Interesting facts about Italy

Italy Facts and Information

Italy, the land of art and culture is popular throughout the world as one of the top tourist destinations. The country with around 44 world heritage sites ranks high as one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The country famous for its rich art and cultural heritage also draws tourists with its spectacular views of nature and wonderful landscapes. A well – planned vacation can make your trip to Italy far more exciting and memorable. It is always advisable to gather some knowledge regarding Italy facts and information to plan a better vacation to the country. Information and facts on Italy will offer you knowledge about the country’s climatic condition, culture, geography, and other Italy facts that will help you to plan your vacation better.

Top facts on Italy

A visit to any country should be well planned to avoid from unwanted surprises and hazards while on an abroad trip. Furthermore, information and facts about a country also assures a better vacation, as the trip is planned accordingly. Here is a look on Italy facts and information detailing about the country’s geography, culture, best time to visit, and climatic condition.

Geography of Italy

The country is situated in Southern Europe consisting of the Italian peninsula, Po River Valley, Sardinia, and Sicily (the two biggest Mediterranean islands) along with the community of Campione d’Italia. Though Italy is famous for its Venice canals, the Po River is its major waterway and prime source of water. The country is also famous for its other two significant geographical features, the two volcanoes. These two volcanoes are the Vesuvius (now dormant) and Etna. The other popular geographical attraction of this country is its mountains that make Italy and ideal skiing country. The highest point of the country is Mont Blanc that stands at an altitude of 4,810 meters (15,781 feet high).

Climate of Italy

Italy having a diverse landscape also witnesses a varied and diverse climatic condition throughout the year. The Italian climatic condition largely varies in the northern and southern region of the country. The northern region of the country witnesses a very hot summer and cold winter, especially in the Alps where the temperature can get very rough. The southern region of the country witnesses a more pleasant climatic condition throughout the year. The southern regions in the capital city Rome at times witnesses few weeks of extreme hot temperature. To enjoy your vacation at its best, you should plan your Italy trip during the months of April to May (spring) and October to November (autumn). These two seasons records the best climatic condition and registers a very pleasant climatic condition. It is advisable not to plan your trip to Italy during the month of August because of rough temperature and it being a holiday season in Italy.

When to Visit Italy

The best times of planning a visit to Italy are the seasons of spring and fall. Like most of the European countries, traveling in and around Italy during this time of the year is the best. The northern region of Italy home to cities like Verona, Milan, Venice, and Bologna offers best views of nature during the spring season. The winters in these cities are generally mild and at times foggy. Summers are hot and humid.

The southern region of Italy witnesses a warm and dry climatic condition with fewer crowds in the month of September. This time of the year in Southern Italy generally registers a Mediterranean climate. The month’s of July and August gets quite unpleasant and temperature soars during this time featuring a hot and humid climatic condition. The costal areas, mountainous regions, and the forests record a bit pleasant climatic condition.

The Italian cities like, Florence, Milan, Rome, Naples, Verona, Venice, and Bologna along with the Amalfi Coast (in Southern Italy) are best visited during the months of November to March. Italy witnesses maximum visitors during the months of May and June, October, and during the Easter and Christmas period. The Alps registers long and cold winters while summers are short and cool. The ski season lasts from December to April.

Useful information about Italy

Culture in Italy

Italy boasts of a rich art and cultural heritage and is home to several artistic treasures. Italy facts and information throws light on Italy culture to help your know the country better before planning a visit. This richness in Culture can easily be attributed to the fact that Italy has in it an influence of several cultures like, Celtic, Frankish, Germanic, Byzantine, and Norman. Italy was home to many world-renowned artists and is famous all over the world for housing some of the architectural marvels and masterpieces of sculptors, and paintings. The churches and villas in Italy are popular for their architectural works and are admired throughout the world. The country for its rich artistic treasures enjoys the distinct fame of having the largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

This rich artistic country also enjoys great significance in the field of literature. This literary fame can be attributed to the works of Florentine poet Dante Alighieri, Whose Divine Comedy is considered one of the most significant works of the medieval period. Other famous writers of the time were, Giacomo Leopardi, Ludovico Ariosto, Boccaccio, Tasso, Petrarca, and Alessandro Manzoni. This rich literary tradition was carried forward by modern writers like, Grazia Deledda, Salvatore Quasimodo, Dario Fo, Giosu Carducci, Eugenio Montale, and Luigi Pirandello.

The country is also famous for being home to some of the world renowned Scientists primarily responsible for great inventions and major breakthroughs in the field of science and technology. Most popular of them include the likes of Galileo Galilei, Marconi, Cassini, Meucci, and Fermi. Italy is also famous for being the origin country of violin and piano along with other classical musical forms such as, sonata, symphony, and concerto.

This country of tourist interest is also famous worldwide for its fashion sense and houses some of the world’s greatest fashion houses. The city of Milan is popularly considered as one of the fashions capitals in the world.

Italy Currency

The currency of Italy is Euro (EUR). This currency that replaced the former Italian currency Lira was adopted in the year 2002. The banknote denominations in Euro are of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 and coin denominations are of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cent, 1, and 2 euro.

Health Care in Italy

Italy organizes free or reduced – cost treatment for European visitors taken ill or facing accidents while on Italy. Maximum of such case though requires the production of a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This card provides an access to state-provided medical treatment.

Fast Facts on Italy

Italy facts and information provides a better knowledge about the country’s rich cultural past along with other necessary tourist information to plan the vacation better.

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