02/23/2015
Little Known Facts about Italy! Feb. 2015 by Priscila Siano
Published in Italian Travel/Edited for space accommodation
1. Italy has the most World Heritage Sites as recognized by UNESCO. This United Nations Organization bestows this honor on places that are of significant cultural or natural heritage and importance. Among the sites are the Royal Palace at Caserta, Pompei, Herculaneum, and Torre Annunziata in Naples, Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco, the city of Verona, and the Amalfi Coast.
2. Italy also has more hotel rooms than any other European country. It is one of the continent’s most frequently visited countries, and tourism provides 63% of its national income.
3. There are over 3,000 museums in Italy, dedicated to ancient civilization and the history of art and humanities.
4. The average Italian drinks one glass of wine per day. With a consumption of about 300 million cases per year, Italy is a country of devoted drinkers; the country produces more wine than any other country in the world.
5. Italy’s old age dependency is the highest ever in Europe, and the elderly retire as some of the youngest in the continent. The country spends most of its national income on pensions: for every 100 working Italians there are 30 elderly citizens being cared for.
6. The ice cream cone, scissors, eyeglasses, thermometers, typewriters, telephone, radio, even the MP3 format? All invented by Italians, known the world over as innovators.
7. Soccer was introduced in the late 1800s by the British, but only took off in the 1930s under Mussolini. The devotion to the sport is so fervent that it borders on the maniacal. The Italian national football team is considered to be one of the best in the world, having won the FIFA World Cup 4 times: 1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006.
