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There are many beautiful cities in Italy. Here is a little bit about some of them.
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The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church lives in the Vatican, which is a separate city inside the city of Rome. The Vatican City has about 900 people living there (including only 200 women), and covers an area of 44 hectares (1045m. x 850m.). It has a military organization (the Swiss Guard, consisting of about one hundred men, who protect the Pope's person and the main entrances to the City); a flag (yellow and white with St. Peter's keys under the triple crown); a national anthem (the Pontifical March by Charles Gounod); its own currency, postage stamps and car license plates. Rome, or Roma as the Italians call it, is the capital of Italy. It is a very old city, and has been there for thousands of years. You can still walk around the ruins of the Forum, the centre of Rome two thousand years ago! ! |
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Siena is another old city, and here you can see the huge church towers that hold the bells standing high above the roofs of the houses. The centre of the city, the big square in the middle, is called the piazza.
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Florence, or Firenze, is one of the most famous cities in the world because of the art works that are stored there. People come from all over the world to admire the churches and palaces, which are full of paintings and sculptures. |
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The worst place in Italy for flooding is Venice, however. Venice is really built on a series of small islands, and rather than roads, people often travel on the canals. In the olden days they used gondolas, but now they are more likely to use motorboats. This causes problems because they go faster, and the waves they make are damaging the foundations of the buildings, and eating them away. |
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