Italy Facts

Italy's Oscar-winning "Life Is Beautiful" (1998) took in $57 million in its initial run.

Mickey Mouse is known as "Topolino" in Italy.

France and Italy produce over 40 percent of all wine consumed in the world.

In Italy the Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's backbone; the Alps form its northern boundary.

Italy adopted the euro as its currency in Jan. 1999.

In Ivrea, Italy, thousands of citizens celebrate the beginning of Lent by throwing oranges at one another.

The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. It is located in Rome and has an area of two tennis courts.

In Italy, Santa Claus is called Babbo Natale.

Florence was the first city to mint its own gold coins in 1252.
Italy is bounded by France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia to the north.

Every year there is a doggy disco held in Italy where owners can dance with their dogs.

The largest of Italy's northern lakes is Garda.

The Po is Italy's principal river.

Canned herring were called "sardines" because the canning process was first developed in Sardinia.

Sicily and Sardinia are Italy's largest islands.

Napoleon had conquered Italy by the time he was 26 years old.

The Bank of America was originally called the Bank of Italy .

Cantaloupes are named after the gardens of Cantaloupe, Italy where this melon is believed to have first been grown.

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