What is Italy?
Vocab level: B1
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When you think about Italy, what comes to mind?
Maybe it's pizza or the Roman Colosseum but there's so much more to the country than just that.
You can definitely spot Italy on a map by finding a giant boot.
It's located in South Central Europe neighbored by France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.
Italy is roughly the size of Arizona, my home state, but it has eight times the population.
That is 59 million people who call Italy their home.
The vast majority of locals speak Italian with some communicating in English, French and Spanish.
It depends on your education level and which part of Italy you are from.
The biggest cities in the country are Rome, Milan and Naples.
When you explore any street in the country, you'll notice the beautiful Italian national flag.
But there's more to it than meets the eye.
The green symbolizes freedom. The white represents faith. And the red means love.
Like many of its neighbors, Italy's currency is the Euro, which is worth just over one dollar.
That is one US dollar equals one Euro but sometimes it changes up and down.
When it comes to food, from cheesy pizza to creamy pasta,
it's no surprise that Italy is very famous for its cuisine.
You cannot go wrong with spaghetti, lasagna risotto and potato dumplings called gnocchi
and of course Pizza.
Did you know that some Italians eat cow tail?
It's called Coda Alla Vaccinara and it's served in a tomato stew.
Out of all the desserts in Italy, I would say Gelato is the superstar.
You also have Italian ice cream which is a fluffy sweet and refreshing snack especially on a hot summer day.
Now that you know the basics, it's time for some fast facts
In Venice, People don't drive cars, they take boats instead.
Yes that is right, instead of roads the city is filled with beautiful waterways and canals that are only accessible by boat.
Did you know that the world's smallest country is located inside of Italy?
It's called the Vatican. It has a population of just a few hundred people
and the pope actually lives there.
In the year 79 A.D, a volcano called Mount Vesuvius erupted near the city of Pompeii
killing thousands and thousands of people.
The ash preserved much of the city and to this day, the archaeologists are still studying what happened.
Believe it or not, pasta isn't originally from Italy,
many people think it originated in China before becoming the spaghetti that we love and know today.
Whether you know it or not, many items in your house were invented in Italy:
the piano, the battery and the newspaper.
Now it is time for a fun story about Italy.
On my first trip to Italy about seven years ago,
I went to the beautiful city of Florence, which is in the northern part of the country
and there there's a pizza place called Gusta Pizza
and it was my first time having a pizza experience in Italy, where pizza comes from.
I'm so used to eating pizza in other countries or even in America where they, they serve it in, you know, regular pizza slice
but in Italy they serve it in a big circle
and they put all the ingredients on it and they cook it.
And the bread gets really good, the dough gets really fresh and crispy.
They put all the mozzarella and cheese and olives on top of it and olive oil and pepperoni.
And you eat it.
They don't cut it into pieces. You have to literally either cut it yourself or take the whole thing and eat it.
And I remember sitting there in that little restaurant thinking:
"Wow! this is truly one of the best meals in the world".
Pizza originated in Italy so if you get the chance to eat it there, it's phenomenal.
Not to mention the spaghetti and the pasta in Italy is superior to anywhere in the world.
To be honest, pizza in America is very good,
pizza in Italy's very good, so they're both almost equally good in my opinion.
However the spaghetti and the pasta in Italy is outstanding and so much better than you can find anywhere else in the world.
They make the noodles so fresh, they cook it overnight,
they put all the right spices and sauces on it and they serve it in a beautiful bowl with Parmesan cheese
and the sauce and the olive oil and all of it mixed together. It's so good.
I love Italy, it's a country I'll always go back to in the future. It's beautiful, the people are amazing.
And I can't wait to head back to Italy sometime very very very soon.
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