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.
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
3.
Pontine Marshes
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The northwestern border runs approximately from the mouth of the river Astura along the river and from its upper reaches to Cori in the Monti Lepini. The former marsh is a low tract of agricultural land created by draining and filling. The area amounts to about 80,000 ha, the Via Appia, a Roman military road constructed in 312 BC, crosses the inland side of the former marsh in a long, straight stretch flanked by trees. Before then, travelers had to use the Via Latina along the flanks of the mountains and it was part of ancient Latium adiectum and still belongs to Lazio. Bordered by the Aurunci Mountains, this land is reclaimed, as well. Leaving Terracina, the Via Appia crosses it, as well, the marsh was an extensive alluvial plain at about sea level created by the failure of the streams draining the mountains to find clearly defined outlets to the sea through the barrier dunes. Above sea level, it was a swamp, below, it was mud flats. Sparsely inhabited throughout much of their history, the Pontine Marshes were the subject of land reclamation work performed periodically. The tribe of the Volsci began with minor draining projects in the vicinity of Tarracina in connection with their occupation of it in the pre-Roman period, the road proved difficult to keep above water. Under Augustus, a compromise was reached with the construction of a parallel canal, the part of the marsh above sea level was successfully drained by channels, and new agricultural land of legendary fertility came into being. Whenever the channels were not maintained, the swamp reappeared, meanwhile, frequent epidemics of malaria at Rome and elsewhere kept the reclamation issue alive. Under Benito Mussolinis regime in the 1930s, the problem was solved by placing dikes. It continues to need constant maintenance, Italian confidence in the project was so high, the city placed by Mussolini in 1932 in the center of the marsh, Latina, became the capital of a new province, Latina. The marsh itself was located in Latium Novum, the part of the region. The two terms create some confusion in the literature, as the region was heavily settled. The underlying land form is a horst–graben, in expansion of the crust causes a section to drop. Underneath the marsh is such a valley, while the steeply sided Volscian Mountains, the graben was formed over a period approximated by the end of the Pliocene about 2.588 million years ago. The natural outcome of this topography was the creation of outer barrier islands
4.
Benito Mussolini
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Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 to 1943. He ruled constitutionally until 1925, when he dropped all pretense of democracy, known as Il Duce, Mussolini was the founder of Italian Fascism. In 1912 Mussolini was the member of the National Directorate of the Italian Socialist Party. Mussolini was expelled from the PSI for withdrawing his support for the stance on neutrality in World War I. He served in the Royal Italian Army during the war until he was wounded and discharged in 1917, Mussolini denounced the PSI, his views now centering on nationalism instead of socialism, and later founded the fascist movement. Following the March on Rome in October 1922 he became the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history until the appointment of Matteo Renzi in February 2014, within five years he had established dictatorial authority by both legal and extraordinary means, aspiring to create a totalitarian state. Mussolini remained in power until he was deposed by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1943, a few months later, he became the leader of the Italian Social Republic, a German client regime in northern Italy, he held this post until his death in 1945. Mussolini had sought to delay a major war in Europe until at least 1942, however, Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, resulting in declarations of war by France and the United Kingdom and starting World War II. In the summer of 1941 Mussolini sent Italian forces to participate in the invasion of the Soviet Union, and war with the United States followed in December. On 24 July 1943, soon after the start of the Allied invasion of Italy, the Grand Council of Fascism voted against him, on 12 September 1943, Mussolini was rescued from prison in the Gran Sasso raid by German special forces. In late April 1945, with total defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape north and his body was then taken to Milan, where it was hung upside down at a service station for public viewing and to provide confirmation of his demise. Mussolini was born in Dovia di Predappio, a town in the province of Forlì in Romagna on 29 July 1883. During the Fascist era, Predappio was dubbed Duces town, pilgrims went to Predappio and Forlì, to see the birthplace of Mussolini. His father, Alessandro Mussolini, was a blacksmith and a Socialist, while his mother, Benito was the eldest of his parents three children. His siblings Arnaldo and Edvige followed, as a young boy, Mussolini would spend some time helping his father in his smithy. His fathers political outlook combined views of anarchist figures like Carlo Cafiero and Mikhail Bakunin, the military authoritarianism of Garibaldi, in 1902, at the anniversary of Garibaldis death, Benito Mussolini made a public speech in praise of the republican nationalist. The conflict between his parents about religion meant that, unlike most Italians, Mussolini was not baptized at birth, as a compromise with his mother, Mussolini was sent to a boarding school run by Salesian monks. After joining a new school, Mussolini achieved good grades, in 1902, Mussolini emigrated to Switzerland, partly to avoid military service
5.
Veneto
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Veneto or Venetia is one of the twenty regions of Italy. Its population is five million, ranking fifth in Italy. The regions capital and largest city is Venice, Veneto was part of the Roman Empire until the 5th century AD. Later, after a period, it was part of the Republic of Venice until 1797. Venice ruled for centuries one of the largest and richest maritime republics. The Statute of Veneto describes Venetians as a people, besides Italian, most inhabitants also speak Venetian. The region is home to a notable nationalist movement, the regions largest party is the Venetist/Padanist Liga Veneta, a founding member of Lega Nord. The current President of Veneto is Luca Zaia, elected in 2010 with 60. 2% of the vote and the support of Lega Nord, The People of Freedom, Veneto is the 8th largest region in Italy, with a total area of 18,398.9 km2. At its northernmost corner it borders also on Austria, the north-south extension of Veneto is 210 km from the Austrian border to the mouth of the River Po. By area, 29% of its surface is mountainous, the highest massif in the Dolomites is the Marmolada-massif at 3,342 m. Other dolomitic peaks are the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and the Pale di San Martino, the Venetian Prealps are not as high and range between 700 m and 2,200 m. Fossil deposits are abundant there. The plain itself is subdivided into the plain and the lower plain. The lower plain is both a mainstay of production and the most populated part of the region. Several rivers flow through the region, the Po, Adige, Brenta, Bacchiglione, Livenza, Piave, the eastern shore of the largest lake in Italy, Lake Garda, belongs to Veneto. The coastline covers approximately 200 km, of which 100 km are beaches, the coasts of the Adriatic Sea are characterised by the Venetian Lagoon, a flat terrain with ponds, marshes and islands. The Po Delta to the south features sandbars and dunes along the coastline, the inland portion contains cultivable land recently reclaimed by a system of canals and dykes. Fish ponds have been created there as well, the delta and the lagoon are a stopping-point for migratory birds
6.
Friuli
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Friuli is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i. e. the administrative provinces of Udine, Pordenone. The multiethnic and subsequent multilingual tradition of Friuli means that the name of the region according to locality. Besides Friuli from Italian, other local Romance forms include Friulian Friûl and Venetian Friul, Friaul in German and Furlanija in Slovene, the name Friuli originates from the ancient Roman town of Forum Iulii. The adjacent Slovene parts of the Soča/Isonzo valley from Gorizia/Nova Gorica up to Mt. Triglav, the mountainous northern part of the region belongs to the Southern Limestone Alps. Rivers flowing southwards from the mountains are numerous and this plain is commonly divided into the High Friulian plain and the Low Friulian plain, whose boundary is the Napoleonic road that connects the cities of Codroipo and Palmanova. To the south of road is the risorgive zone, where water resurfaces from underground waterways in spring-fed pools throughout the area. South of the plains lie the lagoons of Marano and Grado, other important rivers include the Torre, Natisone, Stella, Isonzo/Soča, and Ausa. Friuli covers an area of 8,240 square kilometres, subdivided among the provinces of Udine 4,905 square kilometres, Pordenone 2,178 square kilometres and Gorizia 466 square kilometres. The historical capital and most important city of is Udine, it was also the capital of the medieval Patria del Friuli. Other important towns are Pordenone, Gorizia/Nova Gorica, Sacile, Codroipo, Cervignano del Friuli, Cividale del Friuli, Gemona del Friuli, Monfalcone, the climate of the Friulian plain is humid sub-Mediterranean. The climate in this area is suitable for growing wine grapes. The hills, however, have a climate, and the mountainous regions have an alpine climate. On the coast the annual temperature is 14 °C, while in the inner plains. Further north, in Tolmezzo, the temperature is approximately 10.6 °C. The lowest values are recorded in the Alps,4 °C at Passo di Monte Croce Carnico, Gorizia, a short distance from Udine, enjoys a particularly milder micro-climate with its approximate annual average of 4 °C. In the warmest month, July, the range between 22.5 °C -24 °C along the coast and plains and the 14 °C -16 °C in Val Canale. Precipitation in Friuli is relatively abundant, the distribution of rainfall varies a great deal during the course of the year
