Some Quirky Facts about Italy

photo/ Julia Casado via Pixabay.com

Italy is a country that has fascinated us for thousands of years. Some of the world’s greatest artists, musicians and thinkers were from Italy and many still flock here in order to be inspired in their own art. It is not surprising, therefore, that there are many organized trips to Italy, including the Tauck Tours to Italy: Classic Italy Tour. So what are some of the more quirky facts about this amazing country?

Fun Facts about Italy

1. New York City lays further south than Rome, actually being on the same latitude as Naples.
2. You will find snow in Naples and Rome once every few years, whereas it is frequent in New York City.
3. Around the 1860s, the very first pizza was made in Naples.
4. The word “pizza” is the same all over the planet.
5. Italy as a country is slightly larger than the state of Arizona.
6. 20% of people who live in Italy are over the age of 65.
7. Italy shares a border with Switzerland, Slovenia, San Marino, Vatican City, France and Austria.
8. The longest border in Italy is shared with Switzerland.
9. On average, an Italian family has 1.27 kids.
10. Everyone can vote once they reach the age of 18. However, for the Senate’s election, they must be at least 25 years old.
11. The Italian flag is based on the French flag. When Napoleon invaded Italy in 1797, he also put the flag in place.
12. The average salary for an Italian is $26,700 per year. Those in the north, however, earn around $40,000.
13. The Italians invented the thermometer.
14. The unemployed rate in Italy is 8.6% on average. However, the south is very impoverished and unemployment stands at 20% there.
15. Italy has a lot of farms, where olives, wheat, soybeans, sugar beets, potatoes and grapes are grown. They also farm cows for their dairy and meat.
16. Volt, which is used to measure electricity, comes from Alessandro Volta, the Italian who also invented the battery in 1779.
17. Life expectancy for Italians is 79.54 years.
18. Pinocchio, the story of the little wooden doll who wanted to be a boy, is an Italian story.
19. The piano was first invented in Italy.
20. The longest Italian river is the Po.
21. Every Italian east around half a pound of bread daily.
22. Italy has made important contributions to science, including the electric battery, the barometer, wireless telegraphy, the nuclear reactor (by Enrico Fermi) and nitroglycerin.
23. Amerigo Vespucci, John Cabot and Marco Polo were all famous Italian explorers, as was Christopher Columbus (he was not Portuguese).
24. The Italian language is actually based on the dialect of Tuscany.
25. Italy loves producing cars, mainly through Fiat. Fiat owns Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Chrysler.
26. Italy is the fourth most visited tourist country in the world, with 40 million visitors each year.
27. San Marino and Vatican City are two microstates within Italy.
28. Shakespeare loved Italy and featured it in many of his plays.

Guest Author: Lolita Di

Lamborghini Aventador Photo from Aventador.com