2nd June: Republic Day, Italy

Today is Republic Day in Italy, so here are 10 things you might not know about Italy:

1. Europe has only three active volcanoes, and they are all in Italy - Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvius. Mount Etna is the world's most active volcano. It has been in quasi uninterrupted eruption for the past 3,500 years, and emits lava on a daily basis.
2. Italy is famous for its food, in particular pasta (dried pasta was introduced to Italy by the Arabs in the thirteenth century and it was originally a sweet dish eaten with Honey and sugar. There are over 500 different types of pasta in Italy); Ice cream (via the Chinese); Pizza (the ancient Romans ate a type of pizza, but it didn't become a popular export until the first pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba, opened in Naples in 1830) and tiramisu, which isn't so ancient - it was invented in the 1970s - the word means "pick-me-up" or "make me happy".
3. Italy is home to the largest - Christian edifice in the world (St Peter's Basilica in Rome); the largest brick dome ever constructed (Florence Cathedral) and the largest painting on canvas (Tintoretto's Paradise in the Doge's Palace in Venice: 22.6 by 9.1 metres or 74 ft by 30 ft).
4. Italy gave us the word magenta (after the Battle of Magenta in Lombardy in 1859); and the word ghetto (the foundry quarter of Venice, known as the 'ghèto' (slag) in Venetian, where Jewish people lived in the 16th century); and Italian inventions include the mechanical clock, the barometer, the thermometer and optical glasses. Violins and Opera also originated in Italy.
5. Italy is the birthplace of banking as we know it today. Europe's first modern banks appeared in Genoa in the 12th century. The first recorded public bond (1150) and the earliest known foreign exchange contract (1156) both came from Genoa. The world's oldest bank still in business is the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, operating since 1472.
6. Venice was once a country in its own right and holds the record for being the world's longest lasting republic. The Republic of Venice was founded in 697 and was dissolved by Napoleon in 1797, 1,100 years later.
7. The Italian flag is three vertical stripes, Green, white, and red, representing hope, faith, and charity. Some say the green represents the Italian landscape, white represents the snow-capped Alps, and red represents the bloodshed that brought about the independence of Italy. The design of the flag was heavily influenced by the flag of France.
8. The longest river in Italy is the Po. The highest peak is Monte Bianco (White Mountain) is 15,771 feet high. It is part of the Alps and is also the highest peak in Europe.
9. Romans are Cat lovers. In Rome, killing a cat is punishable by a 10,000 euro fine, and up to 3 years in prison. Cats are considered a bio-cultural asset to the city and while people are not allowed to clamber on the ruins, the cats can. The wolf is the national animal, though.
10. Before the 8th century BC, Italy was part of Greece. The city of Syracuse in Sicily was once the largest Ancient Greek city in the world, and even the name of the country arises from its Greek heritage. The name "Italy" comes from Greek "italos", which means calf. because the bull was a symbol of the Southern Italian tribes.