IT·uh·lee - /ɪˈtʌli/
[ITALY] - Latin Italia & Greek ταλία / Italía, from Oscan† Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle / calf land, (also the root of ancient pastoral tribe names Vitali / Italoi) - it once referred to just the southern tip of the peninsula, inhabited by Oenotrians,†† and alternate folk etymology credits Italia to their legendary, unifying King Italus.
Over the centuries of Roman control the name Italia slowly broadened to encompass the entire peninsula. With the fall of the Empire the term survived in Medieval texts as geographic descriptor and was revived as the name of the country when the city-states unified.
† Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy on the Osco-Umbrian / Sabellic branch of the Italic languages
†† An indigenous Italic tribe (pre-8c BC) that many records consider the earliest inhabitants of the southern Italic Peninsula. In ancient Greek mythology the mythological Oenotrus, son of Arcadian King Lycaon, is said to have migrated to the peninsula seventeen generations before the Trojan War.
Italy is home to treasures of both ancient Roman history & Renaissance art, stunning architecture, basilicas, dramatic coastlines and world-renowned cuisine.
@ a glance essentials:
.
Language:
Italian
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Water safety
Generally Safe to Drink - including from many public fountains.
Some Locals can speak English, (particularly in the larger cities.)
Currency:
Euro
Local Transport
Metro, Bus, Tram & Trains are sufficient for the cities. But many prefer a car or motorbike
Don’t expect tap water @ restaurants, you’ll have to pay for bottled. And budget for a small Coperto fee (cover charge) for your table.
Hot Tip:
Modern day Italy consists of the entire boot peninsula† plus several islands, including Sicily & Sardinia, in the Mediterranean Sea 🔍. One of the earliest cradles of society, it has had continuous human occupation from at least the Middle Paleolithic, with one of the world's oldest 'civilized' cultures, the Etruscans, evolving from indigenous tribes in the Iron Age.
A Latin Roman Republic emerged in 509 BC and dominated the Mediterranean 🔍 through the Punic Wars, repealing Hannibal's invasion, conquering Carthage (in Africa) and transitioning to an empire 🔍 in 27 BC. Roman hegemony reached its zenith at the end of the 1c AD; conquering all Dacia (modern Balkans / Romania), advancing east 🔍 into Iran, with the Pax Romana extending ~5 million km² from Britain to Mesopotamia.
a bit of background...
........................ Italy has 55+ UNESCO World Heritage Sites, more than any other country and boasts the world's most varieties of cheese, 2,500+, (500 commercially recognized, 52 of which are “protected.”)
Fun Fact:
The Western Empire collapsed however, in 476 AD, over run by Germanic kings, who established the Ostrogoth Kingdom 🔍 until it was reconquered in 553 AD by the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantines. The Italic Peninsula was soon fractured though when the Germanic Lombards overran the northern / central regions.
In the mid-8th century, the Pope appealed to the Franks to push back against the Lombard Kingdom, and in the 770's, under Charlemagne, they were able to fully annex north/ central Italia it into the Frankish Realm 🔍; with the exception of territories 🔍 around Rome & Ravenna, gifted to the Pope (thus establishing the Papal States, independent of Byzantine & Lombard/ Carolingian control.)
Fragmentation accelerated in the 9c as the Holy Roman Emperors waned. Local counts and bishoprics rose in power, like Venice, a maritime republic and later Genoa in the 11c. These autonomous city-states 🔍 grew in wealth and influence through the middle ages producing a cultural resurgence under the patronage of high status families like the Medici.
Revolutions in the 19c resulted in a brief Roman Republic 🔍, wars of independence and a unified Kingdom of Italy; but poverty fueled massive emigration and the rise of Benito Mussolini, the National Fascist Party & Blackshirt squads in the 1920's, plus a time of imperial expansion & a pact with Nazi Germany.†† During WWII German occupation of northern Italia created of the puppet state of the Italian Social Republic (Salò Republic) followed by a civil war and the Marzabotto massacre killing 770 civilians. in 1945.
After Mussolini's execution, Italy voted to establish The Italian Republic, but stability has still been a challenge with the "Years of Lead" (left-wing terrorist like the Red Brigades in the 70's) and prolonged economic stagnation following the adoption of the euro in 1999.
† With the exception of Papal Vatican City & micro-state of San Marino (one of the smallest countries in the world,, founded in 301 AD; it’s also by far the oldest republic in the world).
†† Plus the enactment of anti-Semitic racial laws
Must Try Local Cuisine:
Pasta like Spaghetti† alla Puttanesca - w/ olive, anchovies & capers sauce OR Carbonara, w/ guanciale (pork cheek)
Cannoli ∞ Gelato 🍦 ∞ Risotto & Arancini††- fried, stuffed rice balls
Original Neapolitan Pizza 🍕 - small w/ minimal toppings; classics incl. Marinara w/ just tomato* sauce, & oregano,
OR Margherita w/ pealed tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil & olive oil
Carpaccio - raw, thinly sliced or pounded thin meat ∞ Prosciutto - thinly sliced dry-cured, uncooked ham
Torta Pascualina - savory cheese, egg & spring greens pastry pie ∞ Salsiccia - pork sausage
Italian Caffè ☕ (Espresso,) Cappuccino or a more unusual Caffè d’orzo (Barley Coffee) or Regional Specialty Coffees**
Sfogliatella - flakey pastry shaped like a lobster tail filled w/ orange ricotta, candied citron peel or almond paste eg.
Marron Glacé - glazed candied chestnut ∞ Bombardino - cocktail w/ egg, liqueur & cream
➿➰➿
† The average Italian eats 60lb of pasta per year and interestingly the FORK was likely invented for pasta; a sort of spike was a far more common utensil before the 14c. but was in adequate for picking up noodles. The fork didn't spread to the rest of Europe until the 18c!
But DON'T ASK FOR SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE, it isn't a thing in Italy...
The closest is Ragù alla Bolognese^ w/ fresh tagliatelle (not dried spaghetti) but it doesn't use any cheese, is less heavy on the tomato sauce & doesn’t use oregano, basil or garlic
^Ragù = slow cooked ground meat, red wine & tomato based sauce
†† Arancini was first developed as a way to make use of leftover Risotto
* Tomatoes are not native to Italy, first written about in 1548, as Pomodoro, they are from South America, brought to Italy by the Spanish and dried pasta was invented by nomadic Arabs (so it could travel with them) and not brought to Italy until the 7c. when they invaded Sicily. (Before that Italy only made fresh pasta)
** (Orzo = barley) When real coffee was too expensive or unavailable, a coffee brewed from barley became popular. Caffè d’orzo doesn’t have caffeine and is often drunk by children.
** Additional Italian Coffee Variations...
Ristretto - a concentrated espresso w/ 1/2 the water ∞ Caffè Lungo - espresso w/ more water
Macchiato - w/ milk ∞ Caffè con Panna - w/ whipped cream ∞ Caffè Corretto- w/ liquor
Caffè al Ginseng - w/ ginseng root extract ∞ Marocchino - w/ unsweetened cocoa powder + whipped up milk ∞ Mocaccino - cappuccino w/ whipped cream or milk froth + chocolate.
Caffè Shakerato - frothy iced espresso shaken like a cocktail
offered dolce (sweeten w/ sugar) or amaro (bitter)
Crema al Caffè - an espresso slushy; frozen cream & coffee processed by slushy machine
Caffè Affogato (drowned coffee) - a scoop of vanilla ice-cream w/ shot of espresso
Regional Coffee's
The Pedrocchi | Padua, Veneto – w/ mint syrup, whipped cream emulsion + dusting of bitter cocoa. Only made @ Caffe’ Pedrocchi
Ponce (punch) | Livorno, Tuscany - a ristretto w/ sugar, lemon peel & rum
Bicerin | Turin – layers of espresso, hot chocolate + milk
TO DRINK LIKE A LOCAL: Cappuccinos should only be drunk in the morning & never after dinner
I haven't yet had the opportunity to visit
Italy
(but it's on the list!) - So I don't have any personal
(If you get there first send me your best finds !)
recommendations yet, but you can start with the most popular spots
below, and I'll update with my favorites, hopefully soon!
Most Known For:
♦️ Wine 🍷 Regions like the rolling hills of Tuscany
🔸 Islands w/ pristine beaches & ancient ruins like Sicily & Sardinia; w/ an ancient active witchcraft
community (still using charms, spells & potions to cure illnesses.)
♦️ Venice - built on water w/ grand canals, gondolas, St. Mark's Basilica 🔍 and the Doge's Palace
🔸 Rome - w/ Colosseum, the Forum, St. Peter's &the Sistine Chapel 🔍 (last 2 in Vatican City.)
♦️ Leaning Tower of Pisa & 🔎 Cathedral of Assumption in Piazza dei Miracoli (del Duomo)
🔸 Florence - w/ Duomo (of Santa Maria,) & Uffizi Gallery (w/ works by Michelangelo + Botticelli)
🔸 Amalfi Coast near Naples (Napoli – birthplace of pizza ~mid-19c) a stretch of rugged cliffs, lemon groves, turquoise seas
& colorful villages like Positano & Amalfi or the slightly less well known Ligurian coast (near Genoa) w/ the
Cinque Terre: 5 picturesque fishing villages perched on cliffs connected by hiking trails
♦️ Pompeii & Herculaneum - ancient Roman cities preserved by the eruption of volcano 🌋 Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD
🔸 Luxurious Lake Como at the foot of the Italian Alps 🔍
♦️ Milan - home of fashion 👠 & "The Last Supper" @ the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie
♦ ️ Matera - where people live in the same cave dwellings as their ancestors from 9k yrs ago
🔸 Bologna - w/ the Fountain of Neptune, Basilicas of San Petronio & St. Stephen, porticos of Piazza Maggiore
& Santo Stefano, medieval Strada Maggiore & San Luca (longest corridor in the world: 2.3 miles), 2 Leaning Towers,
plus the Archiginnassio @ the University of Bologna c. 1088, oldest official university extant in the world†
† 1st to use the name, from the Latin Universitas, though there are non-university schools that are older like school of Parma, (now known as the University of Parma) built in 962 AD
👀 NOTABLE ITALIANS:
🎨 Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael & Donatello | Artists (& Ninja Turtle's) ✟ Galileo Galilei | Astronomer
🗺️ Columbus, Marco Polo & Amerigo Vespucci | Explorers 🎨 Botticelli, Titian & Caravaggio | Painters
⺎ Archimedes† | Scientist/ Mathematician ✒️ Dante Alighieri | Writer & Philosopher
🏛️ Machiavelli | Diplomat & Philosopher ୭ Fibonacci | Mathematician 🎭 Sophia Loren | Actress
🎬 Fellini & Sergio Leone | Film Directors ♫ Pavarotti & Bocelli | Opera Singers
🎼 Puccini & Vivaldi | Composers 🏫 Maria Montessori | Educator
👠 Gianni & Donatella Versace | Fashion Designers
† From Sicily, though in his lifetime it was part of the Greek Empire
👣
🌀 Venice Carnival - oldest carnival in Europe (masked celebrations are recorded as early 1000 AD.) 2 weeks of
masquerade balls* & the Rowing of Silence (a procession of gondolas across the candle lit Grand Canal)
🌀 Easter Burst of the Chariot | Florence - a chariot of fireworks 💥 pulled by garlanded oxen to the Cathedral,
(w/ drummers & period clad characters) and lit by a 'dove' rocket, Colombina, fired by the Archbishop to
symbolize the Holy Spirit; a successfully lighting of the rest of the fireworks means a lucky year
🌀 Marino Grape 🍇 Festival (October) – oldest in Italy (since 1925) w/ Miracle of the Fountain, where town fountains
flow w/ wine 🍷 as a parades of allegorical floats goes by & grapes are tossed from balconies to the crowd below
🌀 Festival of Sant’Agata (Patron of Catania) (February) - a fair & 3 days of devotion w/ the saint's relics carried in
procession by devotees in white habits & black bonnets, followed by the Offering of Candles for protection; two
18c carriages & eleven candelore (large candles representing guilds) w/ fireworks in the evening
🌀 Night of the 🕷 Tarantula** – music, dance & traditional culture festival in Salento
🌀 Calendimaggio (May) – the 3 days feast in Assisi divides into 2 factions & after a short religious ceremony,
The Blessing of the Banners, they compete in challenges of tug-of-war, cart racing, & crossbow shooting.
🌀 Corpus Domini's Le Infiorate (summer) – medieval Spello covered in art themed flower carpets & floral paintings
🌀 Brisighella Medieval Festivals (June) – re-enactments, tournaments, crafts & falconry @ Manfredi Fortress
🌀 Peperoncino Chili 🌶️ Festival – 5 day chili fest in Diamante, home of the Chilli Academy
🌀 Human Chess ♟️ Tournament | Marostica (Sept. bi-annually) - locals in historic clothing become the pieves on a
giant board and play through a legendary 15c chess battle between two local aristocrats.
*Unfortunately the balls are often invite only (or extremely expensive)
**The elaborate chariot is named Brindellone, built in 1622, it's tower shaped and nearly 3 stories high!
***A style of lively dance w/ origins in the ancient healing rite of Tarante, where those bitten by tarantula spiders went into a state of shock, from which only with music could awaken them
Site Key:
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