I woke up lazily.......We were going swimming but I just wanted to sleep. I went swimming anyway. The funny thing is that the water is actually salty
This is how you use a swimming board, I guess?
Don't mind me
We ate breakfast at the Lemon Garden Cafe. So much variety. Chocolate fountain with waffles. Great way to start off your day.
Went for the fish feeding. There were so many fishes, some black and some colorful. our fish food is pretty little. They recycle the containers so give them back to the counter.
The maze was a little wet...It rained the night before I think we still walked through it and yeah there's a sense of accomplishment.
Packed our bags ready for check put while my brothers went to the fun zone for art and crafts.
I love this outfit, do you? Gonna miss the hotel
We went to our aunt's house...The dog was pretty attention-seeking and friendly. My mum was petrified though. Play Jenga blocks and monopoly.
After that, we went home stuck in a traffic jam for bout half an hour. Music really helped us go through it and also with snacks.
So..... that's it! What do you think about my holiday?
DISCLAIMER: The pictures are not owned by me, I got them from the Internet so... credits to the owners. Pls, forgive me if I have left out anything or made mistakes.
National symbols of Italy
national flower
Lily- symbolic meaning of purity and refined
beauty
national animal
Italian wolf
Italy flag & Emblem
Famous Italian people
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
European
scholars of physics, mathematics, astronomy, and geometry.
a pioneer of
physics.
the founder of the
discipline established the foundations of modern mechanics.
"Measure what is measurable, and make
measurable what is not so." - Galileo Galilei
crafted an advanced version of the telescope
he was even accused of heresy
for suggesting that the planets revolved around the sun
a life sentenced to prison, once again for
heresy because of his support for the Copernican theory.
soften his punishment to house arrest, but sadly, he was not
entitled to share his thoughts.
Marco Polo (1254-1324)
Italian merchant and
explorer
Famous for his voyages to China, an ambassador to the first Mongol emperor of
the Yuan Dynasty Kublai Khan.
messenger for the
Overlord of China, Iran, and Russia
The 13th-century work, Le Livre de
Merveilles (Book of the Marvels of the World), details Marco Polo's experiences
the stories were transcribed by Rustichello da Pisa, an Italian writer
who had spent time in prison with Polo and had listened to his stories.
due to having never
heard of many of the flora and fauna of faraway lands, he wrongly believed some
animals to be mythical creatures. One famous example is his mistaking a rhinoceros for a unicorn because of its horn!
influenced Christopher Columbus, another
renowned explorer
Julius Caesar
100AD - 44AD
writer, politician, and Roman general.
became most famous for leading the Roman legions in their
conquest of Gaul (modern-day France as well as
parts of Belgium, Germany, and Italy)
implemented many political and social reforms
which are still evident today.
The Julian calendar laid the
foundations for the Gregorian calendar (the calendar we use today) which
replaced it in 1582.
Famous Italian artists & their paintings
Leonardo da Vinci
one of the greatest painters of all time,
a polymath, an engineer, a scientist, and a sculptor
the Mona Lisa is the most famous portrait ever
The Last Supper is the most reproduced religious painting.
despite being known worldwide as a genius – he never received any formal schooling, as he was completely homeschooled!
Michelangelo
Brutus (marble bust)
leading Italian painter of the late 16th and early 17th centuries,
best known for the intense, realism of his large religious works.
orphaned at a young age after his entire family contracted the bubonic plague, Caravaggio was taken on as an apprentice in an art studio at the tender age of 12.
a great influence on the development of Baroque painting techniques, especially his dramatic use of lighting.
a Baroque master
Titian
The assumption of the virgin
Known as Tiziano Vecelli
the greatest member of the 16th-century Venetian school of painting.
versatile painter, adept with portraits, landscapes, and mythological and religious subjects
his art was sought after by Italian princes, the royal house of the Habsburgs, and the papacy.
Around 300 of his works still exist today, housed around the world in art galleries and museums
Italian inventions
Jeans
traced back to the Italian city of Genoa.
Sailors there began wearing them in the 17th-century
Newspapers
traced back to 16th-century Venice, when ‘avvisi’, were published by the government
carrying only the most important political, economic and military news
primarily created to be a better way to share news around the country with a wide audience.
Banks
traced to medieval and early Renaissance Italy, with The Medici
Bank, having been founded by Giovanni di Bicci de Medici in 1397.
home to the oldest bank
still in operation today, the Monte Dei Paschi di Siena, which opened in 1472.
The English word ‘bank’ is derived from the Italian word ‘banco’ or
‘Banca’ which originally simply meant a bench with a back.
SPECIAL THANKS AND INSPIRED BY:
(thank you for providing all the information I need for IU day, apologies if I left out any of them)
Hiiiii I know it's been a long time since this blog got updated... my school work just got hectic and it's the school holidays finally...
Today I wanna share a Lil about our International Understanding Day. The theme for this year 2022 is......... *drumroll please* Ciao Italia!
As I am in charge of preparing the information about Italy, I'm going to give you a sneak peek at the subtopics that we will talk about. This blog is also suitable for people who want to make a simple presentation on Italy or learn more about Italian culture. DISCLAIMER: The pictures are not owned by me, I got them from the Internet so... credits to the owners. Pls, forgive me if I have left out anything or made mistakes.
Let's start off with the geographical aspect of Italy.
Italy is a Mediterranean country located in southern Europe. It is bordered by the Adriatic Sea on the east coast, the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west or Mediterranean coast, and the Ionian Sea to the south. In the north, Italy is bordered by the countries of France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia.
This is what Italy looks like on a map:
Famous cities in Italy
Venice
Featured snippet from the web
Venice is a city that oozes love and charm and is often considered the most romantic city in Europe
Venice cityscape with Rialto bridge in the background.
City world-famous for its canals, its bridges and for its palaces built on water. The Serenissima offers a multitude of different impressions: with its busy canals, labyrinthine back streets and some off-the-beaten-track areas, such as its authentic gondola workshops still in activity.
Venice, Grand Canal
Venice is the Capital of the Veneto region, with a population of over 260,000.
Florence
Florence, view from the Galleria degli Uffizi.
Capital city of the Tuscany region. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Today’s Italian is based on the Tuscan language of Florence of the 14th century.
Florence skyline at night
Milan
Milan, Piazza del Duomo
Famous worldwide as one of the capitals of fashion and design, Milan is also home to a cathedral of an unrivaled beauty, the second largest catholic cathedral in the world and the fourth largest one in the world. –
Arco della Pace, Milan
Italy has a long history from the Empire of Rome till today. Thus, there is a lot of mind-blowing from the past.
Colosseum
Built between 72 A.D and 80 A.D under Emperor Vespasian
Built-in the heart of Ancient Rome.
Made fromstoneandconcrete
Built with the manpower of tens of thousands of slaves
Largestamphitheater in the world!
Oval in shape, it measures 189m long, 156m wide, and 50m high.
Has 80 entrances and could seat approximately 50,000 spectators.
Events included gladiatorial combats, wild animal hunts, and ship naval battles!
The event was seriously brutal, though - around 10,000 animals were killed in a single day
Pantheon
a temple dedicated to all Roman gods.
built by Emperor Hadrian
The inscription at the entrance
of the Pantheon reads, in Latin: “M.AGRIPPA.L.F.COS.TERTIUM.FECIT”.
translates roughly as “Marcus Agrippa, son of
Lucius, having been consul three times, making it
the height from the floor to
the oculus and the diameter of the dome is the same: 43.2 m
Leaning Tower of Pisa
a medieval architecture, in Romanesque
style
began in 1173 and was completed
in the 14th century, in 1399
architects and engineers:
Bonanno Pisano, Gherardo di Gherardo, Giovanni Pisano, Giovanni di Simone
Pisa got its name in 600 BC
from a Greek word meaning “marshy land.”
several other towers
in Pisa that also lean: the bell tower at the church of St. Michele dei Scalzi,
and the bell tower at the church of St. Nicola.
The original completed height
of the Tower of Pisa is 60 meters.
The weight is
approximately 14,500 tonnes
There are 251 steps from the
bottom to the top of the Pisa tower.
How Italy got its beautiful name
"Italia" surely evolves from Oscan word
Víteliú (spoken by the Samnites), meaning "land of young cattle".
Learn with me~ the most beautiful language and the language of love~ Italian
Ciao~ Hello/goodbye
Grazie~ Thank you
Mi scusi~ excuse me
Per favore~ Please
Ti amo~ I love you
Italian traditional clothing
The women wear colorful embroidered skirts and bodices over light-weight chemises or blouses, with elaborate hats decorated with flowers or fruit.
Men's traditional clothing tends to be simpler but doesn't lack attention to detail, with embroidery and metal buttons and pins.
Italian traditional dance
Ballet
Ballet originated in Italy in the 15th
Century but women were not allowed to dance in public until 1681, so couldn’t
join the Ballet.
Male dancers are incredibly strong and can
lift over one to one and a half tonnes’ worth of ballerinas during a single
performance.
Ballet dancers use enormous amounts of
energy during a full performance. If fact, they use the same amount of energy
that it would take to run 18 miles or play two full football matches
a tutu takes up to 90 hours to create – that’s almost 4 days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV1qLYukTH8
Tarantella
Couple folk dance of
Italy is characterized by light, quick steps, and teasing, flirtatious behavior
between partners; women dancers frequently carry tambourines.
The music is in
lively 6/8 times.
The tarantella’s
origin is connected with tarantism, a disease that appeared
in Italy in the 15th to the 17th century and that was associated with
the bite of the tarantula spider; victims seemingly were cured by frenzied
dancing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uuer7Si9b94
Pizzica
Pizzica is a popular Italian folk dance, originally from the Salento peninsula in Apulia
later spreading throughout the rest of Apulia and the regions of Calabria and eastern Basilicata.
part of the larger family of tarantella
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33Vl2HOzd3A
Italian instruments
Opera-Born in Italy more than 400 years ago
during the Renaissance, opera—a combination of vocal and orchestral music,
drama, visual arts, and dance—has been inspiring people for ages
Piano
was invented by Bartolomeo
Cristofori (1655-1731) of Italy.
Cristofori was unsatisfied by the lack of
control that musicians had over the volume level of the harpsichord.
He is
credited for switching out the plucking mechanism with a hammer to create the
modern piano in around the year 1700
decorated with the great extravagance and splendor to commemorate the beginning of Lent (a period in which Christians don’t indulge in revelry and also don’t consume meat) and Easter during the Carnevale.
has its roots from the 12th century and Pagan Festival.
parties, parades and masquerade balls are organized.
When: February/March Where: Venice, Viareggio, Ivrea, and Cento
compete against each other in the horse riding game.
The winning champion rider is awarded a Palio. A special mass, blessings from the horses and grand procession starts of the main race-day of this festival.
represents the uprisings that took place in Italy against the cruel ruler Ranieri di Bankrate.
All participants are divided into nine teams and they hurl oranges at each other either by running around on the streets or from the battle buses.
When: February Where: Ivrea
Italian food
Pizza
pizza making is a form of
art. ultra-crisp stone-baked dough, tomatoes bursting with the
countryside from which they were grown, creamy mozzarella and simple toppings
scattered with fresh basil leaves.
The maze was a little wet...It rained the night before I think we still walked through it and yeah there's a sense of accomplishment.
