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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 robinlnu
May 25th 2009

Our Hike begins - Spoleto, Italy Europe » Italy » Umbria » Spoleto

What time is it?

Hike - Day one - May 25, Monday; Spoleto, Hotel Clitunno Today's daily itinerary states: We recommend you arrive in Spoleto by train. After your arrival, you have time to explore the town, one of Umbria's finest hilltop towns. The focal point is the fan-shaped Piazza del Duomo, site of the magnificent 12th century cathedral, with a superlative fresco cycle by Fra Fillipo Lipi. Other important monuments that you should not miss include the Roman theatre, the 14th century aqueduct and the Romanesque church of Saint Eufemia. We arrived at our next hotel, Hotel Clitunno, in Spoleto and [View Full Entry]

By robinlnu
May 24th 2009

Assisi, Italy Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi

The Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

Jeff and I had to switch trains to go to Assisi. Once again, we had to ride a bus into the town of Assisi. Fortunately, our hotel, Hotel Berti, was located just inside the city walls. We got into our room and since no one was there yet we decided to walk up the hill to the Basilica of St. Francesco. Jeff and I walked all around the Basilica and viewed the lower church as well as the upper church as well as the tombs below where St. Francis is entombed. The entire Basilica was covered with frescoes and all types [View Full Entry]

By robinlnu
May 23rd 2009

The medieval town of Gubbio Europe » Italy » Umbria » Gubbio

Hotel Bosone Palace
My view upon awakening

The bus dropped us off at the main Piazza Quaranta Martiri in Gubbio. I had directions on how to get to our hotel. We walked up a very steep, cobblestoned, road that was only wide enough for one small car. We came upon a small store that sold various important sundries and we made our first purchase of wine. Jeff wanted to buy local and so we purchased a couple bottles of red wine grown in the region. They each cost around 3 to 5 euros. We were thrilled. We also purchased some local cheese that had the regions famous black [View Full Entry]

By RobynPorter
May 22nd 2009

39 Days and Counting Europe » Italy » Umbria

Tuscany
Just seems like a dream

It's been a while since my feet touched Italian soil and I can't wait to get back. My upcoming trip has been in the works for a while but now the real fun begins. The trip no longer seems like a dream that will come to pass in some distant future. It's here now, right at my fingertips which are itching to feel the smooth surface of my plane ticket. The plans I'm putting into place actually feel they'll happen. As I reserve a cooking class I can smell the fresh cooked pasta and taste mouth-watering garlic roast beast. Yes, I [View Full Entry]

By TiffAbroad
May 8th 2009

Italy Time Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi

DSC03006

Hello Ms. Wallwork's class.. I am putting pictures up JUST for you guys so you better feel special :) Italy is great.. (Obviously). It is so beautiful and I have been able to see sooo much! Enjoy the pictures guys:) I wish I had more time to write but I have to get up and get ready for my last day in Italy! :( I've included pictures from all the places I have been to in Italy-Venice, Florence, Rome, and little Assisi ( Uh-see-see) See you soon!! [View Full Entry]

By Megan and Joe
May 7th 2009

Assisi & Cortona Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi

door steps

On Thursday we drove to Assisi and Cortona. We wanted to do more but Assisi took time to reach and we spent more time there than expected. It was the prettiest town we have seen. Very clean. The balconies of the homes all have flowers and they have a competition once a year for the best front door-balcony. We walked thru the town and made our way to the Basilica of St. Francis. For those of you that dont know, St. Francis taught equality between man, woman and animal thru Gods teachings. He is the Saint in the brown robe and [View Full Entry]

By samoht
May 4th 2009

Blog One Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

Buongiorno tutti, Here commences the blog. In english, although I would recommend that you instead learn italian to truly appreciate the poetry of the italian language! (sarcasm is difficult with only a keyboard, I guess that's why there isn't really any sarcastic music) A recount of my weekend: on Friday there was a public holiday - they are neverending in Italy, work is not as important as in other places - and though I've forgotten what I did in the morning, on Friday I went out with some friends from my choir, Alfredo the half-thailander, half-italian, Negin the Iranian, Alessio the [View Full Entry]

By Bruce and Jac
April 16th 2009

April 13th-16th - Passignano/Assisi Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi

Passignano
View across the water from our campsite beach

Easter Monday dawned fine again, it’s been 9 days since we had any rain and the weather has been great. There was a queue to leave the campsite again but that was ok, they even refunded our unused bus tickets - bonus! The drive to Passignano was only another 80km and we had managed to successfully avoid toll roads since Pisa, a decision we had consciously made to try and enable us to see more of the countryside. The drawback is that the roads are nowhere near as well maintained even though a lot of them are still motorways. It was [View Full Entry]

By adam1066
March 25th 2009

Midterms, Assisi, Perugia, Norcia, Campi, A Paper, And A Final! - I've been busy!!! Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi

Basilica di Santo Spirito

Last week was spent in Assisi, Perugia, Norcia, and Campi. That's the main reason why I haven't had time to update. Besides the small vacation, we also had an Art and History final today and a paper due today as well. Assisi was great! We made it to the basilicas of St. Francis and St. Claire on the first day. We also got to see the birthplace of St. Francis. It was nice to finally get to learn about the basilica of St. Francis, because on my last trip I didn't learn much about it. The people who work there are [View Full Entry]

By Clare Bear 357
March 20th 2009

Living in Assisi and Perugia for a week. Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi

Assisi
Little town upon a hill.

What a week. On Monday morning, all of the BC students staying in Villa Morghen for the semester had to pack up all the stuff from their rooms, and move out for the week. We had a trip (which was originally only supposed to be a few days) to see Assisi and Perugia. However, the Villa had a big conference going on the week we were going to be gone, so they extended our stay in Assisi and Perugia. This way, they could have our rooms for all the people going to the conference to stay. It was quite the task [View Full Entry]

Church of St. Clare - with a monk in front.

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