TEFL Reviews

TEFL Reviews

Country Facts

TEFL Trainees / ESL Teachers

Size
• Total: 302,338 km2
• Water: 2.4%

Population
• 2009 estimate 60,200,060
• 2001 census 56,995,744
• Growth rate: 0.047% (2009 est.)
• Birth rate: 8.18 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Neighboring country
The immediate neighboring countries of Italy are:
France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Vatican City, San Marino.

Currency
The currency in Italy is the euro (EUR).
Euro banknotes and coins were circulated on the 1st of January 2002. Twelve European Union countries use the euro as currency. They are Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland.
Euro banknote denominations are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500.
Coin denominations are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent and 1 and 2 euro.
Prior to Italy becoming a member of the European Union and converting to the euro, the currency was the lira.

Politics
The politics of Italy take place in a framework of a parliamentary, democratic republic, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised collectively by the Council of Ministers, which is led by the President of the Council, in jargon referred to as "premier", "primo ministro" or "prime minister" in English. Legislative power is vested in the two houses of parliament primarily, and secondarily on the Council of Ministers. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches. Italy has been a democratic republic since 2 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum. The constitution was promulgated on 1 January 1948.
The current President of the President of the Italian Republic is Giorgio Napolitano, and he was described by US President Barak Obama "as somebody who has the admiration of the Italian people because of not only his longstanding service but also his integrity and his graciousness. And I just want to confirm that everything about him that I had heard is true. He's an extraordinary gentleman , a great leader of this country, and the fact that he has been such a gracious host is something that we all greatly appreciate."
The current Italian Prime Minister is Silvio Berlusconi. With a net worth of US$ 9.4 billion, Berlusconi is the Western world's and Europe's richest head of government.

Language
• The official language: Standard Italian
• Other languages spoken: Albanian, Catalan, Croatian, Franco-Provencal, French, German, Greek, Ladin, Occitan, Sardinian, Slovene etc.

Religion
• Christianity: 90%
• Irreligion: 7%
• Islam: 2%
• Others: 1%

Culture
• Italian art describes the visual arts in Italy from ancient times to the present. In Ancient Rome, Italy was a centre for art and architecture. There were many Italian artists during the Gothic and Medieval periods, and the arts flourished during the Italian Renaissance. Later styles in Italy included Mannerism, Baroque, Rococo, and I Macchiaioli. Futurism developed in Italy in the 20th century. Florence is a well known city in Italy for its museums of art.
• The period in Europe known as the Renaissance began in Italy during the 14th and 15th centuries and the literary works of that time, such as the poetry of Petrarch, Tasso, and Ariosto and the prose and poetry of Dante, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, and Castiglione, had a lasting influence on the subsequent development of Western civilization, together with the painting, sculpture, and architecture contributed by giants such as da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli, Fra Angelico and Michelangelo.

Sports
Italy has a long sporting tradition. In almost all sports, both individual and team, Italy has good representative and many successes. The most popular sport is Football. Basketball and Volleyball are the next most popular/played, with Italy having a rich tradition in both. Italy won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and is currently the second most successful football team in the world, after Brazil, having won 4 FIFA World Cups. Italy has also got strong traditions in golf, tennis, athletics and rugby, and Italy also currently has a cricket team.

Imp cities
The cities have made Italy a clowning glory with their high fascinating abilities in culture, economy, politics, architecture, sports and many other creative and administrative fields :
• Amalfi
• Arezzo
• Milan
• Venice
• Rome
• Pisa
• Portofino
• Rimini
• San Gimignano
• Siena