ITALY THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

[Music] in Italy a land where we will find remains of ancient greatness such as the Coliseum here in Italy we will also find signs of modern progress such as large passenger Jets bringing more tourists from all parts of the world to this interesting land we too are going to learn something about Italy its land and its people Italy is a boot-shaped Peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea it can be studied in terms of three principal regions Northern Italy including the po valley and surrounding Alps the Western coastal region and mountainous central and southern Italy including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia in the central mountainous region are the appenines a mountain range sometimes called the backbone of Italy we will begin our study of Italy in the mountains here are Pines of Italy little rainfalls in summer in this Rocky region on Mountain farms animals do the heavy labor little or no IR ation is possible here because of the ruggedness of the land so the mountainous lands are not very productive especially in southern Italy where the climate is quite warm Farmers here must work hard to make even a poor living in their small houses Farm families of the mountains eat mainly what they grow themselves with little or nothing usually left over for Market their spaghetti and bread are likely to be made from the wheat they raise they also raise some vegetables such as Tomatoes which they frequently make into tomato sauce from The Grapes the mountain Farmers grow they can make wine which they drink at most meals the olives they grow are eaten and also made into olive oil which they use sometimes on salads but mainly for cooking the way of life of this Farm family is much the same as that of most of the farm families in this mountainous region the mountains continue Southward down the length of Italy's Peninsula off the southern tip of Italy lies the island of Sicily it is also mountainous on Sicily especially along the northern and Eastern coasts there are fertile Plains here we find great Orchards of orange and lemon trees growing on irrigated lands high above the coastal plains of Sicily is Mount Etna an active volcano volcanic action on Sicily has produced its vast sulfur fields which have been mined for several 100 years sulfur was once Sicily's only important mineral resource but recently oil has been discovered here which may bring New Wealth to the people of Sicily from Sicily we might go by air to the island of Sardinia almost 250 Mi away or we might go by boat here is Sardinia the land is used mainly for grazing sheep and goats the people of Sardinia are not generally prosperous but economic conditions are being improved by this Dam where the production of electricity is stimulating IND Industrial Development on Sardinia in nearly all of the Central and Southern mountainous regions of Italy farming is the main occupation a large proportion of the products of southern Italy go to the port of Naples which is not in the mountains but in the fertile Western coastal region here are intensely cultivated farmlands although there is little rain in these warm Coastal lands irrigation is possible because the land is generally flat many of the crops raised here are sold at this outdoor Market in Naples we can see the wide variety of fruits and vegetables grown in this fertile region of course not all of the crops are sold like this tomatoes for example are often taken to food processing plants these Tomatoes will be made into tomato paste the tomato paste is packaged for use in Italy or for shipment to other parts of the world these crates are being loaded onto a ship in Naples Naples is one of Italy's busiest ports South across the Bay of Naples is Mount vvus the only active volcano on the mainland of Europe volcanic action has affected much of Italy many miles to the north of vvus hot volcanic steam drawn up through pipes sunk deep into the Earth is used to generate electricity here a more modern source of energy is being made use of for generating electricity atomic energy at this Generating Station there is an atomic reactor providing another source of electric power for Italy a land with insufficient fuel resources in this region on the western coast many people are concentrated in large cities including besides Naples Rome Lorn and Florence a modern Highway called the new appan way links the important cities of this highly populated region for much of its length it runs beside the ancient aan way built more than 2,000 years ago this road was one of many that join together the Roman Empire the capital of this ancient empire was Rome which is also the capital of modern Italy Rome is the largest city of Italy it is built on low Hills through which the Tyber river flows as well as being the center of Italian government Rome is a center of Commerce and transportation to this modern Airfield just outside of Rome come Italians from all parts of Italy as well as tourists and businessmen from all parts of the world this Airfield is named for a world famous Italian artist Leonardo D Vinci this statue of him reminds us of the rich Heritage of culture that Italy has given the the world the Dome of this cathedral was designed by another well-known Italian artist Michaelangelo this is the Dome of St peters's in the Vatican in Rome Vatican City is the center of the Roman Catholic religion modern suburbs of Rome extend far beyond the old city north of these suburbs Across the Western coastal region is the city of fen which we call Florence Florence on the Arno river is considered one of the main centers of Italian culture the city is also a Market Center for the fertile lands of the Arno Valley that are famous for their Vineyards wine and other products of this region are often taken to the port city of lorno which we call Leghorn from Leghorn go many products of the highly populated Western coastal region of Italy from the western coast let's move north to the po valley here is the industrial and agricultural heart of Italy with the major cities of Milan Turin and Genoa the extensive Valley of the Po River is sheltered from cold Northern winds by the Alps giving a mild climate to these fertile Plains the po valley sometimes called the Lombardy Plains is the major farming region of Italy here Farm machines are more frequently used than in the mountains wheat is a major crop of this region Farmers from miles around bring their wheat to Central collection points for threshing for the rice that is grown here extensive irrigation is carried on Orchards of mulberry trees are also very common in Northern Italy the malberry leaves are fed to silk worms whose cocoons provide fiber for the world famous Italian silk many other textiles are manufactured in the textile mills of Northern Italy much of the cloth manufactured here is made into clothes designed by Italian fashion designers clothing of cotton wool and synthetic fibers as well as of silk is manufactured here in Milan the Center of Italy's textile industry as well as being a textile center bustling Milan is thought of as a symbol of modern Italy Milan skyscrapers look like those in many large American cities and its Skyline is a sign of changing Italy this is one of the tallest buildings in Italy a striking example of modern Italian architecture in Milan Milan Turin and Genoa make up what is sometimes called an industrial triangle of Northern Italy much of the power to operate the factories in these cities comes from the Alps where Mountain Streams have been damned to provide electric power while hydroelectric power is important for operating much of the industry of Northern Italy natural gas that has been discovered in the Valley is being used more and more to provide the power for the cities of this industrial region a modern Super Highway links the city of Milan with the city of Turin a center of heavy industry steel and other metals are produced in Turin using raw materials imported through Italy's membership in the European coal and Steel Community this is a test track for an automobile manufacturing plant in Turin in this Factory automobiles are made not only to be sold in Italy but also for export to other countries many workers have been drawn to Northern Italy by its Industries they are greatly increasing the already large population of the region around Turan the modern factories the new office buildings and the tall inter interestingly designed apartment buildings all help to show the development of Italy's industrial North many of the products manufactured in Turin and the other industrial cities of the north are shipped frequently by train to other countries that with Italy belong to the European economic Community which is usually called The Common Market much of the production of this region though goes to Genoa Italy's major port for shipment overseas through Genoa pass the many products of this fertile highly populated region of Northern Italy Genoa on the west coast is the modern Port of Northern Italy on the east coast is Venice which was Italy's major port hundreds of years ago today Venice with its canals gondolas and beautiful buildings is one of Italy's greatest tourist centers the canals of Venice reflect the Italy of the past the Italy of today can be seen in the faces of the Italian people the city dwellers such as those in the large population centers in the western coastal region the hardworking Mountain farmers of the Central and Southern appenines the farmers of the Fertile po valley of Northern Italy and the factory workers in its industrial cities these faces reflect modern Italy a land with a proud Heritage making use of all its resources to build a proud future for its people [Music]