Background: Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.
May 2nd 2008Europe » Italy » Piedmont » Turin (Alternate titles: Como-ver it, and
Our time went Shitaly).
Note: Any complaints about the infrequency of blog entries should be filed directly to the members of state representing the European U ... 27 photos[full story]
March 31st 2008Europe » Italy » Piedmont » Turin What a long week! After Provence it was fairly quiet. On my day off on Wednesday I did a museum visit with a tour guide at the Rodin Museum in central Paris. I really enjoyed it and think I liked his ... 15 photos[full story]
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