Italy lies in southern Europe, surrounded on three sides by the Adriatic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Tyrrenian Sea and the Ligurian Sea. Two islands, Sardinia and Sicily, also belong to Italy.
The country is shaped a bit like a boot. It was first settled around 1200 B.C. Later, Greeks arrived in Italy, followed by Romans. The city of Rome was the center of the great Roman Empire.
Italy is a very old civilization. It is known for art, music and food. Families are important here. Grandparents, parents, children and aunts and uncles all live together or close by. Family meals go on for several hours and are a time to talk and laugh. Children live at home until they are in their 30’s or older.
Fun Facts about Italy for Kids
- The capital city of Italy is Rome.
- Sergio Mattarella is the President of Italy (Data June 2018).
- Giuseppe Conte is the Prime Minister of Italy.
- Italy has 113,545 square miles of land.
- 60,500,000 people live in Italy.
- For hundreds of years, Italy was split into independent states – some ruled by foreigners. In 1861, the country was finally reunited as one country.
- Italian is the official language of Italy.
- 83 percent of Italians are Christian, and most are Catholic.
- The Euro € is the recognized currency.
- Italians can expect to live 82.8 years.
- 98.85 percent of adults can read.
- The river Po is the longest river in Italy 652 km.
- At 4,808 m Mount Blanc is the highest mountain in Italy.
- Mount Etna is Europe’s largest volcano and highly active, it is located on the east coast of Sicily. It measures 3,327 m high.
- Mount Vesuvius is found 9 km east of Naples and is another active volcano. You probably would have heard the story of Pompeii being destroyed in AD 79 by a volcanic eruption on Mount Vesuvius.
- Italy has won the football world cup 4 times (1934 – 1938 – 1982- 2006).
- Pizza and Lasagna are some of the popular Italian dishes.
- Italy has some wonderful wildlife such as: Lynx, Wolves, Golden Eagles and Ibex.
- Over one million people visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa each year.
Italy Vocabulary
- Island: a landmass surrounded by water
- Settle: colonize, live in
- Civilization: settled area
- Reunited: brought back together
- Currency: money
All About Italy Video for Kids
Watch this awesome Italy video for kids:
This is a video of 10 famous food and drinks from Italy and the process of how they are made.
Italy Q&A
Question: What do people do to earn a living here?
Answer: Northern Italy is a wealthy, urban area. People are work in industry or have service jobs, such as banking, education and medicine. In southern Italy, many people are farmers. They grow grain, grapes for wine or olives.
Map of Italy
Here’s a map of the country of Italy and all its cities and villages. Zoom in to get into street level or zoom out to see other countries around Italy! You can see the terrain, but also see the roads, images of the buildings and even take a 3D tour through the streets of the cities of Italy, as though you are actually there!
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