Italy : A High Standard Of Living

Before unification, Italy was made up of several small countries. These separate countries seemed to share a common culture and language. From these similarities many people wanted to unify in nationalism. Napoleon had invaded Italy in 1796, so unification was not possible until he was defeated in 1814.

When looking at the colonial experience of European countries, Italy stands out as a unique case. While the major imperial powers were carving up the Americas, Asia, and Africa at the height of European colonialism, Italy was just beginning to unify into a modern state. By the time that the Italians had unified and centralized, there were very few territories left that were not under Spanish, French, or British control. Thus, the Italian expansionists looked to the very few pieces of Africa that they could seize. This left them with Libya, Eritrea, Somalia, and Ethiopia. What makes the expansion particularly unique according to Daniela Baratieri is how the Italian people reacted to it and used it in media. She takes a close look at not just what was said, but also examining the historic silences, or topics that many Italians tried to ignore and bury. By reading into the pieces of their past that the Italians of the 20th century tried to obscure, Baratieri shows that sometimes the most important parts of history are the intentional silences.

Out of the seven continents in the world, Italy; The seventy second largest nation in the world is located in Europe. Italy is a boot-shaped country that covers 294,149 square kilometers of land and 7,200 square kilometers of water, totaling 301,340 square kilometers and is apart of the eastern Hemisphere and located in Southern Europe. Located in the Mediterranean Sea is where this Peninsula lies and is surrounded by rolling hills, valleys, along with Alps and Apennine Mountains. Italy is accompanied by Croatia, San Marino, Slovenia, Vatican, Austria, Switzerland and France (Where is Italy). Not to mention Italy is home to some of the largest active Volcanoes in Europe.

Fascism, before its rise to power in 1922, was an amorphous collection of often contradictory influences, ideologies, and backgrounds. World War I provided ties between the hyper-masculine and hyper-violent ideals of the movement. The growth of Fascism was slow immediately after the war, but that time was when many of the institutions of Fascism were founded. After 1919 through 1922 Fascism grew even more, but contradictions remained. R.J.B Bosworth argues in his book, Mussolini’s Italy: Life Under the Fascist Dictatorship, 1915-1945, that the early period of fascism was defined by earlier movements, the glorification of war, nebulous ideologies, slow growth, and contradictions.

“Flash Focus: Italy in the Renaissance” is a secondary source because it is an article that was found in a scholarly journal that evaluates and expands on research that has been done over the Renaissance, most prominently the movements that happened in Italy. This article starts off by explaining how during the Renaissance Italy was full of renewed interest in the works of the Romans and Greeks. What the author means by this is that during the time period Italy was big into mimicking the art styles present during the Greek and Roman period. An example this particular article uses is the way porcelain statues were big in Greece to commemorate their gods, in Italy they took the same concept of sculpturing with porcelain but instead made figures

A brief ruler from the Medici takes the throne from 1492-1494 after the death of Lorenzo; it is of course, one of his sons, Piero “the unfortunate”. Piero appears to have failed to inherit the leadership skills of the great line that preceded him and after succumbing to the advancements of Charles VIII from France and agreeing to all his demands in regards to his passing through Florence to Napoli, loses all support from the populace of Florence and is subsequently removed from power.

Italians of the 21st century consist of people made up of different social classes with the northern part of Italy being an area of good money, while the middle and south made up of middle and lower class. Nonetheless, all Italians embrace the easygoing lifestyle taking “siesta” or breaks throughout the day for lunch, snacks and mid day nap. Many areas allow children an excuse from school to enjoy lunch with their family. The Mediterranean cuisines in Italy influenced by the abundance of seafood along with the amazing mountainous and hilly countryside that produces great amounts of fruits and vegetables, Italians enjoy the fresh and tasty food provided by the land. Italian food very well known around the world as some of the best cuisines, some of the meals include; pasta, sliced meat with chesses, fresh large portions of fish and other animal, bread with topping, dolce (bread cake), and top it off with coffee and shot of espresso. Italians have great fashion sense and lead the world in flashy trends that others around the globe capture and emulate. Some of the big names in fashion include; Armani, Versace, Valentino, and Gucci all brands created by Italians. First impression is a lasting impression with Italians; it is very important to present yourself as a trendy and intelligent person in order to begin a

Italy is making headlines again, this time it’s a good story, Italians are staying healthier for longer. What is their secret? It can’t be their love for exercise, their soot covered streets, unsanitary public restrooms or their love for cigarettes. What is the Italian secret for outliving the U.S and most other European countries? As Kathleen finishs up her studies in movement exercise science and public health, we wanted to observe the general health, nutrition and exercise habits of the Italian culture. When we researched more in depth into the subject what we found was astonishing. Italy is one of the healthiest countries in the world, and how can that be? Throughout this paper we will focus on three major factors in the Italian culture that we think have a big impact on why Italy has such good overall health. These factors include the Italians independent nature and their use of time and relationships with others. We will also discuss the differences between Italy and America on how each country views exercise, diet and unhealthy habits.

It seems like the only sector of Italy that has thrived is its underground black market. These lucrative and subversive activities account for over 25 percent of the country’s GDP. This puts a burden on the Italian government since all this lost revenue is not subject to taxation. Italy’s chief of state, or president is Giorgio Napolitano, who has served since May 15, 2006. Napolitano’s main responsibilities are to approve the Council of Ministers and to provide the prime minister with advice. Berlusconi leads the Forza Italia, a Christian-democratic, liberal majority political party in Italy. Forza Italia was founded in December 1993 and was merged into The People of Freedom March 2009.

While the United States and Great Britain were undergoing their highly publicized “anti-establishment” voting periods, Italy has been gearing up for one of its own. The voting for the Italian referendum will take place on December 4th; and the outcome will decide whether or not the country will make amends to the structure of its government as a whole, or leave the current system in place. The vote is also believed to make an impact on much more than just the political climate of Italy. Many economists and banks centralized in the country see a vote for enacting the referendum as a last ditch method of saving the crumbling Italian economy. However, if the vote were to swing in favor of rejecting the referendum; not only has Prime Minister Matteo Renzi stated he will step down, but economists are also predicting the Italian economic crisis would deepen and may even have severe effects on international markets. With current polls placing the “no” vote between four to six percentage points ahead of the “yes” vote, only time will tell what the country officially decides, and what that vote will mean for Italy’s political and economic state.

Pier 1 Imports is a retail establishment that currently has over a thousand stores in the United States, eighty in Canada, and fifty-six in Mexico (Pier 1 imports, 2004, p.3). Considering the financial health and growth of the company, it is likely that the expansion into Italy can be attainable and profitable.

Administrative differences in Italy are the most important to look at. The “constitution provides the basic freedoms of thought, speech, press and the right to work (Welcome to Italy)”. Furthermore, workers have the right to form and join unions as well as the right to strike. As a result labor unionization is very high; in 2002, 40 percent of Italy’s labor force was unionized (Italy - Labor). Geographic differences also increase the costs and risk of doing business. Italy is divided into geographic and administrative regions, some of which are autonomous and have different regulations (fig. 3). Generally however Italy is divided into two regions the Northern Region and the Southern Region. The north is characterized by high industrialization and urbanization while

The Italian Republic is a southern European nation bordered by Austria, France, and Switzerland. Containing the Holy See, San Marino, and islands like Sicily, the Italian Republic was established in 1861 and has become part of the EU in the year 1952. Italy uses the Euro and is part of the Eurozone since 1999. 60 million people live in the nation and the government is a republic and the current president of Italy is Giorgio Napolitano and the prime minister is Matteo Renzi. Italy is most profitable market is in tourism, profiting over 31 billion euros per year from over 44 million tourists. With strong tourism backbones and leading companies Italy has become the fifth (6) most thriving nation in the European Union despite the losses or current inflations in the euro currency.

There is a saying that states ‘one either lives to eat or eats to live’ and Italy as a country is ruled by the former. Italy is a culture that is rich and saturated in their traditions of cooking. They take pride in their food and live by the credo that food is only used if it is fresh, local and in season. There has been much debate on what defines Italian food and through research one can see that Italian food is not typical of a specific dish, rather that each region offers a new variance of depth and originality that is not common to the Americanized beliefs of solely pasta and pizza. Yes one could lump Italian food into categories such as breads, pasta, olive oil, cured meats and cheese but each of these foods is made in

Rome is the capital city of Italy, situated in the central-western Italian Peninsula. The historical context of Rome begins at around 753 B.C.E. Rome 's initial relocation was in a portion of different early ethnicities, such as, Etruscans, Latins, and Sabines, eventually populating the city as the capital of the Roman Monarchy, Republic, and Empire.