1.
Administrative division
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Administrative divisions are granted a certain degree of autonomy and are usually required to manage themselves through their own local governments. Countries are divided up into smaller units to make managing their land. For example, a country may be divided into provinces, which, in turn, are divided into counties, which, in turn, may be divided in whole or in part into municipalities, and so on. Administrative divisions are separate from dependent territories, with the former being an integral part of the state. However, the administrative division can include dependent territories as well as accepted administrative divisions. For clarity and convenience the standard reference for the largest administrative subdivision of a country is called the first-level administrative division or first administrative level. Next smaller is called second-level administrative division or second administrative level, there is no fixed rule, for all politics is local as is perhaps well demonstrated by their relative lack of systemic order. In the realm of self-government, any of these can and does occur along a stretch of road—which for the most part is passing through rural unsettled countryside. In British cultural legacy, most territorial entities begin with fairly expansive counties which encompass a large area. Within those entities are the large and small cities or towns, many sister cities share a water boundary which quite often serves as a border of both cities and counties. For example, Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts appear to the traveler as one large city, while locally they each are quite culturally different. Sovereign state, a national or supra-national division, country, a national or sub-national division. Administrative division codes of the Peoples Republic of China GADM, a database of country administrative areas. ISO 3166-2, specifically Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 2
Administrative division
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World political divisions
2.
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 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
Italy
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The
Colosseum in Rome, built c. 70 – 80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of
architecture and
engineering of ancient history.
Italy
–
Flag
Italy
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The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries symbol of the
Kings of Italy.
Italy
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Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor
Frederick II,
UNESCO World Heritage site
3.
Turin
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Turin is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region and was the first capital city of Italy. The city is located mainly on the bank of the Po River, in front of Susa Valley and surrounded by the western Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 892,649 while the population of the area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area is estimated by the OECD to have a population of 2.2 million, in 1997 a part of the historical center of Torino was inscribed in the World Heritage List under the name Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Turin is well known for its Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-classical, many of Turins public squares, castles, gardens and elegant palazzi such as Palazzo Madama, were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. This was after the capital of the Duchy of Savoy was moved to Turin from Chambery as part of the urban expansion, the city used to be a major European political center. Turin was Italys first capital city in 1861 and home to the House of Savoy, from 1563, it was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of the unified Italy. Turin is sometimes called the cradle of Italian liberty for having been the birthplace and home of notable politicians and people who contributed to the Risorgimento, such as Cavour. The city currently hosts some of Italys best universities, colleges, academies, lycea and gymnasia, such as the University of Turin, founded in the 15th century, in addition, the city is home to museums such as the Museo Egizio and the Mole Antonelliana. Turins attractions make it one of the worlds top 250 tourist destinations, Turin is ranked third in Italy, after Milan and Rome, for economic strength. With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the worlds 78th richest city by purchasing power, as of 2010, the city has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma World city. Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry, the Taurini were an ancient Celto-Ligurian Alpine people, who occupied the upper valley of the Po River, in the center of modern Piedmont. In 218 BC, they were attacked by Hannibal as he was allied with their long-standing enemies, the Taurini chief town was captured by Hannibals forces after a three-day siege. As a people they are mentioned in history. It is believed that a Roman colony was established in 27 BC under the name of Castra Taurinorum, both Livy and Strabo mention the Taurinis country as including one of the passes of the Alps, which points to a wider use of the name in earlier times. In the 1st century BC, the Romans created a military camp, the typical Roman street grid can still be seen in the modern city, especially in the neighborhood known as the Quadrilatero Romano. Via Garibaldi traces the path of the Roman citys decumanus which began at the Porta Decumani. The Porta Palatina, on the side of the current city centre, is still preserved in a park near the Cathedral
Turin
–
From top to bottom, left to right: panorama of the
Mole Antonelliana,
Valentino Park with the medieval village, Piazza Castello with Palazzo Reale and Palazzo Madama, San Carlo Plaza with the Caval ëd Bronz, the Arco Olimpico and the Lingotto, the sarcophagus of Oki at the
Egyptian Museum, a view of the hills, the
Po, the Gran Madre, the Monte of Cappuccini and
Palatine Towers.
Turin
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The Roman
Palatine Towers.
Turin
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Siege of Turin
Turin
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Turin in the 17th century.
4.
Milan
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Milan is a city in Italy, capital of the Lombardy region, and the most populous metropolitan area and the second most populous comune in Italy. The population of the city proper is 1,351,000, Milan has a population of about 8,500,000 people. It is the industrial and financial centre of Italy and one of global significance. In terms of GDP, it has the largest economy among European non-capital cities, Milan is considered part of the Blue Banana and lies at the heart of one of the Four Motors for Europe. Milan is an Alpha leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research, and tourism. Its business district hosts Italys Stock Exchange and the headquarters of the largest national and international banks, the city is a major world fashion and design capital, well known for several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair. The city hosts numerous cultural institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total enrolled students, Milans museums, theatres and landmarks attract over 9 million visitors annually. Milan – after Naples – is the second Italian city with the highest number of accredited stars from the Michelin Guide, the city hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. Milan is home to two of Europes major football teams, A. C. Milan and F. C. Internazionale, the etymology of Milan is uncertain. One theory holds that the Latin name Mediolanum comes from the Latin words medio, however, some scholars believe lanum comes from the Celtic root lan, meaning an enclosure or demarcated territory in which Celtic communities used to build shrines. Hence, Mediolanum could signify the central town or sanctuary of a Celtic tribe, indeed, the name Mediolanum is borne by about sixty Gallo-Roman sites in France, e. g. Saintes and Évreux. Alciato credits Ambrose for his account, around 400 BC, the Celtic Insubres settled Milan and the surrounding region. In 222 BC, the Romans conquered the settlement, renaming it Mediolanum, Milan was eventually declared the capital of the Western Roman Empire by Emperor Diocletian in 286 AD. Diocletian chose to stay in the Eastern Roman Empire and his colleague Maximianus ruled the Western one, immediately Maximian built several monuments, such as a large circus 470 m ×85 m, the Thermae Herculeae, a large complex of imperial palaces and several other buildings. With the Edict of Milan of 313, Emperor Constantine I guaranteed freedom of religion for Christians, after the city was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence was moved to Ravenna. In 452, the Huns overran the city, in 539, the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569, a Teutonic tribe, the Lombards, conquered Milan, some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule. Milan surrendered to the Franks in 774 when Charlemagne took the title of King of the Lombards, the Iron Crown of Lombardy dates from this period
Milan
–
Milan Cathedral,
La Scala opera house and
Porta Nuova business district
Milan
Milan
Milan
5.
Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
Venice
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A collage of Venice: at the top left is the
Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city, then the
Grand Canal, and (smaller) the interior of
La Fenice and, finally, the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
Venice
–
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Venice
–
Photography of Venice at dusk
Venice
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The Grand Canal seen from the bridge at
Ponte di Rialto
6.
Genoa
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Genoa is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015,594,733 people lived within the administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of Genoa, over 1.5 million people live in the wider metropolitan area stretching along the Italian Riviera. Genoa has been nicknamed la Superba due to its glorious past, part of the old town of Genoa was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2006. The citys rich history in notably its art, music. It is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, Niccolò Paganini, Giuseppe Mazzini, Genoa, which forms the southern corner of the Milan-Turin-Genoa industrial triangle of north-west Italy, is one of the countrys major economic centres. The city has hosted massive shipyards and steelworks since the 19th century, the Bank of Saint George, founded in 1407, is among the oldest in the world and has played an important role in the citys prosperity since the middle of the 15th century. Today a number of leading Italian companies are based in the city, including Fincantieri, Selex ES, Ansaldo Energia, Ansaldo STS, Edoardo Raffinerie Garrone, Piaggio Aerospace, the Genoa area has been inhabited since the fifth or fourth millennium BC. In ancient times this area was frequented and inhabited by Ligures, Phoenicians, Phocaeans, Greeks, and Etruscans. The city cemetery, dating from the 6th and 5th centuries BC, testifies to the occupation of the site by the Greeks, but the fine harbour probably saw use much earlier, perhaps by the Etruscans. In the 5th century BC was founded the first oppidum at the foot of the today called the Castle Hill which now is inside the medieval old town. The ancient Ligurian city was known as Stalia, so referred to by Artemidorus Ephesius and Pomponius Mela, Ligurian Stalia was overshadowed by the powerful Marseille and Vada Sabatia, near modern Savona. Stalia had an alliance with Rome through a foedus aequum in the course of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginians accordingly destroyed it in 209 BC. The town was rebuilt and, after the Carthaginian Wars ended in 146 BC. it received municipal rights, the original castrum thenceforth expanded towards the current areas of Santa Maria di Castello and the San Lorenzo promontory. Trades included skins, wood, and honey, goods were shipped to the mainland, up to major cities like Tortona and Piacenza. Among the archeological remains from the Roman period, an amphitheatre was also found, another theory traces the name to the Etruscan word Kainua which means New City and still another from the Latin word ianua, related to the name of the God Janus, meaning door or passage. The latter is in reference to its position at the centre of the Ligurian coastal arch. The Latin name, oppidum Genua, is recorded by Pliny the Elder as part of the Augustean Regio IX Liguria, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogoths occupied Genoa
Genoa
–
A collage of Genoa, clockwise from top left:
Torre della Lanterna,
Piazza de Ferrari, Galleria Mazzini, Brigata Liguria Street, view of San Teodoro from
Port of Genoa
Genoa
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The Polcevera bronze tablet, evidence of the Roman and pre-Roman past of Genoa.
Genoa
–
Portrait of
Christopher Columbus by
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio
Genoa
–
The iconic
Lanterna, renaissance lighthouse of Genoa built in 1543
7.
Bologna
–
Bologna is the largest city of the Emilia-Romagna Region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy, located in the heart of an area of about one million. The first settlements back to at least 1000 BC. The city has been a centre, first under the Etruscans. Home to the oldest university in the world, University of Bologna, founded in 1088, Bologna is also an important transportation crossroad for the roads and trains of Northern Italy, where many important mechanical, electronic and nutritional industries have their headquarters. According to the most recent data gathered by the European Regional Economic Growth Index of 2009, Bologna is the first Italian city, Bologna is home to numerous prestigious cultural, economic and political institutions as well as one of the most impressive trade fair districts in Europe. In 2000 it was declared European capital of culture and in 2006, the city of Bologna was selected to participate in the Universal Exposition of Shanghai 2010 together with 45 other cities from around the world. Bologna is also one of the wealthiest cities in Italy, often ranking as one of the top cities in terms of quality of life in the country, after a long decline, Bologna was reborn in the 5th century under Bishop Petronius. According to legend, St. Petronius built the church of S. Stefano. After the fall of Rome, Bologna was a stronghold of the Exarchate of Ravenna in the Po plain. In 728, the city was captured by the Lombard king Liutprand, the Germanic conquerors formed a district called addizione longobarda near the complex of S. Stefano. Charlemagne stayed in this district in 786, traditionally said to be founded in 1088, the University of Bologna is widely considered to be the first university. The university originated as a centre of study of medieval Roman law under major glossators. It numbered Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarca among its students, the medical school is especially famous. In the 12th century, the families engaged in continual internecine fighting. Troops of Pope Julius II besieged Bologna and sacked the artistic treasures of his palace, in 1530, in front of Saint Petronio Church, Charles V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII. Then a plague at the end of the 16th century reduced the population from 72,000 to 59,000, the population later recovered to a stable 60, 000–65,000. However, there was also great progress during this era, in 1564, the Piazza del Nettuno and the Palazzo dei Banchi were built, along with the Archiginnasio, the centre of the University
Bologna
–
A collage of the city, showing
Fountain of Neptune,
Piazza Maggiore,
Basilica of San Petronio,
Two towers (Due Torri),
Tagliatelle al
ragù bolognese (dish of Bologna origin), and endless city arcades typical for Bologna
Bologna
–
Porta Maggiore, one of the twelve medieval city gates of Bologna.
Bologna
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Depiction of a 14th-century fight between the militias of the Guelf and Ghibelline factions in Bologna, from the Croniche of Giovanni Sercambi of Lucca.
Bologna
–
Bologna in 1640.
8.
Florence
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Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants, Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, from 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, the city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florences artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy. Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe, the language spoken in the city during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War and they similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European historys most important noble families, Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century, Leo X, catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future king Louis XIII, the Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The Etruscans initially formed in 200 BC the small settlement of Fiesole and it was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to again and commerce prospered
Florence
–
A collage of Florence showing the
Galleria degli Uffizi (top left), followed by the
Palazzo Pitti, a sunset view of the city and the
Fountain of Neptune in the
Piazza della Signoria
Florence
–
A wooden model of Florence as it would have probably looked during Roman times, showing the ancient amphitheatre
Florence
–
The façade of the Cathedral
Florence
–
Leonardo da Vinci statue outside the
Uffizi Gallery.
9.
Rome
–
Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
Rome
Rome
Rome
Rome
10.
Bari
–
Bari is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, the city itself has a population of about 326,799, as of 2015, over 116 square kilometres, while the urban area has 700,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area has 1.3 million inhabitants, Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the south is the Murat quarter, the heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea. Modern residential zones surrounding the centre of Bari were built during the 1960s and 1970s replacing the old suburbs that had developed along roads splaying outwards from gates in the city walls, in addition, the outer suburbs developed rapidly during the 1990s. The city has an airport named after Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyła Airport. The city was founded by the Peucetii. Its harbour, mentioned as early as 181 BC, was probably the one of the districts in ancient times, as it is at present. The first historical bishop of Bari was Gervasius who was noted at the Council of Sardica in 347, the bishops were dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople until the 10th century. Until the arrival of the Normans, Bari continued to be governed by the Byzantines, throughout this period, and indeed throughout the Middle Ages, Bari served as one of the major slave depots of the Mediterranean, providing a central location for the trade in Slavic slaves. The city was conquered and the Emirate extinguished in 871, due to the efforts of Emperor Louis II, in 885, Bari became the residence of the local Byzantine catapan, or governor. In 1025, under the Archbishop Byzantius, Bari became attached to the see of Rome and was granted provincial status, in 1071, Bari was captured by Robert Guiscard, following a three-year siege. Maio of Bari, a Lombard merchants son, was the third of the admirals of Norman Sicily. The Basilica di San Nicola was founded in 1087 to receive the relics of this saint, the saint began his development from Saint Nicholas of Myra into Saint Nicholas of Bari and began to attract pilgrims, whose encouragement and care became central to the economy of Bari. In 1095 Peter the Hermit preached the first crusade there, the Greeks were not brought over to the Latin way of thinking, and the Great Schism was inevitable. A civil war broke out in Bari in 1117 with the murder of the archbishop, control of Bari was seized by Grimoald Alferanites, a native Lombard, and he was elected lord in opposition to the Normans. By 1123, he had increased ties with Byzantium and Venice, Grimoald increased the cult of St Nicholas in his city. He later did homage to Roger II of Sicily, but rebelled and was defeated in 1132, Bari was occupied by Manuel I Komnenos between 1155 and 1158
Bari
–
A collage of Bari, Top left:Swabian Castle, Top right:Night in Pane e Pomodoro Beach, Bottom left:Ferrarese Square, Bottom upper light:Bari University in Andrea da Bari street, Bottom lower right:View of Punta Perotti seaside area
Bari
–
Joachim Murat
Bari
–
Bari (Lungomare Perotti, old town view).
Bari
–
St. Nicholas Basilica
11.
Naples
–
Naples is the capital of the Italian region Campania and the third-largest municipality in Italy, after Rome and Milan. In 2015, around 975,260 people lived within the administrative limits. The Metropolitan City of Naples had a population of 3,115,320, Naples is the 9th-most populous urban area in the European Union with a population of between 3 million and 3.7 million. About 4.4 million people live in the Naples metropolitan area, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Bronze Age Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC, a larger colony – initially known as Parthenope, Παρθενόπη – developed on the Island of Megaride around the ninth century BC, at the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Naples remained influential after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, thereafter, in union with Sicily, it became the capital of the Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861. Naples was the most-bombed Italian city during World War II, much of the citys 20th-century periphery was constructed under Benito Mussolinis fascist government, and during reconstruction efforts after World War II. The city has experienced significant economic growth in recent decades, and unemployment levels in the city, however, Naples still suffers from political and economic corruption, and unemployment levels remain high. Naples has the fourth-largest urban economy in Italy, after Milan, Rome and it is the worlds 103rd-richest city by purchasing power, with an estimated 2011 GDP of US$83.6 billion. The port of Naples is one of the most important in Europe, numerous major Italian companies, such as MSC Cruises Italy S. p. A, are headquartered in Naples. The city also hosts NATOs Allied Joint Force Command Naples, the SRM Institution for Economic Research, Naples is a full member of the Eurocities network of European cities. The city was selected to become the headquarters of the European institution ACP/UE and was named a City of Literature by UNESCOs Creative Cities Network, the Villa Rosebery, one of the three official residences of the President of Italy, is located in the citys Posillipo district. Naples historic city centre is the largest in Europe, covering 1,700 hectares and enclosing 27 centuries of history, Naples has long been a major cultural centre with a global sphere of influence, particularly during the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras. In the immediate vicinity of Naples are numerous culturally and historically significant sites, including the Palace of Caserta, culinarily, Naples is synonymous with pizza, which originated in the city. Neapolitan music has furthermore been highly influential, credited with the invention of the romantic guitar, according to CNN, the metro stop Toledo is the most beautiful in Europe and it won also the LEAF Award 2013 as Public building of the year. Naples is the Italian city with the highest number of accredited stars from the Michelin Guide, Naples sports scene is dominated by football and Serie A club S. S. C. Napoli, two-time Italian champions and winner of European trophies, who play at the San Paolo Stadium in the south-west of the city, the Phlegraean Fields around Naples has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. The earliest Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC, sailors from the Greek island of Rhodes established a small commercial port called Parthenope on the island of Megaride in the ninth century BC
Naples
–
Naples Napoli
Naples
–
Ancient map of the Bay of Naples area from Vatican Museum
Naples
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A scene featuring the
siren Parthenope, the mythological founder of Naples.
Naples
–
The
Gothic Battle of Mons Lactarius on
Vesuvius, painted by
Alexander Zick.
12.
Reggio Calabria
–
Reggio di Calabria, commonly known as Reggio Calabria listen or simply Reggio in Southern Italy, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, Reggio is located on the toe of the Italian Peninsula and is separated from the island of Sicily by the Strait of Messina. It is situated on the slopes of the Aspromonte, a long, about 560,000 people live in the metropolitan area, recognised in 2015 by Italian Republic as a metropolitan city. The region has been subject to earthquakes and it is a major economic center for regional services and transport on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. Reggio, with Naples and Taranto, is home to one of the most important archaeological museums, Reggio is the seat, since 1907, of the Archeological Superintendence of Bruttium and Lucania. The city center, consisting primarily of Liberty buildings, has a development along the coast with parallel streets. The city was an Italian candidate to become the European Capital of Culture. in 2019, during its 3, 500-year history Reggio has often been renamed. Each name corresponds with the major historical phases, Recion. Erythrà, the pre-Greek settlement populated by the Italic people, Rhégion, the Greek city from the archaic age to the Magna Grecia age, from the 8th to the 3rd centuries BC. Febèa, a period under Dionysius II of Syracuse, in the 4th century BC. Regium, its first Latin name, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, rhègium Julium, as a noble Roman city during the Imperial age. Rivàh, Arabic name under the domination by Emirate of Sicily. Rìsa, under the Normans, between the 11th and 12th centuries, regols, Aragonese name under the Crown of Aragon, in the late 13th century. Reggio or Regio, usual Italian name in the Middle and Modern age, règgio di Calàbria, post Italian Unification. The toponym of the city is derived from Chaldean word Rec or maybe from the Greek one régnȳmi referring to the Straits between Calabria and Sicily as a break in the land. The sculptor Léarchos was at Reggio at the end of the 15th century BC, the land around Reggio was first known as Saturnia, or Neptunia, and later Italia, which in Roman times became the name of the whole Italian peninsula. After Cumae, Reggio is one of the oldest Greek colonies in southern Italy, the colony was settled by the inhabitants of Chalcis in 730 or 743 BC on the site of the older settlement, Erythrà, meaning the Red one. This dated back to the 3rd millennium BC and was established by the Ausones
Reggio Calabria
–
Collage of Reggio di Calabria. Clockwise from top of left to right: Piazza Italia, Lungomare Falcomatà,
Riace bronze statues in Magna Grecia National Museum, View of downtown Reggio, Messina Strait from Rotonda Square, seaside coast in Reggio.
Reggio Calabria
–
Tetradrachm of Rhegion with the
Nemean Lion.
Reggio Calabria
–
Reggio in a medieval engraving.
Reggio Calabria
–
Effects of the
1908 earthquake.
13.
Trieste
–
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city. It is also located near Croatia some further 30 kilometres south, Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste and throughout history it has been influenced by its location at the crossroads of Latin, Slavic, and Germanic cultures. In 2009, it had a population of about 205,000 and it is the capital of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trieste was one of the oldest parts of the Habsburg Monarchy. In the 19th century, it was the most important port of one of the Great Powers of Europe, as a prosperous seaport in the Mediterranean region, Trieste became the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the fin de siècle period at the end of the 19th century it emerged as an important hub for literature, Trieste underwent an economic revival during the 1930s, and Trieste was an important spot in the struggle between the Eastern and Western blocs after the Second World War. Today, the city is in one of the richest regions of Italy, Roman authors also transliterated the name as Tergestum. Modern names of the city include, Italian, Trieste, Slovene, Trst, German, Triest, Hungarian, Trieszt, Croatian, Trst, Serbian, Трст/Trst, Trieste lies in the northernmost part of the high Adriatic in northeastern Italy, near the border with Slovenia. The city lies on the Gulf of Trieste, built mostly on a hillside that becomes a mountain, Triestes urban territory lies at the foot of an imposing escarpment that comes down abruptly from the Karst Plateau towards the sea. The karst landforms close to the city reach an elevation of 458 metres above sea level and it lies on the borders of the Italian geographical region, the Balkan Peninsula, and the Mitteleuropa. The territory of Trieste is composed of different climate zones depending on the distance from the sea. The average temperatures are 5.4 °C in January and 23.3 °C in July, the climatic setting of the city is humid subtropical climate. On average, humidity levels are low, while only two months receive slightly less than 60 mm of precipitation. Trieste along with the Istrian peninsula has evenly distributed rainfall above 1,000 mm in total, snow occurs on average 0 –2 days per year. Temperatures are very mild - lows below zero are somewhat rare, winter maxima are lower than in typical Mediterranean zone with quite high minima. Summer is very warm with maxima about 28 °C and lows above 20 °C, the absolute maximum of the last fifty years is 37.2 °C in 2003, whereas the absolute minimum is −14.6 °C in 1956. Since the second millennium BC, the location was an inhabited site, originally an Illyrian settlement, the Veneti entered the region in the 10th-9th c. BC and seem to have given the town its name, Tergeste, still later, the town was later captured by the Carni, a tribe of the Eastern Alps, before becoming part of the Roman republic in 177 BC during the Istrian War
Trieste
–
A collage of Trieste showing the
Piazza Unità d'Italia, the Canal Grande (Grand Canal), the Serbian Orthodox church, a narrow street of the Old City, the Castello Miramare and the city seafront.
Trieste
–
Remains of a Roman arch in Trieste's Old City
Trieste
–
Trieste in the 17th century, in a contemporary image by the
Carniolan historian
Johann Weikhard von Valvasor
Trieste
–
The Stock Exchange Square in 1854
14.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
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Friuli Venezia Giulia is one of the 20 regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants, a natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is traversed by the major transport routes between the east and west of southern Europe. It encompasses the region of Friuli and a small portion of the historical region of Venezia Giulia, each with its own distinct history, traditions. Friuli Venezia Giulia is Italys most North-Eastern region and it covers an area of 7,858 km2 and is the fifth smallest region of the country. It borders Austria to the north and Slovenia to the east, to the south it faces the Adriatic Sea and to the west its internal border is with the Veneto region. The region spans a variety of climates and landscapes from the mild Oceanic in the south to Alpine continental in the north. The total area is subdivided into a 42. 5% mountainous-alpine terrain in the north,19. 3% is hilly, mostly to the south-east, morphologically the region can be subdivided into four main areas. The mountainous area in the north, this part of the region includes Carnia and its landscapes are characterised by vast pine forests and pastures, mountain lakes and numerous streams and small rivers descending from the mountains. The area is known for its tourist destinations, especially during the winter season. The hilly area, situated to the south of the mountains, the main product of agriculture in this area is wine, whose quality, especially the white, is known worldwide. The easternmost part of the area is also known as Slavia Friulana. The central plains are characterised by poor, arid and permeable soil, the soil has been made fertile with an extensive irrigation system and through the adoption of modern intensive farming techniques. In this part of the region most of the activities are concentrated. The coastal area can be subdivided in two, western-eastern, subsections separated by the river Isonzos estuary. To the west, the coast is shallow and sandy, with numerous tourist resorts, to the east, the coastline rises into cliffs, where the Kras plateau meets the Adriatic, all the way to Trieste and Muggia on the border with Slovenia. The rivers of the flow from the North and from Slovenia into the Adriatic. The Timavo is a river that flows for 38 km from Slovenia. The region Friuli Venezia Giulia has a temperate climate, however, due to the terrains diversity, it varies considerably from one area to another
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
–
A view of the
Carnia highlands.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
–
Friuli–Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
–
Carso landscape at
Doberdò.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
–
Roman ruins in
Aquileia.
15.
Cagliari
–
Cagliari is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliaris Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle and it has about 150,000 inhabitants, while its metropolitan city has more than 431,000 inhabitants. According to Eurostat, the population of the Functional urban area, Cagliari is the 26th largest city in Italy and the largest city on the island of Sardinia. An ancient city with a history, Cagliari has seen the rule of several civilisations. Under the buildings of the city there is a continuous stratification attesting to human settlement over the course of some five thousand years. Cagliari was the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1324 to 1848, today the city is a regional cultural, educational, political and artistic centre, known for its diverse Art Nouveau architecture and several monuments. It is also the seat of the University of Cagliari, founded in 1607, the Cagliari area has been inhabited since the Neolithic. It occupies a position between the sea and a fertile plain and is surrounded by two swamps. There are high mountains nearby, to people could evacuate if the settlement had to be given up. Relics of prehistoric inhabitants were found in the hill of Monte Claro, krly was established around the 8th/7th century BC as one of a string of Phoenician colonies in Sardinia, including Tharros. Its founding is linked to its position along communication routes with Africa as well as to its excellent port, the Phoenician settlement was located in the Stagno di Santa Gilla, west of the present centre of Cagliari. This was also the site of the Roman Portus Scipio, other Phoenician settlements have been found at Cape SantElia. In the late 6th century BC Carthage took control of Sardinia, Cagliari was a fortified settlement in what is now the modern Marina quarter, with an annexed holy area in the modern Stampace. Sardinia and Cagliari came under Roman rule in 238 BC, shortly after the First Punic War, at other times it was also the Romans chief naval station on the island, and the residence of the praetor. The Romans built a new settlement east of the old Punic city, the two urban agglomerations merged gradually during the second century B. C. to this process is perhaps attributable the plural form Carales. A few years later, when Sardinia fell into the hands of Menas, the lieutenant of Sextus Pompeius, Caralis was the city which offered any resistance. Cagliari continued to be regarded as the capital of the island under the Roman Empire, remains of Roman public buildings were found to the west of Marina in Piazza del Carmine. There was an area of housing near the modern Via Roma
Cagliari
–
Descending, from top: St. Anne's Church, view of the
port, Bastione of Saint Remy, statue of
King Charles Felix of Sardinia and Cala Fighera
Cagliari
–
Necropolis of Tuvixeddu
Cagliari
–
Karalitan ship owners and traders, mosaic in
Ostia Antica
Cagliari
–
Is Centu Scalas ("a hundred steps"), the Roman amphitheatre of Cagliari
16.
Sardinia
–
Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and an autonomous region of Italy. It is located in the Western Mediterranean, just south of the French island of Corsica, the regions official name is Regione Autonoma della Sardegna / Regione Autònoma de Sardigna, and its capital and largest city is Cagliari. It is divided into four provinces and a metropolitan city and its indigenous language and the other minority languages spoken by the Sardinians enjoy equal dignity with Italian under regional law. The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *srd-, later romanised as sardus and it makes its first appearance on the Nora Stone, where the word Šrdn testifies to the names existence when the Phoenician merchants first arrived. According to Timaeus, one of Platos dialogues, Sardinia and its people as well might have named after Sardò. There has also been speculation that identifies the ancient Nuragic Sards with the Sherden, in Classical antiquity, Sardinia was called Ichnusa, Σανδάλιον Sandal, Sardinia and Sardó. Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 24,100 square kilometres and it is situated between 38°51 and 41°18 latitude north and 8°8 and 9°50 east longitude. To the west of Sardinia is the Sea of Sardinia, a unit of the Mediterranean Sea, to Sardinias east is the Tyrrhenian Sea, the nearest land masses are the island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia, the Balearic Islands, and Provence. The Tyrrhenian Sea portion of the Mediterranean Sea is directly to the east of Sardinia between the Sardinian east coast and the west coast of the Italian mainland peninsula, the Strait of Bonifacio is directly north of Sardinia and separates Sardinia from the French island of Corsica. The island has an ancient geoformation and, unlike Sicily and mainland Italy, is not earthquake-prone and its rocks date in fact from the Palaeozoic Era. Due to long erosion processes, the highlands, formed of granite, schist, trachyte, basalt, sandstone and dolomite limestone. The highest peak is Punta La Marmora, part of the Gennargentu Ranges in the centre of the island. The islands ranges and plateaux are separated by wide valleys and flatlands. Sardinia has few rivers, the largest being the Tirso,151 km long, which flows into the Sea of Sardinia, the Coghinas. There are 54 artificial lakes and dams that supply water and electricity, the main ones are Lake Omodeo and Lake Coghinas. The only natural lake is Lago di Baratz. A number of large, shallow, salt-water lagoons and pools are located along the 1,850 km of the coastline, the climate of the island is variable from area to area, due to several factors including the extension in latitude and the elevation. During the year there is a concentration of rainfall in the winter and autumn, some heavy showers in the spring
Sardinia
–
Cala Goloritzé,
Baunei
Sardinia
–
Sardinia Sardegna (
Italian) Sardìnnia (
Sardinian) Sardenya (
Catalan)
Sardinia
–
View of
Gennargentu, the highest massif of Sardinia
Sardinia
–
Lake Omodeo, the largest reservoir in Italy
17.
Catania
–
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea. It is the capital of the Metropolitan City of Catania, one of the ten biggest cities in Italy, the population of the city proper is 315,601 while the population of the conurbation is estimated to be 767,003. The metropolitan city has 1,115,310 inhabitants, Catania has had a long and eventful history, having been founded in the 8th century BC. In 1434, the first university in Sicily was founded in the city, in the 14th century and into the Renaissance period, Catania was one of Italys most important cultural, artistic and political centres. The city has a culture and history, hosting many museums, restaurants, churches, parks. Catania is well known for its street food, Catania is located on the east coast of the island of Sicily, at the foot of Mount Etna. As observed by Strabo, the location of Catania at the foot of Mount Etna has been both a curse and a blessing, two subterranean rivers run under the city, the Amenano, which surfaces at one single point south of Piazza Duomo, and the Longane. The ancient indigenous population of the Sicels named their villages after geographical attributes of their location, the Sicilian word, katane, means grater, flaying knife, skinning place or a crude tool apt to pare. Other translations of the name are harsh lands, uneven ground, sharp stones, the latter etymologies are easily justifiable since, for many centuries following an eruption, the city has always been rebuilt within its black-lava landscape. Around 729 BC, the ancient village of Katane became the Chalcidian colony of Katánē where the population was rapidly Hellenized. The Naxian founders, coming from the adjacent coast, later used the name for their new settlement along the River Amenano, around 263 BC, the city was variously known as Catĭna and Catăna. The former has been used for its supposed assonance with catina. Catinus has two meanings, a gulf, a basin or a bay and a bowl, a vessel or a trough, around 900, when Catania was part of the emirate of Sicily, it was known in Arabic as Balad al-fīl and Madinat al-fīl. The former means The Village of the Elephant, while the latter means The City of the Elephant, the Elephant is the lava sculpture over the fountain in Piazza Duomo. Another Arab toponym was Qaṭāniyyah, allegedly from the Arabic word for the leguminous plants, pulses like lentils, beans, peas, broad beans, and lupins were chiefly cultivated in the plains around the city well before the arrival of Aghlabids. Afterwards, many Arabic agronomists developed these crops and the orchards in the area around the city. The toponym Wadi Musa, or Valley of Moses, was rarely used, Catania was founded as a Greek colony named Κατάνη, of Chalcidic origin, under the guidance of a leader named Euarchos. The exact date of its foundation is not recorded, but it appears from Thucydides that it came into existence slightly later than Leontini, the only event of its early history that is known about is the legislation of Charondas, The exact date of which is uncertain
Catania
–
Catania Skyline
Catania
–
u Liotru, symbol of Catania
Catania
–
Giovanni Battista Vaccarini 's Duomo façade (1736) is an example of the city's
Sicilian Baroque architecture
Catania
–
Piazza Duomo (Cathedral Square)
18.
Messina
–
Messina is the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is located near the northeast corner of Sicily, at the Strait of Messina, opposite Villa San Giovanni on the mainland, according to Eurostat the FUA of the metropolitan area of Messina has, in 2014,277,584 inhabitants. The citys main resources are its seaports, cruise tourism, commerce, the city has been a Roman Catholic Archdiocese and Archimandrite seat since 1548 and is home to a locally important international fair. The city has the University of Messina, founded in 1548 by Ignatius of Loyola, Messina has a light rail system, Tranvia di Messina, that was opened on 3 April 2003. This line is 7.7 kilometres and links the central railway station with the city centre. The city is home to a significant Greek-speaking minority, rooted in its history, founded by Greek colonists in the 8th century BC, Messina was originally called Zancle, from the Greek ζάγκλον meaning scythe because of the shape of its natural harbour. A comune of its Metropolitan City, located at the entrance of the Strait of Messina, is to this day called Scaletta Zanclea. In the early 5th century BC, Anaxilas of Rhegium renamed it Messene in honour of the Greek city Messene, the city was sacked in 397 BC by the Carthaginians and then reconquered by Dionysius I of Syracuse. In 288 BC the Mamertines seized the city by treachery, killing all the men, the city became a base from which they ravaged the countryside, leading to a conflict with the expanding regional empire of Syracuse. Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse, defeated the Mamertines near Mylae on the Longanus River, carthage assisted the Mamertines because of a long-standing conflict with Syracuse over dominance in Sicily. When Hiero attacked a second time in 264 BC, the Mamertines petitioned the Roman Republic for an alliance, although initially reluctant to assist lest it encourage other mercenary groups to mutiny, Rome was unwilling to see Carthaginian power spread further over Sicily and encroach on Italy. Rome therefore entered into an alliance with the Mamertines, in 264 BC, Roman troops were deployed to Sicily, the first time a Roman army acted outside the Italian Peninsula. At the end of the First Punic War it was a city allied with Rome. In Roman times Messina, then known as Messana, had an important pharos, Messana was the base of Sextus Pompeius, during his war against Octavian. In 1548 St. Ignatius founded there the first Jesuit college in the world, the Christian ships that won the Battle of Lepanto left from Messina, the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, who took part in the battle, recovered for some time in the Grand Hospital. The city reached the peak of its splendour in the early 17th century, under Spanish domination, in 1674 the city rebelled against the foreign garrison. A massive fortress was built by the occupants and Messina decayed steadily, in 1743,48,000 died of plague in the city. In 1783, an earthquake devastated much of the city, and it took decades to rebuild, in 1847 it was one of the first cities in Italy where Risorgimento riots broke out
Messina
–
Frederick II age coins.
Messina
–
An image of the
1908 Messina earthquake aftermath.
Messina
–
Unexecuted
Beaux-Arts plan for the reconstruction of the port, 1909.
19.
Palermo
–
Palermo is a city of Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence, Palermo is located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians as Ziz, Palermo then became a possession of Carthage, before becoming part of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire, for over a thousand years. The Greeks named the city Panormus meaning complete port, from 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule during the Emirate of Sicily when the city first became a capital. The Arabs shifted the Greek name into Balarme, the root for Palermos present-day name, eventually Sicily would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860. The population of Palermo urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 855,285, in the central area, the city has a population of around 676,000 people. The inhabitants are known as Palermitani or, poetically, panormiti, the languages spoken by its inhabitants are the Italian language, Sicilian language and the Palermitano dialect. Palermo is Sicilys cultural, economic and touristic capital and it is a city rich in history, culture, art, music and food. Palermo is the main Sicilian industrial and commercial center, the industrial sectors include tourism, services, commerce. Palermo currently has an airport, and a significant underground economy. In fact, for cultural, artistic and economic reasons, Palermo was one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean and is now among the top tourist destinations in both Italy and Europe. It is the seat of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Arab-Norman Palermo. The city is going through careful redevelopment, preparing to become one of the major cities of the Euro-Mediterranean area. Roman Catholicism is highly important in Palermitano culture, the Patron Saint of Palermo is Santa Rosalia whose Feast Day is celebrated on 15 July. The area attracts significant numbers of each year and is widely known for its colourful fruit, vegetable and fish markets at the heart of Palermo, known as Vucciria, Ballarò. Palermo lies in a basin, formed by the Papireto, Kemonia, the basin was named the Conca dOro by the Arabs in the 9th century. The city is surrounded by a range which is named after the city itself. These mountains face the Tyrrhenian Sea, Palermo is home to a natural port and offers excellent views to the sea, especially from Monte Pellegrino
Palermo
–
Clockwise from top: Quattro Canti in Maqueda Street, San Domenico Church, Pretoria Square and Santa Caterina Church, and view of downtown Palermo from Mount Pellegrino
Palermo
–
View of Palermo from Monte Pellegrino.
Palermo
–
Monte Pellegrino pictured at the end of the 19th century; the mountain is visible from everywhere in the city
Palermo
–
Mesolithic cave art at
Addaura
20.
Sicily
–
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous Region of Italy, along with surrounding minor islands, Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, the island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine. It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria. To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km wide in the north, and about 16 km wide in the southern part. The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km long measured as a line, while the eastern coast measures around 180 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 km2, the terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the ranges of Madonie,2,000 m, Nebrodi,1,800 m. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast, in the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean Mountains,1,000 m. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century, Sicily and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions and it currently stands 3,329 metres high, though this varies with summit eruptions, the mountain is 21 m lower now than it was in 1981. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeus, Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, the three volcanoes of Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually dormant
Sicily
–
Mount Etna rising over suburbs of Catania
Sicily
–
Sicily Sicilia
Sicily
–
Sicilian landscape
Sicily
–
Location of the
Salso
21.
Italian Parliament
–
The Italian Parliament is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. The Parliament is the body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia. It is a legislature with 950 elected members and a small number of unelected members. The two houses are independent from one another and never meet jointly except under circumstances specified by the Constitution, on the other hand, no distinction is made between deputies and senators. The Chamber of Deputies has 630 elected members, while the Senate has 315 elected members, the Senate of the Republic also includes a small number of unelected members. There are two categories of senators for life, former Presidents of the Republic are senators for life by law, unless they renounce this privilege. Furthermore, Presidents of the Republic can appoint up to five Italian citizens as senators for life for outstanding merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field. Similarly, the two houses have a different age of candidacy, deputies are required to be 25 or older, no explicit age limit is required to be appointed senator for life. The main prerogative of the Parliament is the exercise of legislative power, for a bill to become law, it must receive the support of both houses independently in the same text. A bill is first introduced in one of the houses, amended, and then approved or rejected, if approved, it is passed to the other house, if approved without amendments, the bill is then promulgated by the President of the Republic and becomes law. If approved with amendments, it is back to the other house. The process continues until the bill is approved in the text by both houses or is rejected by one house. The Council of Ministers, which is led by the Prime Minister and is the executive of Italy. If the President of the Republic is unable to find a new Prime Minister able to receive the support of both houses, he or she can dissolve one or both houses and new elections are held. The process by which the Italian Parliament makes law, the iter legis, is as follows, proposals can be made by the Government, individual Members of Parliament, private citizens, individual Regional Councils, and the National Council for Economics and Labour. Once a proposal is introduced in one of the two Chambers, it is assigned to a committee to carry out preliminary inspection of the proposal. At this point, two different procedures can be taken and this must be completed in no more than four months for the Chamber of Deputies and two months for the Senate. Once the bill has come before one of the chambers, a discussion takes place, followed by the review article by article, and finally a vote on the whole bill
Italian Parliament
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Palazzo Madama seat of the
Senate.
Italian Parliament
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Italian Parliament Parlamento Italiano
Italian Parliament
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Palazzo Montecitorio, seat of the
Chamber of Deputies.
22.
Five Star Movement
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The Five Star Movement is a political party in Italy. The M5S was started by Beppe Grillo, a comedian and blogger, and Gianroberto Casaleggio. Davide Casaleggio, Gianrobertos son, has an important role in the M5S. Formally speaking, Grillo is also president of the association named Five Star Movement, with his nephew Enrico Grillo vice president, the M5S is considered populist, anti-establishment, environmentalist, anti-globalist and Eurosceptic. Grillo himself provocatively once referred to it as populist and its members stress that the M5S is not a party but a movement and it may not be included in the traditional left-right paradigm. The five stars are a reference to five key issues for the party, public water, sustainable transport, sustainable development, right to Internet access, the party also advocates E-democracy, direct democracy, the principle of zero-cost politics, degrowth, and nonviolence. In foreign policy, the M5S have condemned military interventions of the West in the Greater Middle East as well as any notion of American intervention in Syria, two party members, Virginia Raggi and Chiara Appendino, were elected mayors of Rome and Turin, respectively, in 2016. On 16 July 2005 Beppe Grillo offered supporters of the proposals submitted to his blog to adopt social networks, such as Meetup, to communicate and coordinate local meetings. Coordination of activists through meetups had already adopted in 2003 by Howard Dean during the campaign for the primaries of the Democratic Party of the United States. And discuss and develop, if you believe, my posts, within the meetup one creates thematic working groups on topics including technology and innovation, press-communication, ethical consumerism, currency study, no incinerators. In these circumstances, proposals mostly regarding environmental issues were discussed, during the fourth national meeting held in Genoa on 3 February 2007, Beppe Grillo announced his desire to provide local Meetup activists an autonomous space within the shows of his tour. The meeting was held in Bologna, the fourth is a reference to the number five as a Roman numeral. On that day 336,000 signatures were collected, far exceeding the 50,000 required for the filing of a law of popular initiative, on 10 October 2007 Grillo gives guidance on how to create the civic lists. On 3 December 2008, Grillo presented the symbol of the Five Star Civic Lists for the elections of 2009. On 8 March 2009, the first national meeting of the Five Star Civic Lists was held in Florence. Here Beppe Grillo had the Charter of Florence, bone joint 12-point program of the local civic lists in the afternoon, about twenty local groups present their ideas. At the local elections on 15 and 16 May 2011, the Movement occurs in 75 of the 1,177 municipalities in the vote, in the small Venetian town of Sarego, the M5Ss candidate was elected mayor with 35. 2% of the vote. In the run-offs the party won the mayorships of Parma, Mira, after the election, the party consistently scored around 15-20% nationally in opinion polls, frequently ahead of The People of Freedom and second just to the Democratic Party
Five Star Movement
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V-Day in
Bologna, in 2007.
Five Star Movement
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Five Star Movement MoVimento Cinque Stelle
Five Star Movement
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Beppe Grillo in
Trento, during the
2013 electoral campaign.
Five Star Movement
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Deputies Roberto Fico,
Alessandro Di Battista and
Luigi Di Maio.
23.
Metropolitan City of Milan
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The Metropolitan City of Milan is a metropolitan city in the Lombardy region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Milan and it replaced the Province of Milan and includes the city of Milan and other 133 municipalities or communes. It was first created by the reform of local authorities and then established by the Law 56/2014 and it has been operative since January 1,2015. The Metropolitan City of Milan is headed by the Metropolitan Mayor, since June 2016 Giuseppe Sala, as mayor of the capital city, has been the mayor of the Metropolitan City. The spatial spread of the Milan metropolitan area has accelerated over recent decades. A single, large and increasingly widespread conurbation with the city of Milan at its hub defines the area, however. The Milan metropolitan area contains a population of 8,123,020 in 2013, the Milan metropolitan area is part of the so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest population and industrial density. Milan metropolitan area is one of southern Europes key transport nodes and its five major railway stations, among which the Milan Central station, are among Italys busiest. The Azienda Trasporti Milanesi operates within the area, managing a public transport network consisting of an underground rapid transit network and tram. Overall the network covers nearly 1,400 km reaching 86 municipalities, besides public transport, ATM manages the interchange parking lots and other transportation services including bike sharing and car sharing systems. Milan Metro is the transit system serving the city, with 4 lines. The recently opened M5 line is undergoing expansion and the construction of the M4 line has been approved. The Milan suburban railway service comprises 10 lines and connects the area with the city centre through the Milan Passerby underground railway. Commonly referred to as Il Passante, it has a train running every 6 minutes, the city tram network consists of approximately 160 kilometres of track and 17 lines. Bus lines cover over 1,070 km, Milan has also taxi services operated by private companies and licensed by the City council of Milan. The city is also a key node for the road network. Milan metropolitan area is served by two international airports, Malpensa International Airport, the second busiest in Italy, is 45 km from central Milan and connected to the city by the Malpensa Express railway service. Linate Airport, which lies within the city limits, is used for domestic and short-haul international flights
Metropolitan City of Milan
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The metropolitan area of
Milan
Metropolitan City of Milan
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Milan's skyline.
24.
Democratic Party (Italy)
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The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy. The partys acting leader is Matteo Orfini, who replaced Matteo Renzi after his resignation in February 2017, in April–May the party will hold a leadership election and Renzi is again running for secretary. The PD was founded on 14 October 2007 upon the merger of various centre-left parties which had part of The Olive Tree list. The PDs main ideological trends are thus social democracy and the Italian Christian leftist tradition, the party has been also influenced by social liberalism, which was already present in some of the founding components of the DS and DL, and more generally by a Third Way progressivism. Following the 2013 general election and the 2014 European Parliament election, the PD was the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the European Parliament. From 2013 the Italian government has been led by three successive Democratic Prime Ministers, Enrico Letta, Matteo Renzi, and Paolo Gentiloni. As of 2017, other than the government, Democrats head fourteen regional governments out of twenty and function as coalition partner in Tuscany. Former bigwigs include Giorgio Napolitano, Sergio Mattarella, Romano Prodi, Giuliano Amato, Massimo DAlema, Pier Luigi Bersani, Francesco Rutelli, the coalition, in alliance with the Communist Refoundation Party, won the 1996 general election and Prodi became Prime Minister. In February 1998 the PDS merged with minor parties to become the Democrats of the Left, while in March 2002 the PPI, RI. In the summer of 2003 Prodi suggested that the forces would participate in the 2004 European Parliament election with a common list. Whereas the Union of Democrats for Europe and the far-left parties refused, four parties accepted, the DS, DL, the Italian Democratic Socialists and the European Republicans Movement. They launched a joint list named United in the Olive Tree, the project was later abandoned in 2005 by the SDI. In the 2006 general election the list obtained 31. 3% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies, eight parties agreed to merge into the PD, Democrats of the Left Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. Southern Democratic Party, Sardinia Project, European Republicans Movement, Democratic Republicans, Middle Italy, while the DL agreed to the merger with virtually no resistance, the DS experienced a more heated final congress. On 19 April 2007 approximately 75% of party members voted in support of the merger of the DS into the PD, the left-wing opposition, led by Fabio Mussi, obtained just 15% of the support within the party. A third motion, presented by Gavino Angius and supportive of the PD only within the Party of European Socialists, during and following the congress, both Mussi and Angius announced their intention not to join the PD and founded a new party called Democratic Left. On 22 May 2007 the composition of the committee of the nascent party was announced. On 18 June the committee met to decide the rules for the election of the 2,400 members of the partys constituent assembly
Democratic Party (Italy)
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Romano Prodi
Democratic Party (Italy)
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Walter Veltroni
Democratic Party (Italy)
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Dario Franceschini
Democratic Party (Italy)
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Enrico Letta
25.
Metropolitan City of Naples
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The Metropolitan City of Naples is an Italian Metropolitan City in Campania region, established on January 1,2015. Its capital city is Naples, within the city there are 92 comune and it was first created by the reform of local authorities and established by the Law 56/2014, thus replacing the Province of Naples in 2015. The Metropolitan City of Naples is headed by the Metropolitan Mayor, since 1 January 2015 its head is Luigi de Magistris, as mayor of the capital city. Due to the presence of Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei, the city is vulnerable to seismic and volcanic activity, the city is 96th out of 110 Italian provinces and metropolitan cities by landmass, with an area that his smaller than the core comune of Rome. Municipalities in the Metropolitan City vary in size, ranging from 1.62 km² to 117, the Mayor of Naples thus also has powers as Metropolitan Mayor, presiding over a Metropolitan Council formed by 24 mayors of municipalities within the Metropolitan City. The first Metropolitan Council of the City was elected on 28 September 2014
Metropolitan City of Naples
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Areal view of the Metropolitan city of
Naples
26.
Luigi de Magistris (politician)
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Luigi de Magistris is an Italian politician and a former prosecutor, currently the mayor of Naples. He started his career as a prosecutor in 1995 and worked in Naples from 1998 to 2002. He was deputy prosecutor in Catanzaro from 2002 to 2009 and was a Member of the European Parliament. His investigations have focused on links between politicians and the Mafia. In 2011, de Magistris ran for the Mayor of Naples as the candidate of Italy of Values and he won in the second round, defeating the right-wing candidate Gianni Lettieri with 65% of the vote. De Magistris appeared before the CSM in January 2008 to defend himself against the allegations of the Minister. Luigi de Magistris has been the second most voted Italian politician in 2009 European elections, in 2017 he obtained the Valerioti-Impastato award for his work against crime and corruption. The Poseidone case was taken away from Luigi de Magistris, and this investigation was due to be wound up after nearly two years and the persons involved formally indicted. Another case that de Magistris has been involved with is Le Toghe Lucane, one of the people to be questioned by de Magistris was Henry John Woodcock, a public prosecutor in Basilicata. The European Anti-Fraud Office started the enquiry and handed it over to Luigi de Magistris in May 2005, investigations started in May 2005 into an allegedly illegal use of 200 million € of European Community funds. This investigation is about illegal use of public funding, the name of the former Italian Minister of Justice Clemente Mastella appears in the investigation, thanks to his contacts with Antonio Saladino, a key figure in the enquiry
Luigi de Magistris (politician)
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Luigi de Magistris
MEP
27.
Metropolitan City of Turin
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The Metropolitan City of Turin is a metropolitan city in the Piedmont region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin and it replaced the Province of Turin and comprises the city of Turin and 315 other municipalities. It was first created by the reform of local authorities and then established by the Law 56/2014 and it has been officially operative since 1 January 2015. The Metropolitan City of Turin is headed by the metropolitan mayor, since 1 January 2015 Piero Fassino, as mayor of the capital city, has been the first mayor of the metropolitan city. It has an area of 6,830 km2, and a population of 2,306,676. There are 315 comuni in the metropolitan area – the most of any province or metropolitan city in Italy, the second province with the highest number of comuni is that of Cuneo, with 250. The territory consists of an area to the west and north along the border with France and with the Valle dAosta. The mountainous part is home to part of the Hautes Alpes, the highest point in the Metropolitan City of Turin is the Roc, located in the Gran Paradiso massif on the border with Valle dAosta. Several wildlife reserves are located in the province, including the Sacro Monte Natural Reserve in Belmonte, the Residences of the House of Savoy, located in Turin and several other towns in the province, as well as the Sacro Monte of Belmonte are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Metropolitan City currently has a number of rail and road work sites. Although this activity has increased as a result of the 2006 Winter Olympics, one is the Spina Centrale project which includes the doubling of a major railway crossing the city, the Turin-Milan railway locally known as Passante Ferroviario di Torino. The railroad previously ran in a trench, which will now be covered by a boulevard running from North to South of Turin, in a central position along the city. Porta Susa, on this section, will become Turins main station to substitute the terminus of Porta Nuova with a through station. Other important stations are Stura, Rebaudengo, Lingotto and Madonna di Campagna railway stations, the other major project is the construction of a subway line based on the VAL system, known as Metrotorino. The first leg of the system linked the nearby town of Collegno with Porta Susa in Turins city centre. On 4 October 2007 the line was extended to Porta Nuova and then, in March 2011, to Lingotto. A new extension of the so-called Linea 1 is expected in the near future, furthermore, an alleged Linea 2 is in the pipeline and it is supposed to cross Turin from North to South. As of 2010 also a bicycle sharing system, the ToBike, is operational, the metropolitan area is served by Turin metropolitan railway service
Metropolitan City of Turin
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Turin metropolitan area
Metropolitan City of Turin
–
Location of the Metropolitan City of Turin
Metropolitan City of Turin
–
Metropolitan area of
Turin.
28.
Metropolitan City of Palermo
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The Metropolitan City of Palermo is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo and it replaced the Province of Palermo and comprises the city of Palermo and other 82 municipalities. It was first created by the reform of local authorities and then established by the regional law 15 August 2015. and it is part of the Metropolitan City also the island of Ustica. There are, finally, various road routes linking all the countries of the hinterland to the capital, Metropolitan City of Palermo official website
Metropolitan City of Palermo
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Metropolitan City of Palermo
Metropolitan City of Palermo
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Location of the Metropolitan City of Palermo
29.
Leoluca Orlando
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Leoluca Orlando, is an Italian politician and current Mayor of Palermo. He was also mayor of the city in 1985–1990 and 1993–2000 and he is best known for his strong opposition to the Sicilian Mafia, but also for his vocal criticism of Giovanni Falcone, a leading prosecuting magistrate murdered by Cosa Nostra in 1992. He graduated in jurisprudence and worked as lawyer and professor at the University of Palermo and he was a member of Christian Democracy, in the left wing of the party. He entered politics in 1976 as legal adviser to Christian Democratic reformer Piersanti Mattarella, in retaliation, the Mafia killed Mattarella in January 1980. The brother of Mattarella and other associates urged him to run for the Palermo municipal council, he ran successfully, from 1985-1990 he was elected mayor of Palermo, and received many threats as a result of his open opposition to the power of the Mafia in the city. He was re-elected as mayor in 1993 with 75. 2% of the vote, in 1992 he was also elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Two years later he became a member of the European Parliament, after the dissolution of DC, he founded a popular movement called The Network, which in 1999 joined with Romano Prodis Democrats. In 2001 he was among the founders of The Daisy, an Italian party currently including most of the former left-wing members of DC. Since 2000, he has been the President of the Sicilian Renaissance Institute a non-profit organization dealing with the promotion of economy and culture of lawfulness, in December 2000 he resigned from the position of mayor and was a candidate for the presidency of the autonomous region of Sicily. He was, however, defeated by the centre-right candidate Salvatore Cuffaro and he subsequently joined the Italy of Values of Antonio Di Pietro with whom he was elected at the Italian Chamber of Deputies. He has been the President of the Parliamentary Commission for Regional affairs, in April 2008 he was re-elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies. On May 2007 he ran as candidate for mayor of Palermo. He however lost to incumbent Diego Cammarata of the House of Freedoms, following the results, Orlando denounced massive electoral frauds and asked for the annulment of the vote. In the first round, held on 5 May 2012, he was the most voted candidate with 48% of votes despite being supported by his own Italy of Values. He took part in the round against second-placed Ferrandelli and on 21 May he won the runoff with 72% of the vote
Leoluca Orlando
–
Leoluca Orlando
30.
Metropolitan City of Bari
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The Metropolitan City of Bari is a metropolitan city in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bari and it replaced the Province of Bari and includes the city of Bari and some forty other municipalities. It was first created by the reform of local authorities and then established by the Law 56/2014 and it has been operative since January 1,2015. The Metropolitan City of Bari is headed by the Metropolitan Mayor, since 1 January 2015 Antonio Decaro, as mayor of the capital city, has been the first mayor of the Metropolitan City. It has an area of 3.825 km2, and a population of 1,261,152. The province of Bari was formerly a part of the region of Terra di Bari, which once included the towns of Fasano and Cisternino, now in the province of Brindisi. The area is dominated by the Murgia hills in the inner part, only the Bari hinterland and the coastal strip are flat. The north of the province, with Bari, Altamura, Bitonto, Corato, Gravina in Puglia, the south, on the contrary, is characterized by the absence of these large centers, the only municipality to be around 50,000 inhabitants is Monopoli. In the southern part of the province, on the border with that of Taranto, is the Itria Valley, the province is largely devoid of rivers and lakes, although underground rivers in the karst landscape has formed numerous caves, including those of Castellana and Putignano. This left the remaining Province of Bari with 41 comuni and a population of 1,248,084 as of the 2005 census. The arable land in the Province of Bari is exploited with the cultivation of olive and grapes but also cherries, peaches, from that agricultural activity is derived olive oil, wine and table grapes. Bitonto is especially noted for its extra virgin olive oil, and Corato, the centers of wine production are mainly concentrated in Gravina and Ruvo di Puglia, in the north of Bari, and Adelfia, Noicattaro, Rutigliano and Locorotondo, in the south of Bari. Also important is the production of cherries, the Apulian red is especially prevalent in the countryside of Turi and Putignano
Metropolitan City of Bari
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Bari Harbour
Media related to Metropolitan cities of Italy at Wikimedia Commons
