On your journey throughout this country, one thing will become apparent very quickly - history of Italy has very deep roots and is quite complex when trying to grasp it at a quick glance. Some of this history can be felt first hand when visiting such places at the Colosseum, the leaning tower of Pisa, the Sistine Chapel or the ancient city of Pompeii just to name a few. Aside from being well known for many historical monuments in Italy, this country is also famous for its many landmarks, amazing architecture plus the creation of numerous technological advancements and Italian inventions, many of which are still in use today.
Italian history will tell us that an ancient civilization, now known as Italy - was one of the first civilized nations and its inhabitants are largely responsible for shaping the world as we know it. The first recorded dwellers came to the peninsula around 2000 BC and by 27 BC (the beginning of the Roman Empire period), it was one of the strongest, richest and most advanced countries in the world.
There are so many historical facts about Italy, that it's difficult to even decide where to start. It's worth mentioning however, that the Roman people created intricate governmental and judicial systems that still influence the way our societies are run. They developed such things as roads and indoor plumbing, as well as heating and air conditioning systems, and let's not forget their conception of the first postal service. We would be absolutely insane in trying to explain the whole story, which is why we will concentrate on the brief history of Italy & the fun facts that might be useful to a traveller here. For a more elaborate Italy history write-up for those that are interested, here is a link to it at wikipedia.
One of the things Italians are know for, is the vast amount of brilliant inventors that, through history - brought us many things we use in the modern day without even thinking of the origin. Below are just some of more than 100 Italian inventions that are well known and used in our daily lives all around the world.
Besides being famous for Augustus - their first emperor, Julius Caesar - a notorious dictator and Caligula - who was cruel and unpredictable, Romans were also architectural masterminds. They were the first to develop concrete and to use it as a method to strengthen their buildings and were also the first to create apartments for their citizens. They were the pioneering civilization that started using the arch - one of the strongest load bearing structures still known to man. Partially for this reason, most of their architecture and ancient buildings are still in tact today and remain standing for world travellers to enjoy.
The early inhabitants of Italy were a very intelligent race of people. They were the civilization that devised a detailed number system of Roman Numerals which is still in use to the present day. They can also be given credit for reforming the solar calendar in 45BC, when Julius Caesar officially introduced an algorithm of adding a leap day every four years. This eliminated the dependency on the observation of the new moon and we still use this calendar system now.
Influenced by ancient Greek medicine - early Romans were excellent doctors and invented many surgical tools like the speculum, bone levers, cupping vessels, scalpels and many more. These tools were used while performing surgeries at the time, in fact - one of these early performed surgeries first recorded to be administered in ancient Rome was the cesarean section. Techniques of the C-section - although modernized, are still very much the same today. Some believe that Julius Caesar was named after an ancestor who was born by means of a C-section, which at that time was used for extracting babies from wombs of mothers who died while giving birth.
Many of the world’s most renowned artists and thinkers have come out of Italy and have changed the way we think and view the world today. Leonardo da Vinci, perhaps most known for his creation of the Mona Lisa - was one of the world’s greatest artists, sculptors, inventors and scientists with a vision far more advanced for the time in which he lived.
Michelangelo is best known for his painting of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, but his artistic and architectural expertise is still very influential today in many forms of art, design, architecture and so on.
Galileo was an Italian philosopher, mathematician and astronomer - he was a substantial contributor to astronomical advancements and science in general. Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Marco Polo and Ferdinand Magellan - just to name a few, were some of the world’s bravest explorers.
As you tour throughout Italy - taking in all of the sights and sounds, don’t forget to take a moment to remember this country’s history and all of the worldly knowledge that came from this beautiful place. Italy has given birth to some of the most talented and sophisticated artists, writers, philosophers, mathematicians, composers, architects, scientists and explorers that the world has ever seen. Our entire civilization has tremendously benefitted from these great minds that were born here. Not only did their innovations help shape the face of the Roman Empire and the country that is now Italy, but they have moulded the entire history of the world and largely affected the way that many nations live today.
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