in the European continent and the third-most populous member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city is Rome.

The Italian peninsula was historically the native place and destination of numerous ancient peoples. The Latin city of Rome in central Italy, founded as a Kingdom, became a Republic that conquered the Mediterranean world and ruled it for centuries as an Empire. With the spread of Christianity, Rome became the seat of the Catholic Church and of the Papacy. During the Early Middle Ages, Italy experienced the fall of the Western Roman Empire and inward migration from Germanic tribes. By the 11th century, Italian city-states and maritime republics expanded, bringing renewed prosperity through commerce and laying the groundwork for modern capitalism. The Italian Renaissance flourished in Florence during the 15th and 16th centuries and spread to the rest of Europe. Italian explorers also discovered new routes to the Far East and the New World, helping to usher in the European Age of Discovery. However, centuries of rivalry and infighting between the Italian city-states among other factors left the peninsula divided into numerous states until the late modern period. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Italian economic and commercial importance significantly waned. (Full article...)

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Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian Peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political states, some independent but others controlled by external powers. The painters of Renaissance Italy, although often attached to particular courts and with loyalties to particular towns, nonetheless wandered the length and breadth of Italy, often occupying a diplomatic status and disseminating artistic and philosophical ideas.

The city of Florence in Tuscany is renowned as the birthplace of the Renaissance, and in particular of Renaissance painting, although later in the era Rome and Venice assumed increasing importance in painting. A detailed background is given in the companion articles Renaissance art and Renaissance architecture. Italian Renaissance painting is most often divided into four periods: the Proto-Renaissance (1300–1425), the Early Renaissance (1425–1495), the High Renaissance (1495–1520), and Mannerism (1520–1600). The dates for these periods represent the overall trend in Italian painting and do not cover all painters as the lives of individual artists and their personal styles overlapped these periods. (Full article...)

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Image 1A section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo
Image 2Dome of Florence Cathedral
Image 3South face of the Tofana di Rozes in the Parco naturale regionale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo
Image 4Youth of Moses by Sandro Botticelli, 1481-82, Sistine Chapel
Image 5Interior of the Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome
Image 6Porta Soprana is the best-known gate of the ancient walls of Genoa.
Image 7View of Piazzetta San Marco toward Grand Canal of Venice, at dawn, with Doges' Palace on the left and Biblioteca Marciana on the right.
Image 8The Forma Urbis Romae is a massive marble map of ancient Rome, created under the emperor Septimius Severus between 203 and 211.
Image 9Sellajoch, South Tyrol and Trentino (seen from Pordoi Pass), Langkofel on the left, Piz Ciavazes on the right

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Carlo Orelli

...that Carlo Orelli (pictured) was the last surviving Italian veteran to see service on Italy's entry into World War I?

...that wine made from the Italian grape Schioppettino was served at weddings in 1282 and the grape is still being grown today?

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A cup of espresso from Ventimiglia, Italy

Espresso (/ɛˈsprɛsoʊ/ , Italian: [eˈsprɛsso]) is one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods, of Italian origin. The French also made a significant contribution to the invention of the first coffee makers, predecessors of today's espresso machines, and generally to the café culture. Espresso can be made with a wide variety of coffee beans and roast degrees, in which a small amount of nearly boiling water is forced under pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso is the most common way of making coffee in southern Europe, especially in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, but it is also popular in the rest of the world. (Full article...)

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Italian cuisine Pizza Ancient Roman cuisine Pasta Roman cuisine Parmigiano-Reggiano Sicilian cuisine Mozzarella Fettuccine Alfredo Acquacotta Carbonara Gelato Marron glacé Minestrone Pizza di Pasqua Chianti Food and dining in the Roman Empire Italian wine Testaroli Prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale

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The following are images from various Italy-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, possibly one of the most famous and iconic examples of Italian art (from Culture of Italy)
Image 2The Sagra dell'uva in Marino, celebrating grapes (from Culture of Italy)
Image 3Federico Fellini, considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers in the history of cinema (from Culture of Italy)
Image 4The Forum of Pompeii with Vesuvius in the distance (from Culture of Italy)
Image 5Teatro di San Carlo, Naples. It is the oldest continuously active venue for opera in the world. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 6Ferragosto fireworks display in Padua on 15 August 2010 (from Culture of Italy)
Image 7Rai Radio 1 (from Culture of Italy)
Image 8Royal Palace of Caserta, the largest royal residence in the world (from Culture of Italy)
Image 9Festival of Saint Agatha (from Culture of Italy)
Image 10The Trevi Fountain in Rome (from Culture of Italy)
Image 11Statues of Pantalone and Harlequin, two stock characters from the Commedia dell'arte, in the Museo Teatrale alla Scala (from Culture of Italy)
Image 12Dante Alighieri, one of the greatest poets of the Middle Ages. His epic poem The Divine Comedy ranks among the finest works of world literature. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 13The Altare della Patria in Rome, a national symbol of Italy celebrating the first king of the unified country, and resting place of the Italian Unknown Soldier since the end of World War I. It was inaugurated in 1911, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 14The historic seat of the Corriere della Sera in via Solferino in Milan (from Culture of Italy)
Image 15Giorgio Moroder, pioneer of Italo disco and electronic dance music, is known as the "Father of disco". (from Culture of Italy)
Image 16Antonio Vivaldi, in 1723. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 17Folkloristic reconstruction of the Company of Death led by Alberto da Giussano who is preparing to carry out the charge during the battle of Legnano at the Palio di Legnano 2014 (from Culture of Italy)
Image 18William Shakespeare is an example of an Italophile of the 16th century. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 19John Florio is recognised as the most important Renaissance humanist in England (from Culture of Italy)
Image 20A wooden puppet depicting the Befana (from Culture of Italy)
Image 21Alessandro Manzoni is famous for the novel The Betrothed (1827), generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 22The Calling of St Matthew by Caravaggio (from Culture of Italy)
Image 23Clockwise from top left: Thomas Aquinas, proponent of natural theology and the Father of Thomism; Giordano Bruno, one of the major scientific figures of the Western world; Cesare Beccaria, considered the Father of criminal justice and modern criminal law; and Maria Montessori, credited with the creation of the Montessori education (from Culture of Italy)
Image 24Scrovegni Chapel. The chapel contains a fresco cycle by Giotto, completed about 1305 and considered to be an important masterpiece of Western art. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 25Pinocchio Disney film is based on The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 26Columbus Breaking the Egg by William Hogarth (from Culture of Italy)
Image 27Tagliatelle with ragù (from Culture of Italy)
Image 28The discovery of the New World by Christoper Columbus (from Culture of Italy)
Image 29The Colosseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 30Regional seat of RAI in Cosenza (from Culture of Italy)
Image 31Palazzo Senatorio, seat of the municipality of Rome. It has been a town hall since AD 1144, making it the oldest town hall in the world. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 32Traditional pizza Margherita, whose ingredients, tomato (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green), are inspired by the colours of the national flag of Italy. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 33The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (from Culture of Italy)
Image 34David, by Michelangelo (Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence, Italy) is a masterpiece of Renaissance and world art. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 35St. Peter's Basilica, a representation of Renaissance and Baroque architecture (from Culture of Italy)
Image 36Luciano Pavarotti, considered one of the finest tenors of the 20th century and the "King of the High Cs" (from Culture of Italy)
Image 37The cover of the Corriere dei Piccoli on 11 July 1911 carries a cartoon strip in the Italian style without speech bubbles. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 38St Mark's Basilica in Venice, one of the best known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture (from Culture of Italy)
Image 39Palio di Siena (from Culture of Italy)
Image 40Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (c. 1486). Tempera on canvas. 172.5 cm × 278.9 cm (67.9 in × 109.6 in). Uffizi, Florence. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 41Entrance to Cinecittà in Rome, the largest film studio in Europe (from Culture of Italy)
Image 42Pietà, by Michelangelo is a key work of Italian Renaissance sculpture. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 43Roman mosaic of Virgil, the most important Latin poet of the Augustan period (from Culture of Italy)
Image 44Carnival of Venice (from Culture of Italy)
Image 45The Sistine Chapel ceiling, with frescos done by Michelangelo (from Culture of Italy)
Image 46Gelato is Italian ice cream. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 47Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in Rome is a perfect example of modern Italian architecture. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 48The Creation of Adam is one of the scenes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, painted by Michelangelo sometime between 1508 and 1512. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 49The Arch of Constantine in Rome (from Culture of Italy)
Image 50Italian folk dance in Molise (from Culture of Italy)
Image 51The Uffizi in Florence (from Culture of Italy)
Image 52The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., reflects the president's admiration for classical Roman aesthetics (from Culture of Italy)
Image 53The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 54The espresso comes from the Italian esprimere, which means "to express," and refers to the process by which hot water is forced under pressure through ground coffee. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 55Italian wine and salumi (from Culture of Italy)
Image 56Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is an Italian art masterpiece worldwide famous. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 57The statue of Italia turrita in Reggio Calabria. Italia turrita is the national personification of Italy. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 58Romulus and Remus, the Lupercal, Father Tiber, and the Palatine on a relief from a pedestal dating to the reign of Trajan (AD 98–117) (from Culture of Italy)
Image 59The Leaning Tower of Pisa (from Culture of Italy)
Image 60Prada shop at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan (from Culture of Italy)
Image 61Dario Fo, one of the most widely performed playwrights in modern theatre, received international acclaim for his highly improvisational style. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997. (from Culture of Italy)
Image 62Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana Store on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas (from Culture of Italy)
Image 63The Roman Empire provided an inspiration for the medieval European. Although the Holy Roman Empire rarely acquired a serious geopolitical reality, it possessed great symbolic significance. (from Culture of Italy)