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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 farfalla
September 4th 2007

My First Apartment! Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

My ROOM!

I keep waking up early for some reason and decided to take some pictures of my first apartment. I am way excited. I hope Hellen doesn't think it is creepy I took a pic of her while she was asleep. lol. I am still trying to take in everything that is going on around me. It is such a big adjustment. Just going to the grocery store is a crazy experience. Sarah's collection of Things that are different: - You have to use plastic gloves to select your fruits and veggies in a grocery store (or else they get mad at [View Full Entry]

By Margaret Nigro
September 3rd 2007

First day of Italian Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

The hills

I got very lost today, for the first time. It was really good for me. I had to ask a woman for directions. She didn't speak any English, and was also foreign, from the Ukraine. We used what little Italian we had and she helped me a lot. Eventually I spoke to an Italian woman who directed me back to the Piazza IV Novembre, because I knew I could find my way from there. We began classes in Italian today. I like my professore. His name is Francesco, and I think I'm going to learn a lot. It helps that right [View Full Entry]

By farfalla
September 3rd 2007

Going out Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

Doug and I

After the really boring orientation...except for the really cute Florence police officer who was really funny ("the number one sport in Italy is not soccer it is women")...I decided to go out to see what the night life was like. So did ever other Umbra student. I have met so many people in such a sort time, it is like freshman year all over again, I hope I remember most of the peoples names. [View Full Entry]

By Margaret Nigro
September 2nd 2007

My apartment Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

a room with a view

So yesterday morning my four roommates and I moved in to our wonderful apartment. They told us not to expect it to be very nice, or have internet, or a washing machine, or a TV. My apartment has it all. The internet is the very nicest, and I think we're the only ones who have it; at least we're the only ones I've talked to so far. Exciting stuff. The landlord is an adorable middle aged Italian man named Mauro. He's very nice and showed us how everything works. His English is pretty good as well. He has a wife and [View Full Entry]

By farfalla
September 1st 2007

Finally the blogging has begun. Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

Roof tops of Perugia

FINALLY I got this blog deally working. First of all I am in love with Perugia. It is beautiful as you can see in the photos. My plane flight was long and of course I slept on most of it. Although the second half had a crying baby so I watched a bunch of movies on my personal tv screen. The coolest thing on the flight was seeing lightning happen below us. The clouds we were flying over were glowing, it was cool and a little unnerving. I stayed at Hotel Gio (sounds like joe) in the lower modern part of [View Full Entry]

By Margaret Nigro
September 1st 2007

First impressions Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

first night

The last time I talked to anyone in the United States I sat on the floor in the airport in New York. I recognized that the group of people sitting together who were about my age were probably headed to Perugia as well. They were almost all from Elon University in North Carolina, which was terrifying. The flight was uncomfortable, and I had a hard time sleeping. I think my favorite part was seeing a couple of the boys in my group smile to each other when they heard the stewardess offer wine to everyone with the meal. We made it [View Full Entry]

By Senta que la vem historia
July 15th 2007

"Senta que la vem historia" - Um dia com o Ministro Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

Vossa Excelencia

Fazia muito tempo que nao via o GG. Magrinho, calvo, cansado, quieto, cabelos prateados e aquele contorno claro na iris dos olhos indicando os seus 65 anos. "- Vou terminar o show antes do jogo final da Copa America: é Brasil x Argentina, viu?!" Me fez impressao... me emocionei... minhas lagrimas escorreram nos ombros do Ministro... Nada a ver o GG ministro!!! Ninguém falou de politica, melhor assim. O Gio e a Gilda sentiram nossa vibraçoes e se emocionaram também. So' eu ali com a letra K no nome. Era pra ser alegre, fiquei triste... sensaçao de que tudo esta acontecendo [View Full Entry]

By ACK
July 4th 2007

The Francescan monks Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi

RECOVERED

St Francis of Assisi .. remember the name? He was the wealthy nobleman who forewent all his riches to become a monk and help the common man. Well this village was his home and it remains today a fully functioning religious city complete with many wonderful churches, a castle and , of course, a spectacular Basilica. Lots of monks and nuns can be seen to be running around in their robes as they live inside the walls .. and because it is a functional religious city, it is less prone to the tourist hoardes. So this means a very tranquil [View Full Entry]

By Senta que la vem historia
June 28th 2007

"Senta que la vem Historia" - Cenerente Europe » Italy » Umbria

Atençao à bolsinha de capim dourado!

Castello dell'Oscano .................................... Nao brincava de princesa quando era criança, nem sonhava em viver em castelos. Fazia dinheiro com papel e canetinha pra brincar de banco e sonhava em correr de kart. hahaha a haahhahhhahahahahh ah ha Mas por aqui é facil se acostumar aos castelos e brincar de rainha. Foi o que fizemos para comemorar nossas "bodas de flores". No Castello dell'Oscano, na minha querida Umbria, em plena zona rural, de ex-familia nobre e historia complicada (1800), aspecto suntuoso e formal na medida certa. Desta vez nao vou comentar as [View Full Entry]

By LDUCA
June 7th 2007

Gubbio and Assisi Europe » Italy » Umbria

RECOVERED

So, we started the journey back across Italy, and ended up Gubbio. The first thought on mine (and Adriana's) mind once we got there: ESPRESSO. After that, we toured some different churches and the city. We grabbed some what we thought would be delicious lunch (because it took us such a long time to find it again -- the first time we saw it, there were a ton of locals swarming it), but it was lacking. Oh well. After our gubbian good times were over, we went to Assisi, where I might have been in my worst mood on this [View Full Entry]

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