Italy
Background
Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states
of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united
under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government
came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established
a Fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led
to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced
the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was
a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community
(EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and
political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union
in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized
crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth,
and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy
compared with the prosperous north.
Land boundaries:
total: 1,932.2 km
border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican
City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740
km
Languages
Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region
are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking
minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking
minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
Basilica San Lorenzo
The
Basilica San Lorenzo was consecrated by St Ambrose of Milan
in 393 as the first cathedral of Florence. The Cathedral was
rebuilt in the 11th Century. Fillipo Brunelleschi started the
restructuring the Cathedral in 1418 which was completed by
Antonio Manetti in 1461. Under the Dome, an inscription records
the burial of Cosimo il Vecchio di Medici. While the exterior
of the Cathedral is past it's glory days, the Basilica remains
a masterpiece of Florentine Rennaisance and includes works
by Donatello, Fillipo Lippi, Desidero da Sattignano, Rosso
Fiorentino and Bronzino. The Old Sacristy contains the Verrochio's
monument to Giovanni and Piero de Medici and was designed by
Brunelleschi and decorated by Donatello. Through the Chapel
of the Princes, you can enter Michelangelo's New Sacristy which
houses the tomb of Lorenzo the Magnificent. The Laurentian
Library is accessed through the 15th Century Cloister.
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Map of Florence
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