1.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
2.
Wine
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Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes. These grapes are generally Vitis vinifera, or a hybrid with Vitis labrusca or Vitis rupestris, grapes are fermented without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, water, or other nutrients. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol, different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts produce different styles of wine. These variations result from the interactions between the biochemical development of the grape, the reactions involved in fermentation, the terroir. Many countries enact legal appellations intended to define styles and qualities of wine and these typically restrict the geographical origin and permitted varieties of grapes, as well as other aspects of wine production. There are also made from fermenting other fruits or cereals. Wines made from other than grapes include rice wine and various fruit wines such as those made from plums or cherries. Some well known examples are hard cider from apples, perry from pears, pomegranate wine, Wine has been produced for thousands of years. The earliest known traces of wine from Georgia in Eurasia where 8000-year-old wine jars were found and in Iran with 7, the earliest known winery is the 6, 100-year-old Areni-1 winery Armenia. Wine reached the Balkans by 4500 BC and was consumed and celebrated in ancient Greece, Thrace, throughout history, wine has been consumed for its intoxicating effects, which are evident after the normal serving size of five ounces. Wine has long played an important role in religion, the earliest chemically attested grape wine was discovered at Hajji Firuz in the northwestern Zagros Mountains dating back to 5400 BC. The earliest evidence of a fermented drink was found in Georgia, where wine residue inside ceramic jars dates from 6000 BC. The earliest evidence of a production facility is the Areni-1 winery in Armenia and is at least 6100 years old, presumably. A2003 report by archaeologists indicates a possibility that grapes were mixed with rice to produce mixed fermented beverages in China in the years of the seventh millennium BC. Pottery jars from the Neolithic site of Jiahu, Henan, contained traces of tartaric acid, however, other fruits indigenous to the region, such as hawthorn, cannot be ruled out. The spread of wine culture westwards was most probably due to the Phoenicians who spread outward from a base of city-states along the Lebanese, Syrian, the wines of Byblos were exported to Egypt during the Old Kingdom and then throughout the Mediterranean. Evidence includes two Phoenician shipwrecks from 750 BC discovered by Robert Ballard, whose cargo of wine was still intact. As the first great traders in wine, the Phoenicians seem to have protected it from oxidation with a layer of oil, followed by a seal of pinewood and resin
3.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
4.
European Union
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The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
5.
Chianti
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A Chianti wine Italian pronunciation, is any wine produced in the Chianti region, in central Tuscany, Italy. Baron Bettino Ricasoli created the Chianti recipe of 70% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo, the first definition of a wine-area called Chianti was made in 1716. It described the area near the villages of Gaiole, Castellina and Radda, in 1932 the Chianti area was completely re-drawn and divided in seven sub-areas, Classico, Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini, Colline Pisane, Colli Senesi, Montalbano and Rùfina. Most of the villages that in 1932 were suddenly included in the new Chianti Classico area added in Chianti to their name-such as Greve in Chianti which amended its name in 1972, wines labelled Chianti Classico come from the biggest sub-area of Chianti, that includes the original Chianti heartland. In 1996 part of the Colli Fiorentini sub-area was renamed Montespertoli, during the 1970s producers started to reduce the quantity of white grapes in Chianti. In 1995 it became legal to produce a Chianti with 100% Sangiovese, for a wine to retain the name of Chianti, it must be produced with at least 80% Sangiovese grapes. Aged Chianti, may be labelled as Riserva, Chianti that meets more stringent requirements may be labelled as Chianti Superiore, although Chianti from the Classico sub-area is not allowed in any event to be labelled as Superiore. The earliest documentation of a Chianti wine dates back to the 13th century when viticulture was known to flourish in the Chianti Mountains around Florence, the merchants in the nearby townships of Castellina, Gaiole and Radda formed the Lega del Chianti to produce and promote the local wine. In 1398, records note that the earliest incarnation of Chianti was as a white wine, subsequent expansions in 1967 would eventually bring the Chianti zone to cover a very large area all over central Tuscany. By the 18th century, Chianti was widely recognised as a red wine and it was not until the work of the Italian statesman Bettino Ricasoli that the modern Chianti recipe as a Sangiovese-based wine would take shape. Prior to Ricasoli, Canaiolo was emerging as the dominant variety in the Chianti blend with Sangiovese, in the mid-19th century, Ricasoli developed a recipe for Chianti that was based primarily on Sangiovese. His recipe called for 70% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo, 10% Malvasia, in 1967, the Denominazione di origine controllata regulation set by the Italian government firmly established the Ricasoli formula of a Sangiovese-based blend with 10–30% Malvasia and Trebbiano. The late 19th century saw a period of economic and political upheaval, first came oidium and then the phylloxera epidemic would take its toll on the vineyards of Chianti just as they had ravaged vineyards across the rest of Europe. The chaos and poverty following the Risorgimento heralded the beginning of the Italian diaspora that would take Italian vineyard workers and winemakers abroad as immigrants to new lands. Those that stayed behind and replanted choose high-yielding varieties like Trebbiano, following the Second World War, the general trend in the world wine market for cheap, easy-drinking wine saw a brief boom for the region. With over-cropping and an emphasis on quantity over quality, the reputation of Chianti among consumers eventually plummeted, by the 1950s, Trebbiano made up to 30% of many mass-market Chiantis. By the late 20th century, Chianti was often associated with basic Chianti sold in a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco. However, during the period, a group of ambitious producers began working outside the boundaries of DOC regulations to make what they believed would be a higher quality style of Chianti
6.
Bolzano
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Bolzano is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 105,713, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol, Bolzano is the seat of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, where lectures and seminars are held in English, German and Italian. The city is home to the Italian Armys Alpini High Command and some of its combat. In 2014 version of the ranking of quality of life in Italian cities. Along with other Alpine towns in South Tyrol, Bolzano engages in the Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention, the Convention aims to promote and achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc. Consequently, Bolzano was awarded Alpine Town of the Year 2009, the Romans built a settlement after the area had been conquered in 15 BC by General Nero Claudius Drusus. The military settlement, Pons Drusi, was named after this Roman General, during this time the area became part of the region Venetia et Histria of ancient Italy. In 1948, excavations of the current Cathedral led to the discovery of an ancient Christian basilica from the 4th century. Also discovered was a Roman cemetery, including the tomb of Secundus Regontius with Latin inscriptions dating to the 3rd century, making him the oldest known inhabitant of Bolzano. During the gradual decline of the Romans influence in the 7th century, Bavarian immigration took place, at that time, the Bavarians named the nearby villages around Bolzano Bauzanum or Bauzana. German populations have been present in the region of Tyrol since this time, in 1027 the area of Bolzano and the rest of the diocese was conferred, by the emperor Conrad II from the Salian dynasty, upon the bishops of Trent. In the late-12th century, the bishop founded a market town, the town therefore became an important trading post on the Transalpine Augsburg-Venice route over the Brenner Pass, elevation 1,371 metres above sea level, within the Holy Roman Empire. In 1277 Bolzano was conquered by Meinhard II, the Count of Tyrol, in 1363, the County of Tyrol fell under the influence of Habsburg Austria and the Holy Roman Empire. In 1381, Duke Leopold granted the citizens of Bolzano the privilege of a town council and this gradually eliminated the influence and power previously held by the bishops of Trent over the next few decades. In 1462, the bishops eventually resigned all their rights of jurisdiction over the town, from the 14th and 15th centuries onwards, a large market fair was organised four times per year to greet tradesmen and merchants en-route the Brenner Pass. The Mercantile Magistrate was therefore founded in 1635 by the Austrian duchess Claudia de Medici, during every market season, two Italian and two Germanic officers, who were appointed among the local tradesmen, worked in this magistrate office. The establishment of a trade organisation strengthened Bolzano as a cultural crossroad in the Alps. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Bolzano became briefly part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy and was incorporated into the Dipartimento Alto Adige
7.
Traditional food
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Traditional food refers to foods and dishes that are passed through generations and also refers to foods consumed over the long-term duration of civilization that have been passed through generations. Traditional foods and dishes are traditional in nature, and may have a precedent in a national dish. Traditional foods and beverages may be produced as homemade, by restaurants and small manufacturers and these standards serve to promote and protect names of quality agricultural products and foodstuffs. This article also includes information about traditional beverages, bambara groundnut – a traditional food crop in Africa Traditional food products have been described as playing an important part of European culture, identity, and heritage. Thanksgiving dinner Tourtière Sugar pie Ciba cake Fuling jiabing – a traditional food of Beijing and is an integral part of the citys culture. It is a snack made from flour, sugar, and fuling, rolled around nuts, honey. Spring pancake – a traditional Chinese food unique to the northern regions, people eat spring pancakes on the day called lichun to celebrate the beginning of spring. Fiambre is a traditional Guatemalan dish that is prepared and eaten yearly to celebrate the Day of the Dead, mascarpone Piadina Strada dellOlio – a kind of gastronomical route in Italy that crosses a territory rich of traditional products, PDOs and PGIs, DOCs and DOCGs in Italy. Panna cotta – The northern Italian Region of Piedmont includes panna cotta in its 2001 list of food products of the region. Panna cotta is not mentioned in Italian cookbooks before the 1960s, a significant amount of labneh in Jordan and nearby countries continues to be prepared using the traditional method of straining set yogurt in cloth bags. Nurungji Sungnyung Garudiya Maldive fish – cured tuna traditionally produced in the Maldives. The most popular foods in the region are those prepared from legumes, specifically, falafel, fuul, hummus. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, yanagida, F. Kenkyūjo, Tōkyō Nōgyō Daigaku. Traditional foods and their processing in Asia, NODAI Research Institue, Tokyo University of Agriculture. Traditional Chinese Foods, Production and Research Progress, didier, M. Microorganisms and Fermentation of Traditional Foods
8.
Litre
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The litre or liter is an SI accepted metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre,1,000 cubic centimetres or 1/1,000 cubic metre. A cubic decimetre occupies a volume of 10×10×10 centimetres and is equal to one-thousandth of a cubic metre. The original French metric system used the litre as a base unit. The word litre is derived from an older French unit, the litron, whose name came from Greek — where it was a unit of weight, not volume — via Latin, and which equalled approximately 0.831 litres. The litre was also used in subsequent versions of the metric system and is accepted for use with the SI. The spelling used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures is litre, the less common spelling of liter is more predominantly used in American English. One litre of water has a mass of almost exactly one kilogram. Subsequent redefinitions of the metre and kilogram mean that this relationship is no longer exact, a litre is defined as a special name for a cubic decimetre or 10 centimetres ×10 centimetres ×10 centimetres. Hence 1 L ≡0.001 m3 ≡1000 cm3, from 1901 to 1964, the litre was defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water at maximum density and standard pressure. The kilogram was in turn specified as the mass of a platinum/iridium cylinder held at Sèvres in France and was intended to be of the mass as the 1 litre of water referred to above. It was subsequently discovered that the cylinder was around 28 parts per million too large and thus, during this time, additionally, the mass-volume relationship of water depends on temperature, pressure, purity and isotopic uniformity. In 1964, the definition relating the litre to mass was abandoned in favour of the current one, although the litre is not an official SI unit, it is accepted by the CGPM for use with the SI. CGPM defines the litre and its acceptable symbols, a litre is equal in volume to the millistere, an obsolete non-SI metric unit customarily used for dry measure. The litre is often used in some calculated measurements, such as density. One litre of water has a mass of almost exactly one kilogram when measured at its maximal density, similarly,1 millilitre of water has a mass of about 1 g,1,000 litres of water has a mass of about 1,000 kg. It is now known that density of water depends on the isotopic ratios of the oxygen and hydrogen atoms in a particular sample. The litre, though not an official SI unit, may be used with SI prefixes, the most commonly used derived unit is the millilitre, defined as one-thousandth of a litre, and also often referred to by the SI derived unit name cubic centimetre. It is a commonly used measure, especially in medicine and cooking, Other units may be found in the table below, where the more often used terms are in bold
9.
Barbera d'Asti
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Barbera dAsti is an Italian red wine made from the Barbera grape variety. It is produced in the areas of the provinces of Asti. Barbera dAsti was accredited with DOC status in 1970, and DOCG status followed in 2008, under the DOCG rules, a minimum of 90% Barbera grapes must be used, the balance may be made up with either Freisa, Grignolino or Dolcetto grapes. The wine must be made before the date of 1 March immediately following the harvest, many superiore producers refine it in small oak barriques to obtain a rounder taste. The superiore has the following sub-zones indicated on the label, Nizza, Tinella, the superiore wine has a strong additional aging potential, it can often be aged from ten to twenty years. The Nizza DOCG was added to Astis Barbera portfolio in 2014, the Nizza production rules require the use of 100% Barbera grapes, a maximum yield of 7 tonnes per hectare, and minimum aging of 18 months, of which 6 months must be in oak barrels. The minimum alcoholic strength is 13%, or 13. 5% if produced by a single, the Barbera grape is believed to have originated in the hills of Monferrato in central Piedmont, Italy and is known from the thirteenth century. The first written proof of vinification is stored in the city hall of Nizza Monferrato, the wine enters officially in the roll of Piedmontese wines in 1798, the date of the first Ampelography made by Giuseppe Nuvolone-Pergamo, count of Scandaluzza from the Società Agraria di Torino. Barbera spread rapidly in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is considered to be Piedmonts principal red grape variety. Barbera List of Italian grape varieties Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, n.169,2008 Homepage of the consortium regulating Barbera dAsti and Monferrato wines production
10.
The Pick of Destiny
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The Pick of Destiny is the second album by American comedy rock band Tenacious D, the soundtrack for their film of the same name. The album was released on November 14,2006, through Epic Records, the Pick of Destiny is the bands first studio release in five years, following up their 2001 self-titled debut, Tenacious D. The album was produced by the Dust Brothers John King, and features appearances by Meat Loaf, Ronnie James Dio, another album, More Rocktastic Music from the Film, contains the score music that the soundtrack excludes. In the absence of original comedy skits, there are excerpts of dialogue from the accompanying film between numerous songs. Portions of The Pick of Destiny were recorded at Dave Grohls studio, a clean version of the album was recorded. All three versions feature clips from the movie, but some dialogue was re-recorded for the clean version, if the set was pre-ordered from the Tenacious D website, it also included a T-shirt. The cover features Black and Gass in the clouds in the sky, in between the twos hands is the green guitar pick used in the movie to defeat the devil, whose arm is pictured below them, sticking out from the clouds trying to take the pick. The album was banned from K-Mart and Wal-Mart because of the satanic picture, a short movie entitled Time Fixers was used as a promotional tool on the iTunes website. The movie starred Michael Keaton and longtime collaborators JR Reed and Paul F. Tompkins, the first half of the film was available as a free download on iTunes, while the second half could only be accessed after pre-ordering the album
