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 17th 2008Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice Ciao belli, I am back with yet more words to ruin your brains with. I will warn that right now I am extremely tired as I am typing this up, so it may not be quite as descriptive, but hopefully you wi ... [full story]
May 2nd 2008Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice I woke up at 5.45. For breakfast I had 2 slices of bread, a cappuccino and some yogurt. There wasn’t a lot of choice. We left for Venice at 7.30 and it took almost 2 hours to get to the point wh ... 75 photos[full story]
May 16th 2008Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice what a wierd day ive just had. Leaving budapest was one of the most difficult tasks ive handled thus far in the trip. Not that a good portion of it wasnt my fault, but it really made me appriciate ... [full story]
May 13th 2008Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice How tragic is my life that I find myself in front of my laptop yet again, writing up the events of previous days for this darned blog? Well, to be honest, I have to admit that my life really isn&rs ... [full story]
June 4th 1997Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice Summertime is the time when Europe is invaded by tourists. Tourists from all over the world. A large share of these tourists and a very noticeable category consists of American backpackers. On a pilg ... [full story]
May 6th 2008Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice
Venice was one of our more anticipated destinations and it didn’t fail to deliver. After our three days we were left wishing that we had planned for a longer stay, it was that good. We arriv ... 18 photos[full story]
May 1st 2008Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice We arrived in Venice on Wednesday afternoon, and it really was love at first sight. It is such a pretty city, all tiny winding footpaths and canals, little hidden away campos (squares), window boxes ... [full story]
May 15th 2006Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice This time I am holiday with Tanja and we have been traveling around Italy. We had a great time and saw lots of famous sites including The Leaning tower of Pisa. ... 2 photos[full story]
April 10th 2008Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice Venice- a place we've only heard wonders of, a place on magnificent beauty, and great visual appeal. This summer I went on a journey, one of my destinations being the ever spoken of Romantic Venice. H ... [full story]
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