Italian Culture & History

Question 1

How many regions does Italy have?

Answer 1

20
(each has a capital city)

Question 2

When did Italy become a unified country?

Answer 2

1861

Question 3

1) Where is Piazza Navona?

2) What is at its center?

3) What was Piazza Navona used for in olden days?

Answer 3

1) Rome

2) Fountain of the Four Rivers (by Bernini)

3) It would be filled with water and used for naval war games.

Question 4

What’s at the top of the Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna)?

Answer 4

Trinità dei Monti (church)

Question 5

1) What is the main piazza in Viterbo?

2) What are its main attractions?

3) What is the symbol of Viterbo?

Answer 5

1) Piazza del Plebiscito.

2) Lions and a watchtower

3) Lions

Question 6

1) What region is Pompeii located in?

2) What is the volcano nearby? When did it erupt?

3) When did Pompeii excavations start?

Answer 6

1) Located in Campania.
(near Bay of Naples)

2) Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD
(destroyed Pompeii, Ercolano, Stabia, Oploutis)

3) Excavations started in 1748.

Question 7

PUGLIA REGION:
What is Puglia known for?

Answer 7

Archaic homes, called the Trulli di Alberobello

Question 8

CAMPANIA REGION:
1) What piazza in Naples is on the street called Spaccanapoli?

2) Who does the statue on top of the obelisk honor?

Answer 8

1) Piazza San Domenico Maggiore

2) Santo Domenico (1170-1221), founder of the Dominican order.

Question 9

PUGLIA REGION
1) What is the name of the central piazza in Lecce? Why does it honor this person?

2) What is Lecce commonly called?

Answer 9

1) Piazza Sant’Oronzo (from 1600). Honors him because he supposedly saved them from The Plague (in 1656-58).

2) “Capital of Baroque” (for its distinctive Baroque architecture)

(lots of things are yellow in Lecce)

Question 10

1) What is the main piazza in Naples called?

2) What takes place there?

Answer 10

1) Piazza del Plebiscito

2) Many events, incl. NYE party, int’l horse races, concerts, political demonstrations, victory celebrations of Napoli soccer team

Question 11

1) What is the main piazza in Padova?

2) What does it host?

Answer 11

1) Piazza delle Erbe

2) It hosts the largest daily fruit/vegetable market in Padova.

Question 12

1) How many islands make up Venice?

2) What region is Venice in?

3) What is the main piazza called? the main bridge?

Answer 12

1) 118 little islands.

2) Venice is in Veneto.

3) Piazza San Marco (called “The Drawing Room of Europe”)/
Ponte di Rialto (which was made of wood & collapsed & rebuilt 2x)

Question 13

What is the main piazza in Verona and what is located there?

Answer 13

Piazza Bra, with the Arena (Roman amphitheatre), where large scale operas take place every summer.

Question 14

Describe highlights of Valle d’Aosta

Answer 14

• smallest region in Italy
• lots of skiing
• lots of castles (including Castel Savoia)
• highest mountain in the Alps (Monte Bianco)

Question 15

What is Piemonte known for?

Answer 15

• Fiat
• Juventus
• Nutella
• Spumante
• 1st capital of Italy
• Royal palaces (incl. La Venaria Reale, the “Versailles of Italy”)

Question 16

What is the main piazza in Torino?

Answer 16

Piazza Castello.

It’s known for the Palazzo Reale (royal palace), where the Savoia family lived. Also near the Duomo where there is the Sacra Sindone (Holy Shroud)

Question 17

What is the main piazza in Aosta?

Answer 17

Piazza Chanoux, which is framed by the Swiss & French Alps.

It’s also where they have an annual game day (chess, etc.), and every June there are many soccer games.

Question 18

What is the national park that spans Piemonte & Valle d’Aosta?

Answer 18

il Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso - it’s the oldest park in Italy.