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The lowdown on Italy | |
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Around the Academy: |
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Forget the Mafia - meet the Tafia
Mamma Mia!
Wales stunned the Azzurri with a wonderful 2-1 win at the Millennium Stadium before the Italians gained sweet revenge with a four goal haul in the return match. But while you may know your Delaney from your Del Piero, do you know your Margherita from your Mona Lisa? Or your spaghetti from your conchiglie? Let us fill you in. Benvenuti to the Sport Academy's guide to Italy!
Where is Italy? To the north, it shares boundaries with France, Austria and Switzerland. Because of its distinctive shape, Italy is known as 'The Boot'.
It has a population of 57.5 million and the capital city is Rome.
What's the weather like? Here, snow can start falling as early as September - making for ideal skiing conditions. The weather is hotter and drier towards the south where Italy extends into the Meditteranean sea, almost reaching the coast of Africa.
Is footy the national sport? Italians eat, drink and sleep football. They won the World Cup in 1982 and hosted the World Cup finals in 1990.
But they also love eating pizza, right? The most popular type of pizza in Italy is the Margherita. The toppings - a type of herb called basil, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese - represent the green, red and white of the Italian flag. This combination was first cooked up in honour of Italy's Queen Margherita when she visited Naples in 1889. Get your teeth into 10 more Italian facts by clicking on the links above.
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