General Information about Italy

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YourGuideToItaly.com
your independent guide to Italy and the Italian way of life

Traveling in Italy

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Rick Steves' Italy 2010
with map
by Rick Steves
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Italy
(Eyewitness Travel Guides)
by DK Publishing

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10 most famous pasta dishes
Festivals and Events in Italy
Ferrari sports cars
Italian cheeses
Italian violins
Italian wines

Osterie & Locande d'Italia:
A Guide to Traditional Places to Eat and Stay in Italy

by Paola Gho (Editor)
Publisher: Slow Food
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Frommer's Italy 2010 (Frommer's Complete)
by Darwin Porter (Author), Danforth Prince (Author)
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Italy is divided into 20 different regions (of which 5 enjoy a special status of autonomy), each with their own history, cultural and culinary traditions. Read more about the regions of Italy.

Each region often has its own independent language, arts and crafts and culinary specialties. Read more about the regional languages of Italy and regional arts and crafts.

Many of the popular Italian foods and drinks are regional specialties, which have often gained international fame.

Since Antiquity, Italy has always been a center of knowlegde and culture, as attested by the many historic monuments and galleries, as well as the fact that 9 out of the 20 world's oldest universities are Italian (Bologna, Modena, Padua, Naples, Sienna, Rome, Perugia, Camerino, Pisa). Bologna is also the oldest university in the Western world.

Another fascinating aspect about Italy are the many contrasts you encounter in this country. While being the cradle of modern western civilization, it is also politically one of the youngest nations in Europe, as it did not exist as a unified country until 1861. Read more about the history of Italy.

Italy was a charter member of NATO and as a founding member of the European Economic Community (EEC) has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification. Italy is also part of the G8 (the Group of Eight), a forum for world's major industrialized (and most powerful) democracies.

Emblem of the Italian Republic: a white star (symbol of Italy since the Risorgimento), a wheel (symbol of labor and progress), an oak branch (strength and dignity of the Italian people) and an olive brach (pursuit of peace by the Italian Nation).

Italy has also produced some of the internationally most renowned names in fashion (Prada, Gucci, Versace), design

and technology (Pirelli, Ferrari and Fiat, just to name a few), yet at its heart it remains highly traditional and attached to its customs and agricultural heritage. B&B in the cities of art and farm stays or Agritourism are a good way to get a glimpse of that other side of Italy.

Some also see a strong contrast in the seemingly very conformist way Italians dress and follow the diktats of fashion, as opposed to what seems a desorganized and choatic italian public life.

Photos of the YourGuidetoItaly.com banner (from left to right): (on campus) Sean Locke, (red deckchair) Valentina Jori, (chianti botlle) Donald Gruener, (Vitruvian man) Jodie Coston, (coliseum), Roberto A Sanchez, (Fiat 500) Luca di Filippo. Photo of 'Rialto bridge' by S. Greg Panosian. Fashionista photo by Ivan Chenko.

Living, Studying, and Working in Italy:
Everything You Need to Know to Live La Dolce Vita
by Monica Larner

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Moving to Italy

Top 5 places in Italy
B&B in Italy
Top luxury hotel in Italy
Famous Festivals in Italy
Agritourism in Italy

Italian Nobel Prize Winners
Italian Inventors
Italian Explorers
Italian Mathematicians
Famous Italian Luthiers

Best gourmet restaurants of Italy
Casinos in Italy

General information about Italy