Italy
Italy the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Austria and the enclaved microstates San Marino and Vatican City. Italy covers an area of 301,340 km2 and has a temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. With around 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth-most populous EU member state and the most populous country in Southern Europe. Due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, Italy has been home to a myriad of peoples and cultures. In addition to the various ancient peoples dispersed throughout modern-day Italy, the most famous of which being the Indo-European Italics who gave the peninsula its name, beginning from the classical era and Carthaginians founded colonies in insular Italy and Genoa, Greeks established settlements in the so-called Magna Graecia, while Etruscans and Celts inhabited central and northern Italy respectively; the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom in the 8th century BC, which became a republic with a government of the Senate and the People.
The Roman Republic conquered and assimilated its neighbours on the peninsula, in some cases through the establishment of federations, the Republic expanded and conquered parts of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. By the first century BC, the Roman Empire emerged as the dominant power in the Mediterranean Basin and became the leading cultural and religious centre of Western civilisation, inaugurating the Pax Romana, a period of more than 200 years during which Italy's technology, economy and literature flourished. Italy remained the metropole of the Roman Empire; the legacy of the Roman Empire endured its fall and can be observed in the global distribution of culture, governments and the Latin script. During the Early Middle Ages, Italy endured sociopolitical collapse and barbarian invasions, but by the 11th century, numerous rival city-states and maritime republics in the northern and central regions of Italy, rose to great prosperity through shipping and banking, laying the groundwork for modern capitalism.
These independent statelets served as Europe's main trading hubs with Asia and the Near East enjoying a greater degree of democracy than the larger feudal monarchies that were consolidating throughout Europe. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science and art. Italian culture flourished, producing famous scholars and polymaths such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Machiavelli. During the Middle Ages, Italian explorers such as Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, John Cabot and Giovanni da Verrazzano discovered new routes to the Far East and the New World, helping to usher in the European Age of Discovery. Italy's commercial and political power waned with the opening of trade routes that bypassed the Mediterranean. Centuries of infighting between the Italian city-states, such as the Italian Wars of the 15th and 16th centuries, left the region fragmented, it was subsequently conquered and further divided by European powers such as France and Austria.
By the mid-19th century, rising Italian nationalism and calls for independence from foreign control led to a period of revolutionary political upheaval. After centuries of foreign domination and political division, Italy was entirely unified in 1871, establishing the Kingdom of Italy as a great power. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, Italy industrialised, namely in the north, acquired a colonial empire, while the south remained impoverished and excluded from industrialisation, fuelling a large and influential diaspora. Despite being one of the main victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil, leading to the rise of a fascist dictatorship in 1922. Participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in military defeat, economic destruction and the Italian Civil War. Following the liberation of Italy and the rise of the resistance, the country abolished the monarchy, reinstated democracy, enjoyed a prolonged economic boom and, despite periods of sociopolitical turmoil became a developed country.
Today, Italy is considered to be one of the world's most culturally and economically advanced countries, with the sixth-largest worldwide national wealth. Its advanced economy ranks eighth-largest in the world and third in the Eurozone by nominal GDP. Italy owns the third-largest central bank gold reserve, it has a high level of human development, it stands among the top countries for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military and diplomatic affairs. Italy is a founding and leading member of the European Union and a member of numerous international institutions, including the UN, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the WTO, the G7, the G20, the Union for the Mediterranean, the Council of Europe, Uniting for Consensus, the Schengen Area and many more; as a reflection
Abano Terme
Abano Terme is a town and comune in the province of Padua, in the Veneto region, Italy, on the eastern slope of the Colli Euganei. Abano Terme's population is 19,062; the town's hot springs and mud baths are an important economic resource. The waters have a temperature of about 80 °C; the baths were known to the Romans as Aquae Patavinae. A description of them is given in a letter to Theodoric, the king of the Ostrogoths, from Cassiodorus; some remains of the ancient baths have been discovered. An oracle of Geryon lay near, the so-called sortes Praenestinae, small bronze cylinders inscribed, used as oracles, were found here in the 16th century; the baths were destroyed by the Lombards in the 6th century, but they were rebuilt and enlarged when Abano became an autonomous comune in the 12th century and, again, in the late 14th century. The city was under the Republic of Venice from 1405 to 1797. Abano Cathedral, or the cathedral of St. Lawrence; the current edifice was erected in 1780 over a pre-existing church, destroyed by Cangrande della Scala.
The bell tower has parts from the 14th centuries. The Montirone Gallery, housing works of Il Moretto, Palma the Younger, Guido Reni, Giandomenico Tiepolo and others; the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Salute or of Monteortone. It lies on the site; the church is on the Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles with three apses decorated by a frieze. It has with a Baroque portal, a noteworthy bell tower, presbytery frescoes portraying the Histories of St. Peter and Virgin by Jacopo da Montagnana and Palma the Younger's altarpiece depicting Christ Crucifixed Between St. Augustine and St. Jerome. Just outside the city is San Daniele Abbey. 6 km from the city is Praglia Abbey, founded in the 11th century by Benedictine monks and rebuilt in 1496–1550. The abbey church of the Assumption, with a marble portal from 1548, has a Renaissance style interior. Noteworthy is the four cloister complex. Peter of Abano and philosopher L'Italia da scoprire, Giorgio Mondadori, 2006. Abano.it Touristic informations web site
Casale di Scodosia
Casale di Scodosia is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 70 kilometres southwest of Venice and about 40 kilometres southwest of Padua. Casale di Scodosia borders the following municipalities: Megliadino San Fidenzio, Megliadino San Vitale, Montagnana, Piacenza d'Adige, Urbana. Sunday May 31, 2009, Casale di Scodosia broke the Guinness World Record for "The largest panini", the sandwich was over 2,000 metres long. Official website
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is ranking fifth in Italy; the region's capital is Venice. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire until the 5th century AD. After a feudal period, it was part of the Republic of Venice until 1797. Venice ruled for centuries over one of the largest and richest maritime republics and trade empires in the world. After the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna, the Republic was annexed by the Austrian Empire, until it was merged with the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, as a result of the Third Italian War of Independence. Besides Italian, most inhabitants speak Venetian, divided into five varieties. Since 1971 the Statute of Veneto has referred to the region's citizens as "the Venetian people". Article 1 defines Veneto as an "autonomous Region", "constituted by the Venetian people and the lands of the provinces of Belluno, Rovigo, Venice and Vicenza", while maintaining "bonds with Venetians in the world". Article 2 sets forth the principle of the "self-government of the Venetian people" and mandates the Region to "promote the historical identity of the Venetian people and civilisation".
Despite these affirmations, approved by the Italian Parliament, Veneto is not among the autonomous regions with special statute, differently from its north-eastern and north-western neighbours, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol respectively. Veneto is home to a notable nationalist movement, known as Venetian Venetism; the region's largest party is a founding component of the Lega Nord. The current President of Veneto is Luca Zaia, re-elected in 2015 with 50.1% of the vote. Zaia II Government includes Forza Italia and is externally supported by Independence We Veneto and the Brothers of Italy. An autonomy referendum took place in 2017: 57.2% of Venetians turned out, 98.1% voting "yes" to "further forms and special conditions of autonomy". Having been for a long period in history a land of mass emigration, Veneto is today one of the greatest immigrant-receiving regions in the country, with 487,493 foreigners, notably including Romanians, Chinese and Albanians. Veneto is the 8th largest region in Italy, with a total area of 18,398.9 km2.
It is located in the north-eastern part of Italy and is bordered to the east by Friuli-Venezia Giulia, to the south by Emilia-Romagna, to the west by Lombardy and to the north by Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. At its northernmost corner it borders 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 Pale di San Martino; the Venetian Prealps range between 700 m and 2,200 m. A distinctive characteristic of the Pre-alps are the cave formations, including chasms and sink holes. Fossil deposits are abundant there; the Po Valley, covering 57% of Veneto, extends from the mountains to the Adriatic sea, broken only by some low hills: Euganean Hills, Berici Hills Colli Asolani and Montello, which constitute the remaining 14% of the territory. The plain itself is subdivided into the lower plain; the lower plain is both a mainstay of agricultural production and the most populated part of the region.
Several rivers flow through the region: the Po, Brenta, Livenza and Tagliamento. The eastern shore of the largest lake in Italy, Lake Garda, belongs to Veneto; the coastline covers 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 and islands; the Po Delta to the south features dunes along the coastline. The inland portion contains cultivable land 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. Veneto's morphology is characterised by its: mountains: 5,359.1 km2,. The climate changes from one area to another: while it is continental on the plains, it is milder along the Adriatic coast; the lowlands are covered by thick fog. Between the 2nd and 1st millennium BC, the region was inhabited by the Euganei. According to ancient historians, who wanted to link Venetic origins to legend of Roman origins in Troy, the Veneti came from Paphlagonia in Anatolia at the time of the Fall of Troy, led by prince Antenor, a comrade of Aeneas.
Other historians links Venetic origins with Celts. In the 7th–6th centuries BC th
Province of Padua
The Province of Padua is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua, it has an area of 2,142 km², a total population of 936,492 making it the most populated province of Veneto. There are 102 comuni in the province; the territory is divided in the capital city and its hinterland, formed by the nearby municipalities. The Euganei hills are the only heights of the entire province, the other parts being plain; the borders of the province are the same of the Medieval commune of Padua, with just some adjustment in the north-east. The territory was administered within these boundaries since the time of the Republic of Venice, but the modern province comes directly from the administrative divisions of Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia; the Diocese of Padua covers the most part of the province, out of a main part of Alta Pianura. Padua is home to some masterpieces from Medieval and Renaissance art and architecture, while the towns of Cittadella and Montagnana are known for the well preserved Medieval city walls.
There are numerous villas in the countryside, a few of them from Palladio, the main ones being Villa Contarini and Villa Barbarigo. The Euganei hills offer a relaxing naturalistic site covered in woods, while at their eastern slopes there are many ancient spa sites: the Terme Euganee, as Abano Terme, Montegrotto Terme, Galzignano Terme, Battaglia Terme. There is a small part of the Venetian Lagoon lying inside the Valle Millecampi. Travelling by boat is possible as well; the most part of the province has a temperate sub-continental climate for the Köppen climate classification Cfa). The winter is moderately cold in the province, avoiding both warm and cold extremes; the lower plain is colder than the higher plain. Fog is a common phenomenon lasting all the day long, above all in the lower plain. Summers are moderately hot and wet and less rainy in the lower plain, while the higher plain is hit by thunderstorms. Spring and autumn are changeable seasons, which may experience wintry or sultry weather, heavy rainfalls or pleasant sunny days.
The period between April and June is the wettest one in a year. Extreme events may sometime hit the province. Flooding is a well-known phenomenon since ancient time, so that all the rivers and channels which cross the plain are embanked, many channels were dug to avoid frequent flooding; the worst recent events were on 4 November 1966 and on 2 November 2010. Snowstorms, with some inch of fresh snow and strong Bora gusts, may happen during a normal winter, but can be considered like a blizzard, they do not last more than 1–2 days and with no more than 6-10in of snow. Anyway, a exceptional event happened during the winter of 1608: a snowfall that lasted for 40 consecutive days, from late January to early March, with the snow depth at ground reaching at least 6–7 ft as witnessed by Galileo. Between May and September, tornadoes may hit the area as well; the most famous were the one of 17 August 1756. Hailstorms are possible as well by summer, the worst recent event having been on 28 August 2003; the province has a thriving economy, in the metropolitan area and the Alta Pianura, due to the presence of numerous enterprises of every kind industrial ones, but from tertiary and primary economical sectors.
The Bassa Pianura is instead a rural area, thus being poorer and less populated. Tourism is developed above all in the spa towns, while both in Padua and in the other parts of the province it may be considered under-developed, aside from the arrival of large numbers of pilgrims in Padua. Two motorways cross the territory, one being the A4, the other being the A13; the main railways make the same paths of the motorways, going to Venice, Milan or Bologna. The main roads follow all those paths. Several sports are practiced in the province of Padua; the most popular is football: every village as well as every city parish has its own little team, out of the most important ones playing in the Italian professional or
Loreggia
Loreggia is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 35 kilometres northwest of Venice and about 20 kilometres northeast of Padua. Loreggia borders the following municipalities: Camposampiero, Castelfranco Veneto, Piombino Dese, San Martino di Lupari, Santa Giustina in Colle. Loreggia is twinned with: Borghetto di Borbera, since 2001
