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.
Province of Vercelli
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Vercelli is a province in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. As of 2015, it has an area of 2,081 square kilometres and it is an area known for the cultivation of rice. In 2003, the Sacred Mountain of Varallo was inserted by UNESCO in the World Heritage List, other historical sights include the Basilica of SantAndrea in Vercelli. There are also numerous natural sights in the Valsesia area, communes of the Province of Vercelli Official website Official web site for European Sacred Mountains
3.
Valley
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A valley is a low area between hills, often with a river running through it. In geology, a valley or dale is a depression that is longer than it is wide, the terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys. Most valleys belong to one of two main types or a mixture of them, with respect to the cross section of the slopes or hillsides. A valley in its broadest geographic sense is known as a dale. A valley through which a river runs may also be referred to as a vale, a small, secluded, and often wooded valley is known as a dell or in Scotland as a glen. A wide, flat valley through which a river runs is known in Scotland as a strath, a mountain cove is a small valley, closed at one or both ends, in the central or southern Appalachian Mountains which sometimes results from the erosion of a geologic window. A small valley surrounded by mountains or ridges is sometimes known as a hollow, a deep, narrow valley is known as a cwm. Similar geological structures, such as canyons, ravines, gorges, gullies, chines, a valley formed by erosion is called an erosional valley, a valley formed by geologic events such as drop faults or the rise of highlands is called a structural valley. A valley formed by flowing water, or river valley, is usually V-shaped, the exact shape will depend on the characteristics of the stream flowing through it. Rivers with steep gradients, as in mountain ranges, produce steep walls, shallower slopes may produce broader and gentler valleys. However, in the lowest stretch of a river, where it approaches its base level, it begins to deposit sediment, in prehistory, the rivers were used as a source of fresh water and food, as well as a place to wash and a sewer. The proximity of water moderated temperature extremes and provided a source for irrigation, most of the first civilizations developed from these river valley communities. In geography, a vale is a river valley, usually with a particularly wide flood plain or flat valley bottom. In Southern England, vales commonly occur between the escarpment slopes of pairs of chalk formations, where the dome has been eroded, exposing less resistant underlying rock. Rift valleys, such as the Albertine Rift, are formed by the expansion of the Earths crust due to tectonic activity beneath the Earths surface, there are various forms of valley associated with glaciation that may be referred to as glacial valleys. A valley carved by glaciers is normally U-shaped, the valley becomes visible upon the recession of the glacier that forms it. When the ice recedes or thaws, the remains, often littered with small boulders that were transported within the ice. Floor gradient does not affect the shape, it is the glaciers size that does
4.
Piemontese language
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Piedmontese is a Romance language spoken by over 1 million people in Piedmont, northwest Italy. It is geographically and linguistically included in the Gallo-Italic languages group of Northern Italy and it is part of the wider western group of Romance languages, which also includes French, Occitan, and Catalan. Today it has an official status recognized by the Piedmont regional government. Piedmontese was the first language of emigrants who, in the period from 1850 to 1950, left Piedmont for countries such as France, Brazil, The United States, Argentina, and Uruguay. The first documents in the Piedmontese language were written in the 12th century, the sermones subalpini, literary Piedmontese developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, but it did not gain literary esteem comparable to that of French or Italian, other languages used in Piedmont. Nevertheless, literature in Piedmontese has never ceased to be produced, it includes poetry, theatre pieces, novels, in 2004, Piedmontese was recognised as Piedmonts regional language by the regional parliament, although the Italian government has not yet recognised it as such. In theory it is now supposed to be taught to children in school, the last decade has seen the publication of learning materials for schoolchildren, as well as general-public magazines. Courses for people already outside the system have also been developed. On the other hand, the survey showed Piedmontese is still spoken by over half the population. Authoritative sources confirm this result, putting the figure between 2 million and 3 million speakers out of a population of 4.2 million people, efforts to make it one of the official languages of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics were unsuccessful. Piedmontese is written with a modified Latin alphabet, the letters, along with their IPA equivalent are shown in the table below. Certain digraphs are used to represent specific sounds as shown below. All other combinations of letters are pronounced as written, grave accent marks break diphthongs, so ua and uà are /wa/, but ùa is pronounced separately, /ˈya/. Verbal pronouns are absent only in the form and in the Piedmontese interrogative form. The bound form of pronouns, which can be connected to dative and locative particles. The existence of three affirmative interjections, si, sè, é, òj, the absence of the voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, for which an alveolar S sound is usually substituted. The existence of an S-C combination pronounced, the existence of a velar nasal, which usually precedes a vowel, as in lun-a moon. The existence of the third Piedmontese vowel Ë, which is very short, the absence of the phonological contrast that exists in Italian between short and long consonants, for example, Italian fata fairy and fatta done
5.
Walser German
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The Walser language, also known as Walliser German, is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria. The terms Walser and Walliser are geographic, there is no linguistic divide, specific Walser dialects can be traced to eastern or western dialects of Wallis canton. Conservative Walser dialects are similar to the respective groups of Wallis dialects than to neighboring Walser dialects. The German-speaking immigration to the Wallis started in the 8th century from the canton of Bern, there were presumably two different immigration routes that led to two main groups of Walliser dialects. In the twelfth or thirteenth century, the Walliser began to other parts of the Alps. These new settlements are known as Walser migration, in many of these settlements, people still speak Walser. The dialects are difficult to understand for people who speak Swiss German, because the dialect group is quite spread out, there is rarely any contact between the dialects. Therefore, the dialects that compose Walser German are very different from each other as well, because the people who speak Walser German live in the isolated valleys of the high mountains, Walser German has preserved many archaisms, which makes it nearest to Old High German. The dialect of the Lötschental, for instance, preserved three distinct classes of weak verbs until the beginning of the 20th century, Walser German also shows linguistic innovations, such as the plural Tannu - Tannä, also found in the other Highest Alemannic dialects. Walser German dialects are considered endangered, and language shift to the majority language is occurring, the total number of speakers in the world is about 22,780, with about 10,000 in Switzerland alone. Valais, Simplon, Gondo valleys in the Monte Rosa massif, Aosta Valley, Gressoney-La-Trinité, Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Issime, historically in upper Ayas Valley and this section will be about the Walser German dialect of Formazza, or Pomattertitsch. Pomattertitsch is part of the Highest Alemannic German dialect group, which is made up of dialects that share similar features. The Highest Alemannic German group contains German dialects of Valais, Walser German dialects in Italy and Ticino, and eastern Walser German dialects in Grisons, Vorarlberg, the first feature that is shared by this group is the palatalization of Middle High German -s- to -sch-. This is actually typical of Walser German dialects in general. For Pomattertitsch, however, this doesnt apply to every word that contains -s-, su son, sunna sun, the second feature is a change from -nk- to -ch- or -h-, German denken to Pomattertitsch teche think, German trinken to Pomattertitsch triche drink. The final feature is the lack of diphthongs where they are present in German words, German bauen to Pomattertitsch büwe build, again, this section will be about the Walser German dialect Pomattertitsch. Pomattertitsch marks number and gender on nouns, like most dialects of German and it also marks case on nouns, although it has been reduced over time. It also distinguishes between strong and weak nouns, which is becoming blurred over time as well, for adjectives in the attributive position, there is also agreement in strong versus weak nouns, and in case
6.
Italian language
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By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
7.
Piedmont
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Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.6 million, the capital of Piedmont is Turin. The name Piedmont comes from medieval Latin Pedemontium or Pedemontis, i. e. ad pedem montium, meaning “at the foot of the mountains”. Other towns of Piedmont with more than 20,000 inhabitants sorted by population and it borders with France, Switzerland and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria, Aosta Valley and for a very small fragment with Emilia Romagna. The geography of Piedmont is 43. 3% mountainous, along with areas of hills. Piedmont is the second largest of Italys 20 regions, after Sicily and it is broadly coincident with the upper part of the drainage basin of the river Po, which rises from the slopes of Monviso in the west of the region and is Italy’s largest river. The Po collects all the waters provided within the semicircle of mountains which surround the region on three sides, from the highest peaks the land slopes down to hilly areas, and then to the upper, and then to the lower great Padan Plain. 7. 6% of the territory is considered protected area. There are 56 different national or regional parks, one of the most famous is the Gran Paradiso National Park located between Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, Piedmont was inhabited in early historic times by Celtic-Ligurian tribes such as the Taurini and the Salassi. They were later subdued by the Romans, who founded several colonies there including Augusta Taurinorum, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the region was repeatedly invaded by the Burgundians, the Goths, Byzantines, Lombards, Franks. In the 9th–10th centuries there were incursions by the Magyars. At the time Piedmont, as part of the Kingdom of Italy within the Holy Roman Empire, was subdivided into several marks, in 1046, Oddo of Savoy added Piedmont to their main territory of Savoy, with a capital at Chambéry. Other areas remained independent, such as the powerful comuni of Asti and Alessandria, the County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy in 1416, and Duke Emanuele Filiberto moved the seat to Turin in 1563. In 1720, the Duke of Savoy became King of Sardinia, founding what evolved into the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Republic of Alba was created in 1796 as a French client republic in Piedmont. A new client republic, the Piedmontese Republic, existed between 1798 and 1799 before it was reoccupied by Austrian and Russian troops, in June 1800 a third client republic, the Subalpine Republic, was established in Piedmont. It fell under full French control in 1801 and it was annexed by France in September 1802, in the congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Sardinia was restored, and furthermore received the Republic of Genoa to strengthen it as a barrier against France. Piedmont was a springboard for Italys unification in 1859–1861, following earlier unsuccessful wars against the Austrian Empire in 1820–1821 and this process is sometimes referred to as Piedmontisation. However, the efforts were countered by the efforts of rural farmers
8.
Sesia
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The Sesia is a river in north-western Italy, tributary to the Po. Its sources are the glaciers of Monte Rosa at the border with Switzerland and it flows through the Alpine valley Valsesia and the towns Varallo Sesia, Quarona, Borgosesia and Vercelli. The Sesia flows into the Po River near Casale Monferrato and it is a popular river for kayaking and hosted the European championship in 2001 and the world championship in 2002
9.
Varallo Sesia
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Varallo, commonly known as Varallo Sesia, is a comune and town of about 7,400 inhabitants in the province of Vercelli in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is situated in Valsesia, at 450 metres above sea level, once called Varade, it is divided in two boroughs by the Mastallone stream. In 1971 Varallo was awarded the Golden Medal for Military Valor for the deeds of its population against the German occupation in the stages of World War II. The valley of the Sesia is very narrow at this point as it nears its source, Varallo lies on the left bank where the Mastallone flows into the Sesia. The town is surrounded by the foothills of the Alps and is not far from the Monte Rosa, the churches of San Gaudenzio, Santa Maria delle Grazie, and Santa Maria di Loreto, all contain works by Gaudenzio Ferrari, who was born in the neighboring Valduggia. Museums and galleries include the Pinacoteca Civica, the Museo Comola in the frazione Camasco, the Museo Scaglia, the environs are composed of winding paths leading past 45 chapel-like enclosures containing groups of life-size painted terra-cotta figures with backgrounds in fresco. The tableux represent scenes mainly from the life of Jesus, the array was initiated by a Franciscan, Bernardino Caimi, who aimed to reproduce locally images of the passion as a goal of pilgrims. The main pilgrimage church was built by Pellegrino Tibaldi after 1578, in the works mentioned Ferraris whole development may be traced. In the frazione of Arboerio are the old church of Saints Quirico and Giulitta, with a 17th-century polyptych and an altar of the Madonna del Rosario, media related to Varallo Sesia at Wikimedia Commons Official web site for European Sacred Mountains
10.
Alagna Valsesia
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Alagna Valsesia is a comune and small village high in the Valsesia alpine valley in the province of Vercelli, Piedmont, Italy, a UNESCO World heritage site since 2013. It is a tourist place for mountaineering and winter sports, and it was originally settled by Walser at the beginning of 12th century. It is located at an elevation of 1,191 metres just south of the Monte Rosa, elevation 4,638 metres, It is very close to Milan, since December 2005 a cable car connects Alagna with Gressoney through the Passo dei Salati. This spontaneous architecture has been preserved, the wooden cage around the building was in fact invented for putting the hay to dry out. The Church of Saint John Baptist was built in 1511 and it has got some beautiful sculptures by Giovanni dEnrico a famous Italian artist. At the entrance of the town, there is the house of Tanzio da Varallo. Alagna is one of the Alpine towns which have played a role in the history of the mountaineering. The Guides Association was founded in 1872 and it is the oldest in Italy second only to that of Courmayeur, on 1819 Zumstein reached the third highest Monte Rosa peak. Finally Alagna is the point for reaching the Capanna Margherita. Alagna is internationally known for being the capital of the Alps. Plus, thanks of the difference in form the top of the ridges to the bottom of the valley. The majority of the itineraries are around the Punta Giordani 4,046 metres, there are other itineraries in the Otro Valley, close to Corno Bianco. By Eliski itineraries include Il Cavallo, Rizzetti and Il Turlo, extreme rides are Perazzi Couloir along Punta Parrot and Sesia Couloir between Punta Gnifetti and Punta Parrot. Alagna Valsesia Freeride Paradise Saluti da Alagna Official tourism information Photos of Alagna
11.
Scopello
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The Commune of Scopello is located in the Valsesia region of the Italian Pennine Alps, in the Piedmontese Province of Vercelli. The municipality covers an area of 18.62 square kilometres and ranges in elevation from 640 to 1,930 metres above sea level. Its main centre of population, and the capoluogo of the commune, is the town of Scopello which stands on the river Sesia at an elevation of 659 metres. Other centres include Casa Pareti, Chioso, Frasso, Villabella, the last of these, as the name ‘Alpe’ suggests, once provided summer pasture for livestock. Today it is a ski resort. Scopello belongs to the Comunità Montana Valsesia, a union of various communes in the Valsesia, the mayor is Paolo Ferraris, who stood on a local slate, and was elected on 28 May 2006. Scopello borders Boccioleto, Campertogno, Caprile, Crevacuore, Guardabosone, Pettinengo, Pila, Piode, Scopa, Trivero, ministero dell’Interno, Comune di Scopello, Statuto. Prometheo, Scopello, Clima e Dati Geografici, Comuni-Italiani. it, prometheo, Comune di Scopello – Italia, Informazioni, Comuni-Italiani. it. Prometheo, Comune di Scopello, Sindaco e Amministrazione Comunale, Comuni-Italiani. it, www. scopello. com, official site of the commune. Chiosovalsesia, a site on one of Scopello’s local centres which includes historical photographs, Alpe di Mera, official site of the Proloco
12.
Province of Novara
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Novara is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Novara and it has an area of 1,339 square kilometres and a total population of 373,081. The province of Novara is home to the Denominazione di origine controllata wine of Colline Novaresi which was created in 1994 for the red, all grapes destined for DOC wine production need to be harvested to a yield no greater than 11 tonnes/ha. The red wine is a blend of at least 30% Nebbiolo, up to 40% Uva Rara, varietal styles of each of the red grape varieties can be made provided that the grape makes up at least 85% of the wine. The white wine is a made 100% from the Erbaluce grape, the finished wine must attain a minimum alcohol level of 11% in order to be labelled with the Colline Novaresi DOC designation
13.
Signalkuppe
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The Signalkuppe also known as Punta Gnifetti is a peak in the Pennine Alps on the border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a subpeak of Monte Rosa, the mountain is named after the Signal, a prominent gendarme atop the east ridge, named Cresta Signal. The first ascent was made by Giovanni Gnifetti, a parish priest from Alagna Valsesia, together with J. Farinetti, grober, J. and G. Giordiano and their porters on 9 August 1842. The highest hut in Europe, the Margherita Hut lies on the summit of the mountain, work started in 1890, supported by the Italian crown, and Queen Margherita opened it in 1893. The new hut, a high-altitude Faraday Cage, is clad in copper to shield against unwanted electrical fields
14.
Corno Bianco
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Corno Bianco is a mountain of the Pennine Alps. Its a popular climbing destination of Valsesia, the literal English translation of Corno Bianco is White Horn. The mountain is located around 500 m east from the Dora Baltea/Sesia water divide and is included in Valsesia. Italian official cartography, on-line version, www. pcn. minambiente. it Istituto Geografico Centrale - Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1,50.000 n.10 Monte Rosa, Alagna e Macugnaga
15.
Monte Tagliaferro
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Monte Tagliaferro is a mountain of the Pennine Alps. It is one of the most popular hiking destination of Valsesia, the name, which literally means iron cutting, may come from a sharp stone block located not far away from the top. The mountain is located in Valsesia, nearby the mountain, at 2,264 m, is located Rifugio Ferioli, a public mountain hut. Italian official cartography, on-line version, www. pcn. minambiente. it Istituto Geografico Centrale - Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1,50.000 n.10 Monte Rosa, Alagna e Macugnaga
16.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
17.
Tourism
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Tourism is travel for pleasure or business, also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. Tourism may be international, or within the travellers country, Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a countrys balance of payments. Today, tourism is a source of income for many countries. International tourism receipts grew to US$1.03 trillion in 2011, the ITB Berlin is the worlds leading tourism trade fair. The word tourist was used by 1772 and tourism by 1811. It is formed from the tour, which is derived from Old English turian, from Old French torner, from Latin tornare, to turn on a lathe. Tourism is an important, even vital, source of income for many regions and it also creates opportunities for employment in the service sector of the economy associated with tourism. This is in addition to goods bought by tourists, including souvenirs, in 1936, the League of Nations defined a foreign tourist as someone traveling abroad for at least twenty-four hours. Its successor, the United Nations, amended this definition in 1945 and it includes movements for all purposes. In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities chosen and undertaken outside the home, in this context, travel has a similar definition to tourism, but implies a more purposeful journey. The terms tourism and tourist are sometimes used pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or locations visited, by contrast, traveler is often used as a sign of distinction. The sociology of tourism has studied the values underpinning these distinctions. International tourist arrivals reached 1.035 billion in 2012, up from over 996 million in 2011, the World Tourism Organization reports the following ten destinations as the most visited in terms of the number of international travellers in 2016. International tourism receipts grew to US$1.2 trillion in 2014, based upon air traffic, the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index reports the following cities as the top ten most popular destinations of international tourism worldwide. MasterCard reports the following cities as the top ten biggest earners on international tourism worldwide in 2015, as early as Shulgi, however, kings praised themselves for protecting roads and building waystations for travelers. During the Roman Republic, spas and coastal resorts such as Baiae were popular among the rich, pausanias wrote his Description of Greece in the 2nd century AD. In ancient China, nobles sometimes made a point of visiting Mount Tai and, on occasion, the Islamic hajj is still central to its faith and Chaucers Canterbury Tales and Wu Chengens Journey to the West remain classics of English and Chinese literature. The 10th- to 13th-century Song dynasty also saw secular travel writers such as Su Shi, under the Ming, Xu Xiake continued the practice
