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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.

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By Lou in Oz
April 17th 2003

Pisa & Florence Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Pisa

I flew to Pisa and then took a train to Florence. I stayed here for a few days and met up with my housemate Leigh and his friend. It was the first city I've ever cycled in and despite the crazy Italian drivers this was definitely a highlight of the trip. I went back to Pisa for a few days. From here I also visited the beautiful Gothic town of Lucca. I had enjoyed cycling in Florence so much that I hired a bike here too! [View Full Entry]

By tna
March 18th 2003

florence, italy: where the renaissance began... Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

man we wish we had more time here! but we saw the david, the tombs of galileo michelangelo dante and machiavelli (not tupac, he's alive), santa croce, the duomo, ghiberti's gates of paridise... etc etc. pictures to come. but this is where the renaissance was born so it was reallz interesting to see. good ol michelangelo grew up here so we saw some of his greatest works here too. man, that boz was talented! [View Full Entry]

By Eda
October 24th 2002

"I loved Firenze!" Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

View from my bus - Florence

When Cameron Diaz said in her movie My Best Friend's Wedding (my fave movie), "I love Florence," , I asked myself then why did she love Florence, what's in Florence to love about... When I went to Florence for a day, that line was in my mind. I went to Florence coming from Rome and I was expecting that I will love this place too.. Indeed, I did (just for a day)... I walked around, took pictures, rode the bus to the museums and of course shopped. I tried to take pictures of their policemen on horse but they are [View Full Entry]

By Gump
March 14th 2002

Italy Firenze 2002 Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Lastra a Signa

Leaving Sienna
Packed and ready to move.

We left Sienna after 2 weeks of language school. We learned but are by no means fluent or conversational! From Siena we went to Lastra a Signa, a small town 15 minutes outside of Florence. we rented an apartment for the next 5 weeks. The family renting this apartment to us, well, we and were theie first renters so they went overboard in helping us. They took us on a day trip with them to their beach house in a small town about 1-1/2 hour by car. There were no tourist here, just the Italians. We took lots of day trips [View Full Entry]

By rica choc
December 25th 2001

Pisa Leaning Tower Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Pisa

Pisa Tower

Christmas Day in Pisa Leaning Tower. Arrived and walked quite some distance to reach the famous tower as all public transport was not in operation. Tired. Exhausted. But the famous tower really sure is a great payoff. [View Full Entry]

By Pilgrim
June 16th 2001

Florence on a Monday Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

The Medici Chapel
This Chapel was deserted the morning we went. For about 15 minutes Chris and I were the only people in it. We layed on the floor out of the view of the guards, stared at the beautiful ceiling, and j... [more]

Don't Go To Florence on a Monday Everything was closed - on a Monday. Who would have guessed. Well, the only thing I really wanted to see in Florence was Michelangelo's "David" and the Medici Chapel. The Chapel was open, but "David" was not, and since we stayed an extra day in Rome, we had to cut down our stay in Florence. Oh, well! I'll see David some other time. [View Full Entry]

By cjg1
November 14th 2000

Another Home Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

Well this all started out on a Friday evening in western Germany. We had just finished work around 5pm and were heading home to get our bags. It wasn’t long until we were off to the Old Dublin for some dinner and drinks. Figured it was the best way to stay up until the 1230am departure from Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof to Santa Maria Novella here in Florence. The train station was surprising cold. It had been a mild fall and we had not seen any indication that snow would fall soon. After leaving the pub around 1130pm we arrived at the Bahnhof [View Full Entry]

By Ronbo
July 7th 1999

Historical Experience Europe » Italy » Tuscany » San Gimignano

Main Street
The main street leading to the town square. One can see the historical significance of this old village.

This is about our trip to San Gimignano Italy in 1999. Living in Germany and being retired from the U.S. military, I am authorized to use the Armed Forces Recreation facililties. So, we drove from Germany to a military installation vicinity of Pisa, where we camped and made this site our base, as we did a little more traveling around Italy. After a couple hour drive from Pisa we found ourselves in the old village of San Gimignano. Nestled high on a hill (334 meters) and surrounded by the beautiful Tuscan countryside and vineyards, we experienced 14th and 15th century architecture [View Full Entry]

By cjg1
February 16th 1997

My Around Europe in a Week trip Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

Well this particular story should start onboard the boat. We had been at sea for about two weeks after our trip to Antalya, Turkey. We were all set to pull into Livorno when the weather started getting rough. This ended up resulting in the need to not pull in until the next day. We thought our plans were dashed as you can do somethings in Europe in seven days that six is just too hard. But we pulled yet another wonderful scam and were on our way off the boat that day in a helicopter that afternoon. You see, we had [View Full Entry]

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