Vittoria!

Heat butts, gladiators and birth rates

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July 24th 2006
World cup madness hit hard after the USA-Italy debacle faded from memory. We watched most of the games in various piazzas around town, sitting on newspapers and smashed in between sweaty, screeching and overly-involved spectators. I buffed up on insults, which the Italians doled out without reprise to their players. All of the games ended with hugging complete strangers and sprays of beer and c ... read more

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

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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 establis... ... read more