Interesting Facts About Italy
There are so many Interesting Facts About Italy! There is no shortage of amazing things in this beautiful country. But, in reality, how well do we know Italy? Read this article to discover some interesting information to get to know Italy even better!
1. Trevi Fountain
Did you know that each day tourists throw about 3,000 Euros worth of coins in Trevi Fountain in Rome? Government collects this money and distributes it to the charity that provides food for poor people.
By the way, the legend says that if you throw a coin from the right hand over the left shoulder, you will return to Rome in the future.
Not to mention another legend… which was the inspiration behind the film “Three Coins in the Trevi Fountain“. It says that you should throw three coins into the fountain. The first coin guarantees your return to Rome. The second will bring a new romance in your life. And the third will ensure marriage.
2. Espresso, per favore!
Can you even guess how many espressos are consumed in Italy every year? According to Coffee Research Group, FOURTEEN Billion espressos!!! Italians use about 8.1 lb of coffee per capita.
3. Italian Inventions
Most of the time, we associate Italy with travel, amazing food and fashion. Not always we realize that Italy is home for many inventions that have changed the world we live in.
To demonstrate it, couple of examples:
- Newspaper:Indeed, it can be traced back to Venice in 1556. At that time, the government published monthly handwritten news-sheets, called “avvisi”. They were carrying political, military and economic news.
- Jeans:
Of course, we usually identify Jeans with America. Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss invented jeans in 1873 BUT jeans have an Italian Origin! Jeans are named after the city of Genoa in Italy, place where Italians manufactured cotton corduroy, called either jean or jeane. Levi Strauss came from Germany to New York in 1851.Later on, in 1853 he heard about Gold Rush in the West and moved to San Francisco to establish Western Branch of the family dry goods business. There he sold, among other things, cotton cloth. One of his customers was Jacob Davis, a tailor from Nevada. At that point, he was making functional items such as tents, horse blankets, and wagon covers. Finally, these two men met and the rest is history…:)
Telephone:
Although Alexander Bell was the first to receive a patent for the telephone, Italian Antonio Meucci is often credited as the true inventor of the phone. The Italian immigrant to the US began developing “teletrofono” in 1849. Only in 2002 US Congress acknowledged his role in the invention process.- Battery:
Alessandro Volta (the name should give you a clue) created the first electric battery. In fact, he published his findings in 1800. In essence, it was the first practical way of generating electricity that could continuously provide an electrical current to a circuit.
4. Vatican
Definitely, The Vatican City, in Rome, IS the smallest country in the world.
5. Origin of “Italy”
Among other Interesting Facts About Italy, we definitely have to remember the origin of the name of the country. The name for Italy comes from the Greek “Italos”, a legendary king of the Oenotrians. They were among the earliest recorded inhabitants of Italy.
6. UNESCO sites
Notably, Italy has 50 Cultural and 5 Natural Unesco World Heritage Sites. The MOST of any country in the world. Click here to see the full list.
7. Vino
Italy is The Biggest exporter of wine, followed by Spain, France, Chile and Australia. Stop by at That’s Amore to try some of our Italian wines, 50% OFF bottle on Wednesdays