After the natural wealth of Algeria, la bella Italia is waiting for me. Traveling
by boat from Algiers to Catania, I made a stop in Malta, the little island in
the Mediterranean Sea.
Italy is split up in three big parts: the biggest part and peninsula, also
known as the boot, referring to the shape of it, Sardinia and Sicily, where I
discover the first things.
Sicily or the volcano island is surprisingly most known for its volcanos. The
largest active volcano of Europe is probably the Etna. The island with triangular shape[1]
characterised by its hilly terrain. The climate is typically Mediterranean.
With a volcanic little stone in my pocket as a
souvenir, Im heading to the mainland. The ferryboat helps me to get there in Reggio Calabria.
Given that there is so much to say about Italy, Im conscious of the fact I
have to make decisions so I move on northwards to buy a bottle of Tuscan wine.
Im enjoying its landscape comprising beautiful hills intersected by vineyards
and scenic villages. The sun shines and a light breeze is running through my
soft hair. Im nearly a poet because of the influence of Tuscany[2].
Time passes by and I have to hurry to my next
destination, the very north of Italy. I arrive at Lago Maggiore , the protracted lake just underneath Switzerland.
To rest from a nice and filled day, I unfold my folding chair with my glass of
Tuscan wine next to me, watching the sunset and reading the marvellous quote of
Anna Akhmatova : "Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your
life." [3]
Italy has a
long history during which the city of Rome came to dominate, although there were
also many interesting developments outside Rome.
Because
this history is so rich, we decided to explain a few events a little further.
Rome
The history
of Rome is unclear. When the city became powerful, legends were born about the
foundation and origin of the city and its empire. The "official"
version became that Aeneas, son of Aphrodite, came from Troy to Latium. His son
Ascanius founded Alba Longa. Finally Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars and
Rhea Silvia, the daughter of the king of Alba Longa, founded the city of Rome.
The foundation year was set to 752 BC.
Pompeii
Pompeii was
one of a number of towns located near the base of the volcano, Mount Vesuvius. An eruption occurred on 24 August 79.
It was heat which
was the main cause of death and for a long time people believed that the main
cause was ash suffocation. The people and buildings of Pompeii were covered in
up to twelve different layers of tephra, in total 25 meters deep, which rained
down for about 6 hours.
With that burst,
a lot has been preserved in good condition. Without this incident there would
have been much less information available about the Romans.
March to Rome
In late October
1922, it was decided to take over the capital Rome. It was decided to march to
Rome from four different directions, and then a takeover of the city should
follow.
The Prime Minister wanted to set in the army
against the fascists, but the approval of King Victor Emmanuel III was needed. He
feared a civil war when soldiers would overflow. The government fell and the
king offered the premiership to Mussolini. Mussolini accepted and went straight
to Rome. He became prime minister of a coalition cabinet of Fascists,
Catholics, liberals and socialists. But Mussolini soon turned against his
coalition partners and threw them one by one from the coalition.
Italy has
been a democracy since the end of World War II. Theres an electoral college
whose members are representative for the popular vote. They have the
responsibility to elect the countrys president. The president in turn elects a
prime minister from the reigning coalition in the parliament.
It is a
bicameral legislature with a 315-member Senate and a 630-member Chamber of
deputies. These are directly elected by popular vote and the members serve the
country for 5 years.
The
biggest party is Forza Italia, who was led by Silvio Berlusconi until end 2011
and he was also the leader of the coalition. This party wants to reduce the
role of the state in the economy and wants to quicken privatization.
The Northern League shares these ideas but also wants to increase political and
fiscal autonomy for all regions. The regions have to provide several services
like education, health care and transport. The National Alliance is the most
right-wing party and mostly wants to limit foreign immigration in order to
secure the integrity of the national territory.
Because of the enormous debt of the country, which reached up to 1.900 billion
euros, a new government was installed in the end of 2011 and was led by Mario
Monti. He is member of no party and his first aim is to solve the debt problems
of Italy.
Italy
joined 5 other countries when they signed the 1951 Paris Treaty which was the
beginning of the European integration. In 1999 Carlo Azeglio Ciampi was elected
president. Its this man who made Silvio Berlusconi prime minister by the
following legislative elections in 2001. Silvio Berlusconi engaged a more
Eurosceptic mentality. He tried to connect Italy more to the US. So did he
support the US-led campaign in Iraq. From 2006 to 2008, the Europhile Romano
Prodi, the ruling prime minister, pulled the Italian troops out of Iraq and
tried to fix the relations with the other members of the European Union.
The
biggest challenge for the ruling government is to improve the situation of the
tax system. This is a complicated matter because there are countless taxes that
each citizen has to pay. Moreover taxation is very elevated, representing 43.3
percent of the GDP. The government is trying to improve it, but there is still
a gigantic amount of work to do.
