Did you know 1
First Italian balloon flight medal
- ...that the first Italian public balloon flight (see medal) was organised by Count Andreani in Brugherio?
- ...that the Monte Viso Tunnel is the most ancient tunnel dug through a mountain in Italy?
Did you know 2
- ...that Poliphilo, the main character in the Renaissance book Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, was said to have felt "extreme delight", "incredible joy", and "frenetic pleasure and cupidinous frenzy" when he saw the buildings depicted in the book?
- ...the famous biblical period movies Pier Paolo Pasolini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964), Bruce Beresford’s King David (1985), and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (2004) were filmed in Matera?
Did you know 3
- ...that the Italian automaker Autobianchi was founded by the bicycle manufacturer Bianchi, tire giant Pirelli and Fiat?
- ...that Umarell [uma'rɛːlː], is an Italian slang term for sidewalk superintendent, popular in Bologna and increasingly used in other part of the country?
Did you know 4
- ...that within a tomb in the town of Bergamo, Italy there is a statue dedicated to the life of Enrico Rastelli, the world's greatest juggler?
- ...that Italy's 1957 Eurovision entry, "Corde Della Mia Chitarra", was so long that it resulted in the introduction of length restrictions for competing songs?
Did you know 5
- ...that unemployment protection in Italy is guaranteed by the Italy's constitution?
- ...that in 2002, hundreds of former mobsters incarcerated in eight jails across Italy, supposedly having no way to contact one another, joined a hunger strike to protest against article 41-bis of the Italian Penitentiary Act?
Did you know 6
- ...that the Italian winery Vini Lunardelli produced a controversial "historical line" of wine bottles featuring images of Che Guevara, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin on their labels?
- ...that Vittorio Ambrosio was an Italian general who served an instrumental role in the fall of Mussolini and the eventual Italian renunciation of its alliance with Germany?
Did you know 7
Carlo Orelli
- ...that Carlo Orelli (pictured) was the last surviving Italian veteran to see service on Italy's entry into World War I?
- ...that wine made from the Italian grape Schioppettino was served at weddings in 1282 and the grape is still being grown today?
Did you know 8
- ...that the first Prime Minister of Italy, Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour was also one of the first landowners in Italy to use chemical fertilizers?
- ... that the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS were thought to have committed war crimes against Italians during World War II in retaliation for Italy's surrender?