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Learn more about the National Museums of Kenya by visiting our website.

Exhibit Curators: Immelda Kithuka, Archivist. imuoti@museums.or.ke and Mercy Gakii,Cultural Expert, Cultural Heritage Department.
mkinyua@museums.or.ke

Photography and Creative Direction: Gibson Maina and Muturi Kanini. Gibs Photography

Exhibit Layout: Barnabas Ngei.

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Ngoma: Experiencing Life Through Music and Dance - Google Arts & Culture

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Learn more about the National Museums of Kenya by visiting our website. Exhibit Curators: Immelda Kithuka, Archivist. imuoti@museums.or.ke and Mercy Gakii,Cultural Expert, Cultural Heritage Department. mkinyua@museums.or.ke Photography and Creative Direction: Gibson Maina and Muturi Kanini. Gibs Photography Exhibit Layout: Barnabas Ngei.

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instant access to thousands of great kids books.

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The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

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Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

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instant access to thousands of great kids books.

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Erin Schreiner is a freelance writer and teacher who holds a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University. She has been actively freelancing since 2008. Schreiner previously worked for a London-based freelance firm. Her work appears on eHow, Trails.com and RedEnvelope. She currently teaches writing to middle school students in Ohio and works on her writing craft regularly.

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Theme Ideas for an Elementary Field Day | Synonym

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Many elementary students anxiously await the arrival of field day, as on this day, usually near the end of the school year, they have the opportunity to venture out of the classroom, burn off some energy, and anticipate the summer vacation. To make your field day a more cohesive event, plan the entire day around one ...

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Mexico is home to some of the most diverse music in the world, celebrating the local culture throughout the country. Influenced by Mexico's peoples and their past, it celebrates life and love. It talks of history, legends, and overcoming oppression. Above all, it is a vibrant part of Mexican life.

Anyone interested in the Mexican culture must know about the most popular of its expressions: music. Through history, it has experienced a huge evolution, from the sound of the drums of a Mayan or Aztec ceremony to the modern expressions of Mexican rap.

© Ernest McGray, Jr. - Sculpture of Mexican Dancers

This evolution occurred in an additive, rather than destructive, manner. That means that, far from replacing one music style with another, Mexican music incorporates previous rhythms and sounds into new ones. Although recently almost every young Mexican music artist chooses modern musical styles as a way of expression, the most widely known "product" of the Mexican music history is The Mariachi.

Mariachi Music

Dressed in traditional silver studded 'charro' suits with a matching sombrero, the presence of Mariachis is almost a requirement on national celebrations or public parties and "fiestas", weddings and large family parties, which often feature two or three different bands that play different kinds of Mexican music.

© Loïc Cantillana Escobar - Traditional Mariachi Clothing (Jalisco, Mexico)

The term "Mariachi" comes from two of the many native languages of Mexico, the Nahuatl (used mostly by the ancient Aztecs), and the Coca (a language known to be used by many independent Mayan tribes). It was initially used to refer to a dance performed by a group of dancers on a wooden platform and it was an equivalent to the Spanish term "Fandango". Nowadays, however, Mariachi refers to a certain music style and the band playing this type of music.

© matt_bruensteiner - Mariachi Ensemble

The Mariachi originated in the region of Jalisco, more exactly in the city of Guadalajara. At first, the Mariachi ensembles traveled from town to town singing about very common subjects, mostly love. This led to their style spreading throughout all Mexico, and soon it was the highest representative of Mexican music.

A typical Mariachi ensemble was formed by four or five guitars, a "guitarrón" (a sort of a large bass guitar), violins, some "vihuelas" (a kind of guitar with a round back), and a harp with 28 to 40 strings. In some regions of Mexico a small snare drum was commonly included into the ensemble.

© squeakychu - Mariachi Band

Among the Mexican music played by Mariachis are famous tunes like "La Bamba", "Cielito Lindo", "La Cucaracha" and the extensively known Mexican hat dance.

Ranchera Music

Like the American country tunes, Ranchera music celebrates love, family life, and patriotic stories. This is music from Mexico's impressive rural country side and it uses a type of yell called "El Grito Mexicano" that sets it apart from other styles.

Early Ranchera music was rebellious. It grew out of dislike for the aristocratic music preferred by the old rulers of Mexico. After the revolution, Mexican music coming from the people became far more popular.

© erika frank - Ranchera Musicians

Norteno Music

Also called 'Grupero', Norteno music uses an accordion and a 'bajo sexto' or twelve string guitar along with other instruments. New migrants in Northern Mexico blended European waltzes and polka with Ranchero music back in the late 19th century. Today, this music has a fast polka-like beat and it is still popular in the Northern parts of the country.

© beavela - Norteno Musicians

Many Faces of Mexican Music

Mexico is a large country. Over the years, a number of regional flavors of Mexican music have developed.

Mexican Son music developed from early Spanish and native music traditions, varying from region to region.

Music from Jalisco, Michoacan, and Colima is known as Abjeno. It also uses many traditional elements mixed with European sounds and is played along pirekaus, or Native Mexican love songs.

Istmenos is from the Zapotecs in Oaxaca. This music celebrates love and is often sung in both the native language of Zapotec and Spanish. It is quite popular across Mexico.

Southern Mexican music includes Son calentano. It features complicated violin playing and pleasing rhythms.

Western Mexico has Sones de arpa grande. It is mainly harp music with violins and guitars.

The Huasteca territory is home to Son Huasteco. It is sung in falsetto by a pair of guitar players and a violinist. Many say it is similar to jazz, because much of it is improvised.

The Veracruz area has Son Jarocho. Here, the region's music is strongly influenced by early African immigrants. It lacks a harp and only uses guitars.

Caribbean and Latin American flavors of music such as mambo, rumba, bolera, and cumbia thrive, being popular all over the country. Latin American rhythms greatly influence Mexican music, having seeped into Mexico along with immigrants over the years.

© Drew Leavy - Mexican Ribbon Dancers

Mexican Pop Music

Mexico has many pop stars and plenty of its own pop music. The genre is dominated by teen pop bands and now-grown former teen pop stars. Unlike American pop, Mexican pop bands have both boys and girls as singers and musicians in the same bands. Today, many Mexican pop groups release songs both in Spanish and English.

© Jorge Mejía Peralta - Marco Antonio Solis, one of the most renowned Mexican pop artists

Classical and Art Music

Mexico has produced many great operas since La Partenope was first performed in 1711. Early opera was strongly influenced by European styles. By the 19th century, Mexican composers had found their own voices in operas such as Guatimotzin. It is about the last Aztec ruler defending against the Spanish. Another famous opera is Tata Vasco. It uses native melodies to tell the story of the first bishop of Michoacan.

Classical music in Mexico is considered one of the first contributors to the modern New World culture. For years Mexico produced some of the best musicians and compositions in this part of the world. Today's art music is dominated by avant-garde composers and jazz players such as Richard Lemus, Tino Contreras, Popo Sanchez and many more.

© Oscar Alcalá - Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico, where various Mexican operas held their premieres

First Class Performers

There are as many famous Mexican musicians as there are types of music.

Traditionally flavored Grupera music is dominated by groups such as Yonics, La Migra, Limite, Los Temerarios and Jenni Rivera.

The biggest Mexican pop stars include Thalia, Linda Thomas, Luis Miguel, Alejandro Fernandez, and Gloria Trevi. Rock fans should check out Mexican rockers Los Freddys, Los Babys, La Migra, and Los Muecas.

Modern Mexican alternative performers include Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio, Cafe Tacuba, and Nortec Collective. Fans of American alternative will find much to like.

Fans of bolero will like Rafael Hernandez and Agustin Lara.

Seek out Jose Jose, Camilo Sesto, Roberto Carlos, or Armando Manzanero for very skilfully sung Latin ballads.

Modern Mexican jazz is best performed by musicians such as Antonio Sanchez, Luis Ocadiz, JJ Calatayud, Arturo Castro, Popo Sanchez. Richard Lemus, and Leo Acosta.

Quick Fun Facts About Mexican Music

Some famous Marachi tunes include "La Bamba", "La Cucaracha", "Cielito Lindo" and the famous Mexican Hat Dance.

Grupo Pesado is the most famous type of Norteno music today.

The Latin ballad or romantic ballad is one of the most popular type of love songs in Mexico. It has a slow and sweet tempo and full instrumentation behind a single singer.

Mexican Ska music is a huge following due in part to the popularity of Carlos Santana.

Classical music has been played in Mexico since at least the 16th century.

Luis Miguel is dubbed the "Latin Frank Sinatra" by the media.

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Mexico is home to some of the most diverse music in the world, celebrating the local culture throughout the country. Influenced by Mexico's peoples and their past, it celebrates life and love. It talks of history, legends, and overcoming oppression. Above all, it is a vibrant part of Mexican life.

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Music

The Voyage to Vietnam exhibition features many opportunities to interact with Vietnamese music. You can play the gong along with a Lion Dance, listen to Tet music in the street café marketplace, or make your own music using traditional Vietnamese instruments.

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Music The Voyage to Vietnam exhibition features many opportunities to interact with Vietnamese music. You can play the gong along with a Lion Dance, listen to Tet music in the street café marketplace, or make your own music using traditional Vietnamese instruments.

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There are different kind of games played in India, from popular sports such as football and Cricket to lesser known but most played local games Kho- kho, Langdi and Gillidanda. Here is the lit of top 15 most popular sports in India with the special place and part of the physical culture in ancient India.

Cricket

Cricket is not only the most popular sport in India but also an important part of the Indian culture,played almost everywhere. BCCI is body for cricket in India, Indian Premier League is the most watched sports leagues in the world.
Indian cricket team is the winner of all format of Cricket be it Twenty20 World Cup, 2011 Cricket World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Test Championship. Legal betting sites can be found on bestbettingsites.com/india/

Badminton

Badminton is the second most played sports in India and the team is governed by the Badminton Association of India. The Indian team of Badminton players are taking the world in all kind of Championships, P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal,Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta.

Football

Football as a sports is very popular in the state of Kerala, Goa, West Bengal and north-eastern India, From where professional players like Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri promote Indian football to the country.

Kabaddi

Kabaddi is one of the most popular sports in India, popularized as a competitive sport and part in the Asian Games, international kabaddi competition - Kabaddi World Cup and Pro Kabaddi League based on Indian premier league.

Pro Kabaddi League is second most watched sports in India after IPL, also uses a franchise based model with rules same as indoor version of Kabaddi and 2019 season of Pro Kabaddi League features 12 teams.

Field Hockey

Field Hockey is one of the oldest ancient games played in India, Considered as the unofficial National sport of India. Odisha field hockey has dominance in field hockey in India and a league called Premier Hockey League started like IPL.

Tennis

Tennis in India is limited to urban areas but counted among the top ten most popular sports in India along with Badminton and Football, introduced in India in the 1880.

Pehlwani

Pehlwani from India is a form of wrestling and old Malla-yuddha game, originating from the Indian subcontinent and today known as Kusti. Wrestling is the form of modern Pehelwani and very popular in India since ancient times where it was famously known as Malla-yuddha.

Malla yuddha is the ancient Indian game of Pehlwani and the competitions known as kushti or dangal, place of practice Pehlwani is called Akhara.

Boxing

Boxing combat sports game is getting popular in India after the Indian Olympic boxer like Mary Kom, Pinky Rani,Sarita Devi, Shashi Chopra and
Champion Vijender Singh are inspiration many boxers in India.

Mallakhamba

Mallakhamba is another well known traditional sports of India which includes wrestling grips, aerial yoga postures on a vertical hanging wooden pole. The free standing pole usually made from Seesham wood Indian Rosewood tree and polished with castor oil, where a gymnast practiced and performs.

Basketball

The game of basketball is not that much popular sports in the country like Cricket and Badminton but already make a significant mark in the list of sports played in India.

Motorsport

Motorsport in India has developed keen interest, particular when Narain Karthikeyan became the only Indian signed by the Formula One team, today India has newly built Buddh International Circuit and Formula One team as Force India.

Kalaripayattu

Kalaripayattu is one of the oldest fighting system originated from Kerala and most popular Indian martial art in the world. The Indian martial art offers two different style known as Northern Style with exercises and Southern style with different set of techniques.

Kho Kho

Kho kho is an ancient sport from India and second most played traditional tag games of the Indian subcontinent, after Kabaddi. The traditional Indian sport also played in South Africa by the Indian community and one of the must play sports of India.

Gilli Danda

Gilli danda is a widely played sports of the Indian subcontinent, played all over in the rural areas, villages and small towns in India, also known as ancient sport of the Indian subcontinent.

Kite Flying

Flying kite in India is a recreational art of practice and one Indian festival is dedicated to kite flying. International kite festival in Gujarat known as Uttarayana and Makara Sankranti in other part of India is the day for tradition of kite flying in India.

Golf in India is very much popular among the wealthier classes and growing sports like Tennis, Squash, Beach volleyball, snooker, Rugby and Table tennis in India.

Some of the most popular and traditional sports in India also include local playing games like Dhopkhel of Assam, Langdi a traditional Indian field sport, Lattu, Archery,Chess ,Kancha, Kayaking water sports, Equestrian sports, Sitoliya, Vallam Kalim, Jallikattu and martial arts sports.

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Top 15 Most Popular Sports Played in India

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There are different kind of games played in India, from popular sports such as football and Cricket to lesser known but most played local games Kho- kho, Langdi and Gillidanda. Here is the lit of top 15 most popular sports in India with the special place and part of the physical culture in ancient India.

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India is one such country where art and culture is a big part of people's lives and music by far tops the list. Whether it is a reality show or a concert, the crowd and viewers give a clear indication that India is a land of music.

People in India have been worshipping Goddess Saraswati, who is known for knowledge and wisdom of music since times immemorial. Since the Vedic age till today, classical music has always sustained and played a pivotal part in molding the journey of Indian music.

In ancient times musical sessions were conducted in king's court where music was performed in a pompous way. Today people in different corners of the world witness the aroma of the Indian classical music through various concerts performed by maestros in Indian classical music.

An integral part of the Indian classical music are the Indian classical music instruments. These instruments have not only given us memorable music but many famous Indian musicians who have represented India on the world stage. Today in this blog we will discuss about the list of Indian musical instruments along with their pictures.

All Indian Music Instruments Names with Pictures

1. Sitar

Sitar is one of the most popular India classical music instruments.

Sitar Music Instrument Description

Sitar has a long neck with twenty metal frets and seven cords. These frets are adjoined with thirteen strings which are tuned to the notes of raga. A round shape or a gourd which acts as a sound board is grounded at the lower end of the neck of the sitar.
Famous Sitar Music Artists in Indian
Renowned sitar players who have established themselves playing sitar are Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Abdul Halim Zaffar Khan and many more.

Also Read: Indian Classical Music- A Sneak Peak

2. Flute

Whenever we pronounce or imagine flute, the first image that pops into our mind is the image of Lord Krishna and the melody which is associated with the instrument. Hence, it proves the importance of flute which is associated with Indian music since time immemorial.
Flute Music Instrument Description
Flute is an instrument which provides exuberance in the mind and soul. Flute is structured into cylindrical tube of uniform bore. To produce sound, one must hold the holes with fingers of left and right variations. Similarly, variations of pitch are generated by the length of air column.
Famous Flute Music Instrument Artists in India
Pt Pannalal Ghosh and Pt Hari Prashad Chaurasia are considered as the best curator of flute playing in India.

3. Shehnai

Shehnai is a traditional Indian musical instrument where one can hear the melodious music in occasions like marriages and temple processions.
Shehnai Music Instrument Description
Shehnai is a double reed instrument with a tapering bore which progressively increases towards the lower side. The Shehnai has finger-holes to produce micro-tones.
Famous Shehnai Music Instrument Artists in India
Ustad Bismillah Khan is the unrivalled maestro of the Shehnai.

4. Tabla

The most popular musical instrument used in North India is the Tabla.
Tabla Music Instrument Description
The Tabla consists of a pair of drums - one is the Tabla and the other is the Bayan. The Tabla is made of wood and its upper portion is made of stretched animal skin. The tuning of Tabla can be adjusted by striking the rim of the Tabla with a small hammer.

The Bayan is the bass drum and is made of metal where the upper portion is a stretched skin. Both drums have a black spot in the center made of manganese or iron dust. Tabla is mainly occupied by harmonium which is also a well-known Indian classical instrument.
Famous Tabla Music Instrument Artists in India
Zakir Husain is the renowned personae associated with Tabla.

5. Harmonium

The harmonium is a traditional and popular musical instrument of India.
Harmonium Music Instrument Description
The harmonium has a keyboard of over two and one-half octaves and works on a system of bellows. The keyboard is played with the right hand while the left hand is used to operate the bellows. Harmonium is more popular in North India than in the South.

6. Jaltarangam

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Jaltarangam Music Instrument Description
Jaltarangam consists of a set of eighteen porcelain cups of varying sizes. The cups are arranged before the performer, in order of size. The largest cup is kept on the left side of the performer and the smaller one is placed on the right-hand side. Water is poured into these cups and the pitch is changed by adjusting the amount of water in the cup. The cups are struck with two thin bamboo sticks.
Famous Jaltarangam Music Instrument Artists in India
Milind Tulanka

Some more Famous Indian Musical Instrument names with pictures

7 . Algoza

It is an instrument that is dying in the new India.
Algoza Music Instrument Description
Used mainly in the music that originates from Sindh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Baloch, Algoze remains popular in folk music. However, we see less and less of it in mainstream music. It is a flute like instrument with two wooden pipes, attached through a string. The number of holes on each pipe vary. One flute is used for melody, while the other plays drone. It is played by keeping three fingers on each side of the reed and blowing air into it. Recently, it has gained much love in UK to cater to the Punjabi population residing there.
Famous Algoza Music Instrument Artists in India
(Late) Ustad Khamiso Khan, (Late) Ustad Misri Khan Jamali, Gurmeet Bawa.

8. Ravanahatha

That is one interesting name, isn't it?
Ravanahatha Music Instrument Description
It is an instrument that finds its roots in Rajasthan. If legend is to be believed, then this instrument was first founded, built and used by the Hela community during the prehistoric times of King Ravan. It features a bowl like structure made from the hollow of a coconut which is covered by goatskin. A stick made out of bamboo is attached to this bowl. There are two strings- one of which is made from steel and the other is made from horse hair. Small bells are other pieces of jewellery are often fixed along the bamboo stick. Some say that this instrument was brought to North India by Lord Hanuman, after the battle at Lanka was over. It has a great part to play in mythological history.
Famous Ravanahatha Music Instrument Artists in India
Dinesh Subhasinghe

9. Mridangam

It is a primary accompaniment of Carnatic music.
Mridangam Music Instrument Description
Mridangam finds place in ancient temples, music, hymns, and paintings, especially in South India. It is a double-sided drum made from jackfruit wood which is known to be very thick. The two open ends are covered with goat skin and leather straps are tied around the circumference to tighten them. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha and Nandi are said to have played this to accompany Lord Shiva's Tandava. The word Mridangam is derived from two different words, Mrida- meaning earth, and Anga-meaning limb/part, and in earlier days the instrument was made out of these materials.
Famous Mridangam Instrument Artists in India
Nagercoil Ganesa Iyer, Palana Subramaniam Pillai, Palghat Mani Iyer, Palghat R. Raghu

10. Sarangi

This instrument forms an important part of Hindustani music.
Sarangi Music Instrument Description
It is believed that Sarangi is made up of two words- Sar, meaning "essence", and Ang, meaning "limb/part". Another theory also says that Sarangi is derived from "sol rang", which simply means a hundred colors. It is a block like structure with three hollow chambers, namely- pet, chaati and magaj. The pet is the lower chamber and is covered with goat skin, on which a think strip of leather is placed. There are three main playing strings i this instrument, and players use fingertips, nails and surrounding flesh to play them. Not only is this difficult to play, but also difficult to master.
Famous Sarangi Instrument Artists in India
Ram Narayan, Dhruba Ghosh, Surinder Sandhu, AR Rahman

11. Panchavadyam

In the literal sense, it means "an orchestra of five instruments".
Panchavadyam Music Instrument Description
The five instruments included in this unique ensemble are timila, maddalam, ilathalam, idakka and kombu, where only kombu is a wind instrument, and all others are percussion. It constitutes a pyramid like rhythmic structure, which goes on increasing in tempo. It is a temple art form that one can find predominantly in South India, more specifically in Kerala. The performance lasts for about two hours, and ahs artists of each instrument sitting in an oval. The artists use personal improvisations to bring novelty to the art form. Playing Panchavadyam is not an easy task, and requires much dedication and patience from the artist.
FAMOUS PANCHAVADYAM MUSIC INSTRUMENT ARTISTS IN INDIA
Venkichan Swami, Madhava Warrier, Annamamada Achutha Marar

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Top Indian Musical Instruments, Indian Musical Instruments Names with Picutres

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India is one such country where art and culture is a big part of people's lives and music by far tops the list. Whether it is a reality show or a concert, the crowd and viewers give a clear indication that India is a land of music.

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No country in the world comes close to matching the linguistic diversity of India - just the number of 'mother tongues' in the country, as listed in the 1961 Census, is 1652!

The Constitution of India does not give any language the status of national language. The official language of the Union Government of the Republic of India is Hindi. The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution lists 22 languages, which have been referred to as scheduled languages and given recognition, status and official encouragement.

In addition, the Government of India has awarded the distinction of classical language to Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia due to their long history of 1500-2000 years. All Indian languages fall into one of these 4 groups: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Sino-Tibetan and Afro-Asiatic. The extinct and endangered languages of the Andaman islands form a fifth family.

Here are 10 facts about Indian languages that you may not know about:

1. Hindi is the 2nd most spoken languagein the world (ahead of English and Spanish), Bengali the 7th most and Punjabi the 10th most.

Over 970 million people in the world speak Hindi. Bengali and Punjabi have about 250 million and 120 million speakers respectively worldwide, ahead of popular languages like German and French.

2. Hindi was known by different names at different stages of its evolution in different eras. It was known as Apabhramsa at its earliest stage.

Kalidas, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and literary playwright in ancient India, composed a romantic play titled Vikramorvashiyam in Apabhramsa in 400 AD.

3. Did you know that Malayalam, the language spoken in the southern Indian state of Kerala, is the longest palindrome (a word that reads the same backwards and forwards) in the English language?

Pic Source: nagfa.blogspot.com

4. In Mumbai, there is a Gujarati family, that speaks only in Sanskrit. In Mattur village in Karnataka, people speak in Sanskrit to each other.

Here are 6 more amazing facts about Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages known to mankind:

NASA scientist Rick Briggs once said that Sanskrit is the only unambiguous language in existence.

Sanskrit is the most computer friendly language.

14 universities in Germany offer Sanskrit as a subject.

Sanskrit uses many synonyms for each subject. For instance, there are 100 synonyms for the word 'elephant.'

Sanskrit is the state language of Uttarakhand

Sanskrit is supposed to belong to the same family as Latin. That is why there are many words ending in 'um' in both languages.

5. Brahui is a Dravidian language, with its roots in India, spoken by approximately 1 million people in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Dravidian languages, a family of about 23 languages that includes languages like Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, are unrelated to any other known language family and are spoken mostly in South India.

6. In 1999, UNESCO declared February 21 as International Mother Language Day to commemorate the Bengali Language Movement in 1952.

The Bengali Language Movement was a political movement in former East Bengal (today Bangladesh), advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as an official language of the then Dominion of Pakistan in order to allow its use in government and education.

7. Did you know around 99% of Urdu verbs have their roots in Sanskrit and Prakrit?

Although Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, it is also one of India's official languages. Urdu, like Hindi, is a form of Hindustani.

8. George Bush, former President of the USA, had allocated a budget of $114 million for teaching Hindi in the US.

Hindi was to be a part of the curriculum from kindergarten to the graduate level, considering the importance of Hindi as a common native language of Indian Americans. However, the plan was not carried through once Obama became President.

9. All Indian scripts come from the same script - Brahmi. Writing came much later to India than to other parts of the world. Hence, both Tamil and Sanskrit have extremely strong oral traditions.

10. Kannada language has the second oldest written tradition of all vernacular languages of India. More than a thousand notable writers have contributed to the wealth of the language.

Current estimates of the total number of epigraphs written in Kannada range from 25,000 by the scholar Sheldon Pollock to over 30,000 by the Sahitya Akademi, making Karnataka state "one of the most densely inscribed pieces of real estate in the world."

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

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10 Unusual Facts About Indian Languages. How Many Do You Know?

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No country in the world comes close to matching the linguistic diversity of India - just the number of 'mother tongues' in the country, as listed in the 1961 Census, is 1652! The Constitution of India does not give any language the status of national language.

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

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Sport is very important in France. There are some top international stars in many sports.

Football

Football is the most popular sport in France. The French national team won the World Cup in 1998 and also reached the final in 2006. France has produced some great players and some of them, including Éric Cantona, Thierry Henry, Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris, also played football in the English Premier League.

Rugby

Rugby is also very popular in France. Every year France competes in the Six Nations competition. British teams also compete with French teams in the European Rugby Championships. English World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson used to play for French side, Toulon.

Tennis

One of the four main tennis championships is "Roland Garros", the French Open, played on clay and hosted at Roland Garros in Paris every year. Some famous French tennis players include Amélie Mauresmo, Henri Leconte, Yannick Noah, Guy Forget and Gaël Monfils. Rafael Nadal from Spain has had the most wins at the French Open. Tennis is the second most popular hobby in France after football.

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Popular sports in France - Sport - GCSE French Revision - BBC Bitesize

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1 2 Page 1of 2 Sport is very important in France. There are some top international stars in many sports. Football is the most popular sport in France. The French national team won the World Cup in 1998 and also reached the final in 2006.

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Ooh la la! Ready for the lowdown on one of Europe's most amazing countries? Then check out our fascinating facts about France ...

Official Name: French Republic
Form of government: Republic
Capital: Paris
Population: 67, 092, 056
Official languages: French
Monetary unit: Euro
Area: 543,965 square kilometres
Major mountain ranges: Alps, Pyrenees, Massif Central
Major rivers: Seine, Rhine and Rhône

The largest country in Western Europe, France has long been a gateway between the continent's northern and southern regions. Its lengthy borders touch Germany and Belgium in the north, the Atlantic Ocean in the west, and the Pyrenees mountains and Spain in the south. It also borders the Mediterranean sea in the southeast, and the Alps, Switzerland and Italy in the east.

France has a very diverse landscape. There are beautiful beaches on the southeast coast, home to the French Riviera, and towering mountains in the south and east, where the snow-capped French Alps rise to the sky. Europe's tallest peak, Monte Blanc, is found in the French Alps, standing at a massive 4,810m tall!

Wide, fertile plains dominate most of the north and west, making France the agricultural epicentre of Europe. The sprawling, forested plateau of the Massif Central - a range of ancient mountains and extinct volcanoes - occupies France"s southern interior.

France has lots of land area to provide habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals. More than 25 percent of its territory is covered with forest, and another 50 percent is countryside or farmland.

Lowland forests are home to deer and wild boar, while the woodlands of the Alps and Pyrenees provide refuge for rare chamois antelope, ibex, brown bears and alpine hares, among many other species. The Mediterranean coastline is a stopover for millions of migrating African birds, too, including flamingos, vultures, egrets and bee-eaters.

The French government has made a broad commitment to preserving open spaces and the wildlife they contain. In fact, about ten percent of the country has been set aside as national or regional parklands and nature reserves.

There is evidence that early relatives of humans first settled in France nearly two million years ago. By 300,000 B.C., Neanderthals arose there, and by 40,000 B.C., Cro-Magnons had arrived.

Over time, Celtic tribes from central Europe moved into the region, and when the Romans occupied the territory in the second century B.C., they named it Gaul. Julius Caesar established full Roman control over Gaul in 51 B.C., but by 400 A.D. Rome was in decline. Gaul was attacked by neighbouring tribes, including Visigoths, Vandals and the Germanic Franks, from which France would eventually get its name. In 843 a treaty created the territory of West Francia, which would later become France.

Over the next thousand years, West Francia was ruled by a series of powerful kings. Several wars were fought over who would rule France, including the Hundred Years War, from 1337 to 1453. In 1789, a violent period of change called the French Revolution began, eventually ending in the overthrow of the monarchy.

Napoleon Bonaparte, a general during the French Revolution, declared himself leader of France in 1799. He began a campaign of wars with neighbouring countries, and built a large French empire that ruled over much of continental Europe. But France's domination in Europe came to an end in 1815, when Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.

France later suffered great losses in both and World War II. It has since emerged, though, as an important and prosperous world power.

France is one of the oldest nations on Earth and the most ethnically diverse country in Europe. These deep and broad influences have made France a world leader throughout history in different aspects of culture, including cuisine, philosophy, music, art, film, fashion, literature and sport.

Over the years, France has been through many political crises. Its current government is a combination of presidential and parliamentary systems. The president is elected by the people and is head of state. A prime minister, chosen by the president, works with the elected parliament to pass laws.

France is among the world's largest economies. The country produces many items that other countries buy, including its most famous products - wine and cheese. Other exports include automobiles, electronics and clothing. Tourism is also a huge industry in France. More than 80 million people visit the country every year, more than any other country on Earth!

What did you make of our facts about France? Let us know by leaving a comment, below!

Credits
Map of France: National Geographic Maps. Eiffel Tower on a sunny day, Paris: Silvian Tomescu, Dreamstime. Beach at the French Rivieria: Lucian Milasan, Dreamstime. Arc de Triomphe viewed from the Champs-Élysées, Paris: Giancarlo Liguori, Dreamstime. Colourful flowers in the Tuileries Garden, Paris: Victorua, Dreamstime. Glass pyramid entrance to the Louvre, Paris: Lsantilli, Dreamstime. French Alps and Palace of Versailles: Getty Images UK

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Ooh la la! Ready for the lowdown on one of Europe's most amazing countries? Then check out our fascinating facts about France ...

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Since the 17th century, France has been regarded as a "center of high culture." As such, French culture has played a vital role in shaping world arts, cultures, and sciences. In particular, France is internationally recognized for its fashion, cuisine, art, and cinema.

Understanding French culture and traditions can help you better understand your family heritage if you have French ancestors. Discover where you're from and more about your ancestors with the help of FamilySearch Discoveries.

Cultural Variety in France

French culture was historically shaped by Celtic, Roman, and Germanic cultures. As these influences evolved, France became a patchwork of local communities and customs. What's true for one community may not be true for another. Despite the growing global culture today, France has made an effort to preserve the cultures of its smaller communities.

If you're interested in learning more about the intricacies of French culture and communities, try exploring books from this list or this list. Or if you're lucky enough, traveling the French countryside will give you firsthand experience.

Language

As the official language of France, French is the first language of 88% of the population. Even then, most others speak French as a second language.

However, minority languages flourish in specific regions. For example, eastern provinces speak German while Flemish is spoken in the northeast and Italian is spoken in the southeast. Other communities within France speak several other languages.

Family

The family has served as the founding unit of French society for generations. Traditionally, the family structure could include either extended families or nuclear families. In recent years, that structure has shifted to primarily reflect nuclear families as well as variations such as single-parent households or civil unions known as .

If you have French ancestors, they may have lived together as an extended unit. Find or share stories about your French family with FamilySearch Memories to explore the lives they led.

Religion in France

Most French citizens consider themselves to be Christian (primarily Catholic). Historically, Catholicism played a significant role in shaping French culture and was the state religion until 1789. In French tradition, kings were even crowned within the Notre-Dame de Reims cathedral until 1825.

Most of the remaining population today identifies as agnostic or atheist. However, there are also significant groups of Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist residents in modern France.

French Values

The French motto " Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity " reflects the values of French society. Equality and unity are important to the French. The French also value style and sophistication, and they take pride in the beauty and artistry of their country.

Family is also highly valued in French culture. Mealtimes are often shared with family, and extended-family gatherings and meals are common over the weekend.

French Cuisine

Meals in France are meant to be enjoyed. Food is made with great care, and mealtimes are a prime time for socializing. While French cooking is recognized around the world, there are many varieties in cooking styles, ingredients, and dishes from region to region. For example, Normandy cuisine is known for seafood and cheeses while Burgundy is known for beef.

That being said, traditional French cuisine is characterized by its cheeses, wines, breads, and sauces. Recently, French cuisine has shifted to reflect lighter fare rather than the more traditional heavy sauces and complicated preparations.

Breakfast in French culture is typically light: a French pastry or bread served with a hot beverage. Lunch and dinner, on the other hand, are considered to be the main meals of the day. Formal meals will have four courses: a starter, a salad, a main course, and a cheese or dessert course.

French Fashion

Paris is often regarded as the fashion capital of the world. It is home to several worldwide brands such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel. France became a major influencer in fashion beginning with the reign of Louis XIV in the 1600s. During that time, France became known for its luxury goods throughout Europe.

Today, French style can be described as sophisticated and fashionable. A typical outfit may include dresses or suits with long coats and scarves.

French Art and Media

The arts are deeply appreciated in French traditions. Hobbies and professions are historically shown deep respect for the craftsmanship that goes into them. French literature, painting, and cinema are all historically significant around the world. Works such as Les Misérables or artists such as Monet are some of the most recognizable in the world.

Today, art is still highly regarded in France. The Louvre, housed in Paris, is the largest art museum in the world. If you visit France, you'll also likely see artists in the streets painting.

French Traditions and Tips for Traveling

If you travel to France, understanding these French traditions might help you prepare:

Greetings

Kissing on the left cheek and then the right cheek is a common greeting for informal woman-to-man, woman-to-woman, or man-to-woman interactions

Handshakes are a common greeting for man-to-man interactions or formal settings

When getting someone's attention, start by saying "Bonjour Madame/Monsieur"

Public Behavior

Patrons bag their own food at grocery stores

If you speak English, ask someone if they speak English before speaking to them in English

It is polite to be formal and reserved, particularly with strangers or acquaintances

Quiet tones are expected in public

"Dressing down" is not common in France

Eating

Beverages are served at room temperature rather than cold or with ice

If invited into a French home, it's customary to bring a small gift such as chocolates, flowers, or candies

Appetizers are served with most meals, so don't fill up before the main dish is served

To know when to start eating or how to eat certain foods, observe what the host does

Keep both hands at the table while eating, but keep your elbows off the table

If you're ever uncertain how to behave while in France, observe what locals do. Mimicking the behaviors of French locals will help you remain polite and respectful to their culture and traditions.

French traditions and culture reflect the French values of unity, beauty, respect, and family. If you have French family, which French traditions does your family have?

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French Traditions and Culture * FamilySearch

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Since the 17th century, France has been regarded as a "center of high culture." As such, French culture has played a vital role in shaping world arts, cultures, and sciences. In particular, France is internationally recognized for its fashion, cuisine, art, and cinema.

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The French are known for lots of things...

What's the first thing you can think of when I say the word ' French '?

Let me guess...

Do you think of baguettes, french fries, wine, fashion, cheese, or the Eiffel tower?

Well, what many of us forget is that; a lot of the instruments we use today are French! 😉

French musical instruments are still played on the streets of France. That's the beauty of it. They're simple instruments that are used in big performances as well as the streets.

Whether they are tourists or locals, the streets of France are always filled with music. You can't help but fall in love with the music.
Let me paint a picture for you.
You're walking down the colorful streets of France. There are red doors with mosaic paintings on the floors and walls.

Paintings of the revolution fill the corners of your eyes. You can smell the pastries, the croissants and macaroons. The plants are falling out of the colorful doors, with sunlight touching the tips of the leaves.
It's a very aesthetic picture. But that's how France is.. right?
I mean think about it, when you're thinking of the Eiffel Tower or even wine, there is a sound you can associate them too. The music is slow, it's classy and soothing.

You know what I'm talking about.

Before we begin, you might be interested in knowing more about the German, Scottish or Roman instruments as well. If so, check them out.

Now let's begin with the most popular French instruments.

Table of Contents

The accordion is a wind instrument that is found everywhere on the streets of France. It's also known as the squeezebox.

It is used to play pop music, jazz, folk music, cajun music, and even classical. The accordion can be of two types: bisonoric and unisonoric. They're also called diatonic and chromatic accordions. The difference between them is that the chromatic scale contains 12 tones and the diatonic tones are usually identified with pitch letter names in the sequence A, B, E etc.

The keys on the accordion are similar to that of a keyboard.

Except it also has bellows which can be folded by contracting and expanding. The band 'The Who' even made a song called the 'Squeezebox.' Check it out if you want to hear the classic accordion sound.

An instrument made during the times of the Renaissance, the Harp is a string instrument that produces the most calming sounds! It has multiple strings attached to the end of the frame and in angle. Each string produces sound in a different frequency.

It can be kept on the floor and played as well as held in the hands. The French love their harps. They have produced such tremendous sharp players, or sharpers, like Vincent Bucher, Greg Szlapczynski, Pascal Mikaelian, David Herzhaft, Xavier Laune, Olivier Ker Ourio and Bruno Kowalczyk.

It says it in the name! The French horn is a brass instrument widely used in France. It's made up of tubing which is wrapped with a flared bell into a coil. It's mostly used in an orchestra and various other indie bands. Brass instruments are rad but this one is the real deal. French horns come with a wide set of notes to play.

The French horn, like most instruments, doesn't come in one piece. There's a screwball in between the two big pieces; that helps with carrying around the French horn and travel. That's also why they have such an odd shape.

Now, it can be quite difficult to play, but for a musician, it's not too hard to master!

Some of the most famous tunes are played with the French horn. Take for instance The French Horn Disney Medley, or the Star Wars (Main theme) Horn song and even Andromeda by Beethoven, Ludwig Van.

There's no way you haven't heard of this pipe instrument. Pianos are found across the globe.

Now, this instrument was made by a person named Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori in 1709, who was Italian but this instrument spread like wildfire in France. It became so popular that almost every household would have a piano in their house.

It was initially called pianoforte, piano meaning quiet and forte meaning loud. This instrument could be played on both volumes. Around 230 strings are needed to build a piano along with a sturdy wooden frame.

If you're curious about what the pedals on the piano do, they move the hammers closer to the strings to produce the sound that the piano makes.

Cool, right?

The tambourine is a percussion instrument. It comes from the French word " tambourin" or tambour which means drums. You'll find tambourines as an instrument used during cultural festivals and religious festivals too.

In France, it is used to play folk music, which is also very famous in other European countries. It's also used in pop music, classical, marching bands, and even rock and roll.

It's such a festive sound that you can't help but move to the beats of the tambourine.

U2's drummer, Larry Mullen has played the tambourine in many of his songs. That's why U2 has such a unique sound.

6. Galoubet

During the Renaissance, lots of drums and percussion instruments were played. Tambourine being one of them. The galoubet was used to accompany the tambourine. This duo became very popular in France.

The galoubet is a pipe which is played along with the drums. The galoubet is so popular even today. Multiple schools in France teach you how to play galoubet.

It's such a widely liked instrument that there is an annual festival in Aix-en-Provence that celebrates this instrument.

Famous musicians like Maurice Guis have played the galoubet/tambourine with electric guitars and pianos in their concerts. They're also famously found in weddings and dance performances.

The galoubet is the ideal festive instrument out there!

Here's another string family instrument. The fiddle has four strings and you can't help but think of a violin when you see a fiddle. They're also played using a bow, just like the violin.

Now, most fiddlers played the fiddle for a folk performance. Whether it's folk songs or dance, a fiddle was always a part of unfolding that story. The French love their fiddles. You'll see fiddlers walking on the street, playing the most enchanting sounds.

Do you remember the movie ' The Fiddler on the Roof? ' You should go listen to their songs to get a feel of how a fiddle sounds.

8. Cornemuse

We all know what the Scottish bagpipes look like. The cornemuse is more or less the French bagpipes. Corner means " sound a horn" and muse means " play the bagpipe. "

Cornemuse is very famous in Central France.

These French bagpipes are either mouth-blown or bellow blown.

You can make out the difference between the bagpipes and cornemuse by the tenor drone held next to the chanter.

This instrument is called a Chevrette which means ' little goat. ' It's because they do look like little goats!

They're widely played in areas of Nivernais, Bourbonnais, and Morvan.

The cornemuse is usually played with the instrument hurdy-gurdy.

The hurdy-gurdy is another instrument that resembles the fiddle. The fiddle uses a bow. The hurdy gurdy doesn't. It's turned by the handle of the rosined rim of the wooden wheel attached on the hurdy gurdy.

This hurdy gurdy was a very famous church instrument. Men playing this would be seen playing the strings with one hand and turning the wheel on the end of the instrument with the other hand.

You would see every folk artist and street artists with a hurdy gurdy in their hands.

It's still a very popular instrument in France, even today.

Even though this instrument was invented in the Carribeans by West Africans, the banjo is popular in France.

The phrase Joueur du Banjo, which means 'play the banjo' got famous because of the French.

They love the sound of the banjo.

It's a 4-string instrument with a wooden framework. It looks like a lot of other instruments but has such a unique sound to it.

It is traditionally played by picking the 4 strings in the upward direction. Some even use the "frailing" technique where the player strums or picks the banjo; in the downward direction.

There are some classic songs with a strong banjo use in them. For example Hello Dolly! Cabaret and Annie.

The banjo is used as a folk instrument but you can find this instrument in R&B songs, classical songs, rock and jazz too.

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10 French Musical Instruments That Are Still Popular Today - Loud Beats

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The French are known for lots of things... What's the first thing you can think of when I say the word ' French '? Let me guess... Do you think of baguettes, french fries, wine, fashion, cheese, or the Eiffel tower? Well, what many of us forget is that; a lot of the instruments we use today are French!

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India is the land of Vedas. It is an old country but a young nation. India's Educational system has always been excellent from the Gurukula system to the present day international schools.

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Italy's location on the Mediterranean linked it with the trade routes of the ancient civilizations that developed in the region. With the city of Rome's rise to power, the Italian peninsula became the center of a huge empire that lasted for centuries. ( Learn about Ancient Rome.)

Italy's first societies emerged around 1200 B.C. Around 800 B.C. Greeks settled in the south and Etruscans arose in central Italy. By the sixth century B.C., the Etruscans had created a group of states called Etruria. Meanwhile, Latin and Sabine people south of Etruria merged to form a strong city-state called Rome.

Etruscan kings ruled Rome for nearly a hundred years. But Romans tossed out the Etruscans in 510 B.C. and went on to conquer the whole peninsula. They then set out to build a vast empire. At its greatest extent, in A.D. 117, the Roman Empire stretched from Portugal to Syria to Britain to North Africa.

The first sole emperor of Rome, Octavian, took power in 27 B.C. and took the name Augustus Caesar. For more than 400 years, the empire flourished. But by the fourth century A.D., it was in decline. In 395, the empire was split in two, and in 476, Germanic tribes from the north toppled the last emperor.

In the 12th century, Italian city-states began to rise again and grow rich on trade. But Italy remained a patchwork of territories, some of which were controlled by foreign dynasties. Beginning in 1859, an uprising forced the foreigners out, and in 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed.

In 1914, Italy took the side of the United Kingdom and the U.S. in World War I, but was left in poverty at war's end. Benito Mussolini and his Fascist Party rose to power promising to restore the Roman Empire. He ruled as a dictator and entered World War II on the side of Germany and Japan. He was later captured and executed.

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Italy is a boot-shaped peninsula that juts out of southern Europe into the Adriatic Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and other waters.

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Did you know that Italy ranks among the top 10 countries in the world with the most Olympic medals? This accolade speaks volumes about the nation's rich sports heritage.

While Italy's prowess in soccer (or football, as it's locally known) is globally recognized, there's so much more to the sports in Italy. Beyond the football stadiums, there's a diverse array of Italian sports, each with its own set of dedicated fans and celebrated athletes.

On your next private Italy tour, don't forget to discover the world of Italy sports. From the snowy slopes frequented by skiers to the basketball courts echoing with cheers, Italy promises a sports experience like no other.

Whether you're a sports enthusiast or a casual observer, the passion and dedication of Italian athletes are bound to leave an impression.

Join us on a thrilling journey as we unveil the top 10 sports that captivate the heart of Italy:

Football (soccer)

The love for football, or "calcio," is unparalleled in Italy, it's the home of 4-time FIFA World Cup champions.

Recognized as the national sport of Italy, football has deep roots in the country's history and traditions. You can find someone with a football almost everywhere, trying to mimic the pros' moves. The sheer vibrance and enthusiasm of this sport draw anyone towards it.

More than 4,363,000 practice football in Italy, showcasing the sport's immense popularity. This passion is further evident in the country's top football clubs like AC Milan, Juventus, and Roma, which have garnered global attention and admiration.

As the national game of Italy, football isn't just a pastime; it's a way of life that resonates with every Italian's heart.

Basketball

Italy stands tall among basketball giants in Europe, sharing the stage with nations like Spain, Serbia, and Greece. With a storied history in the sport, Italy's proudest moments include gold at Eurobasket 1983 and EuroBasket 1999 and Olympic silver in 1980 and 2004.

As a testament to Italy's sports prowess, basketball is arguably Italy's most popular sport after football. The nation has also given the NBA stars like Danilo Gallinari. For enthusiasts, Italy's basketball scene offers a rich tapestry of passion, talent, and legacy.

So, if you're a basketball enthusiast looking to explore the sport outside its traditional strongholds, Italy offers a vibrant basketball culture waiting to be discovered.

Volleyball

Volleyball holds a special place in Italy. While football and basketball often dominate discussions, volleyball is another of Italy's most popular sports.

The Italian Volleyball League is globally recognized for its competitive edge, being one of the toughest leagues worldwide. Both men and women passionately participate, showcasing Italy's inclusive sporting culture.

Did you know? Italy is the current champion in the "FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship", and clinched their fourth title at the 2022 tournament, defeating Poland in a thrilling final.

Such accolades highlight Italy's volleyball prowess. For those exploring global volleyball landscapes, Italy's is an unmissable spectacle.

Cycling

Cycling in Italy is a celebrated gem of Italian sports. Italy, with its numerous World Cycling Championship victories, stands as a cycling powerhouse. The Giro d'Italia, a beacon in Italy sports, attracts global attention every May.

This grand three-week event is part of the elite Grand Tours, sharing the stage with the Tour de France and Vuelta a España. Italian legends like Michele Bartoli, Gianni Bugno, and Vincenzo Nibali have left indelible marks on the sport.

For enthusiasts and casual fans alike, Italy's rich cycling history and picturesque routes promise a captivating experience.

Skiing

Skiing, one of the prominent Italian sports, is a testament to Italy's diverse sporting culture. With over 2 million enthusiasts, mostly from the northern and central regions, it's evident why skiing is considered the most popular sport in Italy after football.

Italy's majestic Alps provide the perfect backdrop for this sport, attracting locals and tourists. Italian skiers have showcased their prowess on global platforms, clinching accolades in the Winter Olympic Games, World Cup, and World Championships.

For those exploring Italy's sports culture, the country's skiing landscape offers thrilling adventure and rich heritage.

Athletics

Italy's athletic prowess is a testament to its rich sporting heritage. The nation is celebrated for athletes who've carved a niche globally and consistently brought glory to Italian sports.

Italy's athletic achievements are vast, from legendary sprinters like Pietro Mennea, who held the 200m world record for nearly 17 years, to marathon maestros.

The champions have honored their homeland by clinching titles and gracing prestigious global events. Italy's track and field legacy offers a compelling and inspiring tale for those keen on understanding the heart of European athletics.

Combat Sports

From the roots of Italy's sports culture, combat sports shine bright. Fencing takes the lead as Italy's champion sport, known for its rich history and skilled athletes.

Beyond the elegant duels of fencing, you'll discover a robust community of boxers, martial artists, kickboxers, mixed martial artists, and amateur wrestlers. Each discipline reflects a unique blend of tradition, discipline, and modern competitiveness.

Italy's commitment to these combat arts isn't just about competition; it's a testament to the country's enduring passion for athletic excellence.

Motorsports

Italy's passion for speed is legendary, and it's home to one of the most prestigious names in motorsports, the Ferrari Formula 1 team.

Italy's love affair with motorsports extends beyond Formula 1, with a thriving racing scene that includes events like the Mille Miglia and the Italian Grand Prix. For motorsports enthusiasts visiting Italy, these events offer a chance to witness the country's rich racing heritage up close.

Whether you're an avid motorsports fan or simply looking to immerse yourself in Italy's sporting culture, the world of car racing in Italy promises an adrenaline-pumping experience that will leave you with lasting memories.

Tennis

Tennis in Italy thrives as a dynamic and captivating sport, capturing the hearts of fans worldwide. Notably, Italy boasts professional tennis players consistently ranked among the world's top 100, a testament to their exceptional skills and dedication.

The sport enjoys a robust following from enthusiastic live spectators and television audiences.

One fascinating facet of Italy's tennis legacy is the remarkable doubles duo of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. They etched their names in history by securing the ITF champions title for three consecutive years from 2012 to 2014, showcasing Italy's prowess in the doubles arena.

Beyond the courts, Italy's tennis culture is steeped in tradition, with a blend of passion, talent, and a commitment to excellence that inspires players and fans worldwide.

Rugby

Rugby, a sport deeply cherished in Italy, enjoys unwavering support, particularly in the northern regions. Introduced more than a century ago by the British, it has become one of Italy's beloved sports.

The country has continually nurtured and developed rugby, with the Italian national rugby team participating in prestigious championships and competitions.

So, if you're drawn to the rugged fields of rugby, the country's sporting culture is a rich tapestry waiting to be explored.

Let's Wrap It Up!

If you're eager to discover more adventures in Italy, discover the hidden gems that await you at our list of must-visit hot springs in Italy to make your trip truly unforgettable.

Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is soccer the most popular sport in Italy?
Yes, soccer, known as "calcio" in Italy, is by far the most popular sport. It has a massive following, with Serie A being one of the top football leagues globally, and the Italian national team enjoying widespread support.
2. How successful is Italy in soccer internationally?
Italy has a rich soccer history and has won four FIFA World Cup titles, the most recent in 2006. They have also won the UEFA European Championship twice, in 1968 and 2020.
3. What other team sports are popular in Italy?
Basketball and volleyball are also highly popular team sports in Italy. The country has a strong presence in European basketball and volleyball leagues.
4. Are there any famous Italian basketball players?
Yes, Italy has produced notable basketball talents like Andrea Bargnani, Danilo Gallinari, and Marco Belinelli, who have played in the NBA.
5. What about individual sports in Italy?
Italy excels in individual sports such as cycling, tennis, and motorsport. They have produced famous cyclists like Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi and successful Formula 1 drivers like Alberto Ascari and Michael Schumacher.
6. Is tennis a popular sport in Italy?
Yes, tennis has a significant following in Italy. Players like Sara Errani and Fabio Fognini have represented Italy at the highest levels of the sport.
7. Do Italians participate in water sports?
Yes, water polo is a popular sport in Italy. The Italian national water polo team has won multiple Olympic and World Championship titles.
8. What are some famous Italian athletes in athletics and boxing?
In athletics, Italy has produced athletes like Pietro Mennea, who held the 200m world record for nearly 17 years. In boxing, Nino Benvenuti and Primo Carnera are among the most famous Italian boxers.
9. How can tourists experience sports culture in Italy?
Tourists can experience sports culture in Italy by attending live matches, visiting sports museums and stadiums, and even participating in activities like cycling tours through picturesque Italian landscapes.
10. Are there any major sports events or tournaments held in Italy regularly?
Yes, Italy hosts various international sporting events, including the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the Italian Open in tennis, and the Giro d'Italia in cycling.
11. Is youth development in sports a priority in Italy?
Yes, Italy places a strong emphasis on youth development in sports. Many sports clubs and academies focus on nurturing young talents to ensure a strong future for Italian sports.

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Planning for private Italy tour, make sure you check out these most popular sports of Italy and experience the passion that players have for them.

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Spain occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula, stretching south from the Pyrenees Mountains to the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain from Africa.

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If you move to Madrid, you'll see that the Spaniards take their sports very seriously. From football, to padel, to cycling, there's a sport for every athlete to enjoy here in Spain. Here at Citylife Madrid, we offer several different (free) opportunities for young people in Madrid to get together with other young people to play sports! Join our Citylife Sports Club Facebook page to meet other athletic individuals in Madrid. You can also stay active by joining our Sports WhatsApp to chat and create meet-ups with other sport lovers in Madrid! In addition, there are several different sporting events that occur throughout the year. Be sure to keep an eye out for these events! To read all about how you can get involved in sports in Madrid, while meeting new people, click here! Keep reading to discover the most popular sports in Spain.

Like so many countries, the most popular sport here in Spain is and it's easy to see why. Real Madrid and Barcelona are both Spanish teams with some of the best players in the world (for example, Barcelona has Lionel Messi on their team!). In addition to Real Madrid, Madrid has another team, considered "the team of the people," called Atlético de Madrid. This means, you'll always be able to catch a soccer game in Madrid. The great weather and open-air stadiums make it a perfect spectator sport too. Even during the colder months, the stadium has large overhead heaters to keep spectators warm. The Spanish national side are one of the best in the world and boast players such as Andres Iniesta, Sergio Ramos and David de Gea. Would you like to play football in the very center of Madrid together with people from all over the world? Then join the Citylife International Football League here!

is also very popular, and Spain have their very own tennis superstar, Rafael Nadal. Click the previous link to find out where and how to play tennis in Madrid. Due to the beautiful Mediterranean climate the weather is perfect for a tennis games most days. There are courts all over Spain and multiple tennis academies too. Every year, there is a tennis event called the " Mutua Open," held in early May in Madrid, so be sure to check that out if you love tennis.

is another game played widely across Spain. It's similar to tennis, played with a racket and tennis ball but played on a court the third of the size of a tennis court with glass walls. It was invented in the 1960s in Mexico. In Spain, the first court was built in 1974 in Marbella. Over the years, it has become extremely popular in Spain and is spreading round the world. For example, there is a World Padel Tour in which the majority of the competitions are in various cities around Spain.

Cycling

is a big sport here in Spain, it hosts the Vuelta a España, a race around Spain and one of cycling's biggest events. The scenery and Spanish weather have made cycling very popular and many ride in the hills and mountains. Spaniard Alberto Contador is one of the most successful and well-known cyclists of all time.

Basketball is the second most popular sport in Spain after football. The top Spanish basketball league is considered the best in Europe and multiple teams from the league play in the Euroleague against the best teams from the other countries. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have a basketball team. Spain has also been successfully internationally, they are ranked second best at basketball in the world. Additionally, they have won three Olympic silver medals and one bronze as well as winning the EuroBasket cup, Europe's biggest basketball cup, three times over. Spain's most successful player Pau Gasol has played in the NBA in the US, winning the NBA twice with the LA Lakers.

Handball

Handball is another big sport in Spain, the national team have won two world championships and are the current reigning champions of Europe. Handball is a sport in which a team of seven competes against another team of seven in order to throw the ball into the goal of the other team. Players generally use their hands when passing the ball. Each game takes about one hour to complete. In Spain, the league is divided into different divisions. Their is also an international handball association, in which European countries with handball teams play against each other.

I hope that this guide to the most popular sports in Spain has helped you to prepare for the sports to expect when you arrive in Madrid. Start practicing your skills now, and don't forget to join our Sports Club Facebook Group or Sports WhatsApp Groups ! Don't like any of the sports listed here? Check out our articles about Running in Madrid and Swimming in Madrid! If you have any other Madrid related questions, then don't hesitate to contact us here at Citylife.

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Spain's Most Popular Sports - Citylife Madrid

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If you move to Madrid, you'll see that the Spaniards take their sports very seriously. From football, to padel, to cycling, there's a sport for every athlete to enjoy here in Spain. Here at Citylife Madrid, we offer several different (free) opportunities for young people in Madrid to get together with other young people to play sports!

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by Linda Maraldi

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As everyone can easily imagine, school in Italy is a lot different than school in the United States. But maybe not everyone realizes how different it is. There are so many facts that could be analyzed, but as for this article five of them will be underlined.

Fact 1: We have school on Saturday. Believe it or not, Saturday is nothing but an ordinary day in Italy: people work and go to school as on any other day. Yes, it is a tragedy. No, we do not go out on Friday nights. And yes, we have as much homework as you do on the weekends-maybe even more. Coming here, waking up on Saturday morning and realizing that I did not have to go to school was one of the best feelings I have ever experienced in my entire life.

Fact 2: The relationship with teachers is extremely formal and distant. There is no such thing as extra help during lunch, or little talks like 'What did you do on the weekend?' or 'Did you watch the football game?'. Here is how an Italian lesson works: the teacher takes his place, takes attendance and then starts talking. You take notes and, if the teacher is in a good mood, you might also be allowed to ask questions. If he is in a bad mood, then you have to wait until the end of the lesson (when you have probably already forgotten what you were meant to ask). There is no such thing as late submission: if you do not turn your homework in on the day it is due, you get a 4 (which is basically like a zero, but I will talk about the grading system later).

Fact 3: We have lunch at home. We start school at around eight in the morning, and get out at either one or two. We have two ten minutes breaks during the day. The average length of the journey from school to home is half an hour, so imagine arriving home at two thirty without having had lunch yet. That is why Italian people have to do the shopping everyday: hungry children eat everything that is in the fridge as soon as they come home.

Fact 4: On September 15th, freshman year, we meet the people that are going to be with us for five years, everyday. In Italian schools, teachers move around, and students stay in the same classroom all day. Same class, same people, same subjects for five years. Exciting, right?

Fact 5: Our grades go from one to ten. Below six is fail, and four equals zero. Some teachers, though, like to humiliate students by giving them one or two, which basically means something like 'your q.i. equals the one of a potato, and your presence in this planet does not make any sense at all.' If you fail more than three subjects, you have to repeat the year, which means you are going to graduate one year later, and guess what? We normally graduate at nineteen. If you fail more years in a row, you might as well be ready for retirement by the time you go to college.

After that, I leave you with a question: am I better off here or back home? I suppose you will not have to struggle a lot to guess the answer.

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fb_button] by Linda Maraldi click for larger version As everyone can easily imagine, school in Italy is a lot different than school in the United States. But maybe not everyone realizes how different it is. There are so many facts that could be analyzed, but as for this article five of them will be underlined.

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Here are some interesting Italy Facts which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids.

Population: About 61 million people live in Italy (2023)

Capital: Roma (Rome) with 4.3 million inhabitants

Name: Repubblica Italiana (Italian Republic) or simply: Italia, Nickname: 'Bel Paese' which means beautiful country

Government: Democracy, Republic

Language: Italian. Official minority languages are German, French and Ladin in some regions in Northern Italy

Literacy: More than 98% can read and write

Religion: mainly Christians (80%, of theses most are Roman Catholics)

Currency: 1 Euro = 100 cents, before 2001: Italian Lira

History: Rome was founded in 753 BC by the twins Romulus and Remus. The Roman Empire was founded in 27 BC and Augustus Caesar proclaimed himself emperor of Rome in 31 BC. After the Roman Empire broke down in 395 AD, there were many separate kingdoms and city states. Italy became one nation only in 1861. Since then the country also includes the islands of Sicily and Sardegna. The 'Kingdom of Italy' lasted from 1861 until 1946. During the Second World War, Italy's Prime Minister Benito Mussolini sided with the German Nazi regime. The Italian Republic was formed in 1946.

Prime Minister: Giorgia Meloni (since 2022)

National Day: 2 June (Festa della Repubblica)

National Symbols: Italian grey wolf (national animal), red rose or white lily (national flowers) and the white five-pointed star with a thin red border line

Flag: 'Tricolore' with green, white and red coloured vertical bands. The flag colours are said to represent these virtues: hope (green), faith (white), and charity (red)

Italy Facts
Where is Italy?

Italy is a country in Southern Europe. The country is located on a peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Adriatic Sea borders the eastern side of the peninsula while the Ligurian Sea and the Thyrrenian Sea border the western coastline of Italy. The Ionian Sea is to the south of the peninsula.

Italy borders six countries: France, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Vatican City and San Marino. Both, Vatican City and San Marino, are enclaves within Italy as you can see on the map.

Italy Map

The country is easy to recognize on any world map, as the country is shaped like a high-heeled boot, as you can see on the map above. The island of Sicily could be imagined as a ball, so that it looks like the boot is kicking a ball, don't you think?

Italy is slightly larger in size than the three countries of the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium combined or about as big as the state of Arizona/ USA.

A flight to Italy's capital city Rome takes roughly 2.5 hours from London/ UK and about 8 hours from New York/ USA.

Italy Facts | Italy Geography

Italy has more than 7,600 km/ 4,722 miles of coastline as the peninsula is located for a large part in the Mediterranean sea.

Italy is popular for its many picturesque ports, scenic lakes and sandy beaches.

Italy has two bigger islands, Sicily to the south and Sardegna to the west.

Two islands of Italy, Lampedusa and Lampione, are located far to the south and are closer to Africa than to Italy. Both islands are on the African continental shelf.

There are many smaller islands such as Capri, Ischia and Elba which are all to the west of mainland Italy.

The main cities in Italy are Roma/Rome, Milano/Milan, Firenze/Florence and Napoli/Naples.

The Alps and the Apennines are the two main mountain ranges in Italy. About 40% of the country is covered by hills and mountains.

In the North, the mountain range of the Alps separates Italy from the other European countries France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia.

The highest mountains of Italy can be found in the Alps. The Dolomites are a part of the Alps mountain range in Italy's north and many of the peaks are above 3,000 m/ 9,843 ft high!

There are many lakes in northern Italy, in the centre of the country, the landscape flattens, this flat area is called the Po Valley.

The Apennines mountain range run all the way down the boot and separates the eastern and the western regions of Italy.

And did you know that in Italy, there are still active volcanos?

In the South of Italy you will find Italy's three active volcanoes: Vesuvius near Naples, Etna on Sicily and Stromboli off the Coast of Italy.

Italy Facts | Italy Geography Superlatives

Here are some fascinating Italy facts that are always good to know:

Italy's largest island is Sicily. This island is also the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

The biggest city of the country is Rome with 4.2 million people.

The highest mountain peak in Italy is Monte Bianco, better known as Mont Blanc, which is 4,807 m or 15,776 ft. high.

The longest river in Italy is the Po River in Northern Italy with a length of 652 km/ 405 miles.

Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in northern Italy and famous for the winds that attract many surfers to its shores.

The longest border to any neighbouring country is shared with Switzerland. This border is 698 km/ 434 miles long.

The Etna is the most active volcano in Europe. It is located on the island of Sicily.

And again, remember, Italy surrounds two of the world's smallest countries! These are San Marino in Northern Italy, which is also the oldest republic in the world, and Vatican City in Rome, the smallest country in the world.

Italy Facts
Italy Attractions for Kids

Rome: Italy's capital city is a wonderful place to learn about the Romans and ancient history. There are so many historic sites in the city that is nicknamed 'Eternal City' and you must visit historic monuments as as the Foro Romano (Forum Romanum) with its ancient Roman ruins or the Colosseo.

Venice: This Northern Italian city is often referred to as 'Lagoon City' or 'The City of Masks'. The Italian name of the city is Venezia. Venice is famous for its canals, bridges and gondolas. The city is built on 120 islands and is known for its colourful carnival.

Pisa: The city on the river Arno is famous for its duomo and the leaning tower. One just must experience the Leaning Tower of Pisa which dates back to the 12th century. The bell tower of the main cathedral of the city is as fascinating as the colourful decorated churches.

Ravenna: The city is famous for the ancient colourful mosaics that decorate the city's churches. The extensive mosaic decorations date back to the 5th century and are fascinating artworks to explore. The city was once on of the main centres of Roman Christian art.

Tuscany: The Tuscany is a popular tourist region with scenic countryside in central Italy. The rolling hills invite for hiking trips and there are lovely medieval towns such as San Gimignano, Lucca or Montepulciano. The capital of the Tuscany region is Florence.

Florence: This city in Tuscany called Firenze in Italian is known for its arts museums and historic churches, Renaissance art and architecture. Many of the great Italian artists such as Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci once lived in this city.

Dolomites/Dolomiti and Italian Alps: The provinces in Northern Italy are renowned for fabulous skiing, hiking and mountainside holidays. You should also to visit South Tyrol's capital Bolzano. In the city's Natural History Museum you can marvel at Oetzi, a mummy from the Ice-age.

Alberobello: This small town is located in Apulia (Puglia in Italian). This town in southern Italy is known for its historic stone huts with cone hat-roofs. These unique houses are called trulli.
Read here about the most famous Italian landmarks and attractions here.

Italy Facts | Italian People

Italy is quite densely populated, with most people living in the country's northern regions. The Po Valley, also referred to as Padan Plain, is an area with many industrial centres. Almost half of Italy's population live in the Po Valley. The Po Valley's biggest cities include Milan (Milano), Modena, Turin (Torino) and Verona.

Milan is the main industrial centre of Italy and also known to be one of the world's fashion capitals.

Italians lead a modern lifestyle especially in the urban centres but they also celebrate century-old cultural traditions. Famous festivals that are celebrated annually are the carnival celebrations before Lent. In Venice, these are said to originate in the 12th century.

The Palio in Siena is dating back to 1644 when the first horse race in the city's main square was held.

And of course, Italians love soccer! The admittedly quite brutal Calcio storico match is still played and celebrated in Florence once a year. C alcio means soccer in Italian.

The Italian soccer league is followed by many Italians abroad too: Inter Milan, Lazio Roma and Juventus Turin are just some of the Italian soccer teams which are favoured by Italians.

Soccer, skiing, cycling, surfing or motor racing are just some of the sports Italians have very strong interest in.

The family is very important for Italians, where there are still many big families including grandparents, parents and children in the household.

Italians love their food, which is usually prepared freshly by ' la mama', the mother, or the nonna, the grandmother.

In the afternoon or evening it is common to meet up with family and friends on the piazza. The piazza is the main square of the village or town.

Italy Facts | Famous Italians

Italians are famous for their inventions and discoveries. The Italian explorers Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci explored many places in the Americas while Marco Polo travelled extensively in Asia.

Leonardo da Vinci was a scientist and artist who was the first to prove the world is round and not flat.

Alessandro Volta, was the prioneer who did studies in electricity, hence the name 'Volt' describing a unit of electricity.
More Italy Facts about Famous Italians for Kids: Explorers, Inventors and more

Did you know that Italians also invented the piano and the thermometer?

Italy Facts | Italian Language

Italian is a Romance language and the language roots are in the Latin language. Italian is very close to French, as 89% of the vocabulary are shared, and 82% is shared with the Spanish vocabulary.

Italian is an official language not only in Italy but also in Switzerland, San Marino and Vatican City.
Italy Facts: 10 useful Italian words and terms
The Italian alphabet consists of 21 letters only. The letters j, k, w, x and y do not exist, except for lean words, that means words that originate in another language.

The pronunciation is soft and very melodic and so the language is used in opera and also popular by young pop music artists.

Most young people in Italy learn to speak English, French or German in school.

In remote rural villages in Italy's northern regions, some of the older people, however, do only speak a little Italian and still mainly use a regional language such as German in the Alto Adige or French in the Valle d'Aosta or the unique Ladino (Ladin) language in the Trentino.

Italy Facts | Italy Economy

Italy is one of the original six founding countries of the European Union with Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Read more about the European Union here.

Italy's extreme northern regions and most parts in Southern Italy are used for agriculture. In the North the main produce are dairy products and grains, while in the south mainly fruits and olives are harvested.

Italy also has a lot of industry especial in the country's north around Milan. Among the famous Italian brands are: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Fiat (car manufacturers), Gucci, Prada (fashion) and Ferrero (food - Nutella) or Barilla (food - spaghetti and pasta).

The main trading partners of Italy are Germany, France, the USA and China.

Italy Facts | Italian Food

The Italian main dishes often contain pork and beef, seafood as well as potatoes, rice and pasta (wheat and egg noodles) products and of course, tomatoes.

is surely one of the most famous exports and in Italy pizza is usually baked in a wood-fired oven. Italian pizza is very thin, but loaded with fresh vegetables or thinly sliced ham, salami, artichokes or olives.

The Italian (variety of noodles) is renowned worldwide and there are more than 200 different shapes.

Pizza: probably the most famous Italian dish, pizza was is said to have been invented in Napoli (Naples in English) around the year 1860

Spaghetti: long thin pasta/noodles served with a large variety of topping or sauce

Calzone: this folded-up pizza bread is filled with tomatoes, ham, cheese and all kinds of other filling

Pesto: a thick green sauce made with olives, basil or other herbs and olive oil, pine kernels and parmiggiano, which is an Italian hard cheese

Gelato: ice-cream is another famous Italian invention

Lasagna: this layered pasta dish is made with layers of pasta sheets, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and mince meat

Mozzarella: Italian soft cheese balls, that originally were made mainly from buffalo milk, but today mozzarella is often made with cow's milk

Italians love their food and many dishes are based on fresh vegetables and seafood too. There are delicious sweet cakes in Italy, such as (a yeast cake with raisins), p anforte (a hard and flat fruit cake) and almond cookies such as .
Read more about Italian Food here.
Here is some typical Italian food:

Did you know that Italians eat spaghetti only with a fork and don't use a spoon?

Italy Facts | Animals in Italy

One third of all European animal species can be found in Italy. The country also houses half of all plant species that grow in Europe.

There are over 4,770 endemic species in Italy. Endemic means that these animal species are native and only exist in Italy. There are about 100 mammal species and over 500 bird species. Among the species that you might encounter are the unique Sardinian deer and the Corsican hare.

There are 20 national parks in Italy and 16 Marine Reserves to ensure the protection of threatened species such as the Italian shark or the Italian wolf, the national animal.

Italy Facts for Kids: Sheep are held mainly in Southern Italy and donkeys still help farmers in remote villages as they are trained to carry heavy loads over steep terrain.

Brown bears are protected in Italy. There are only few bears left in the wild now.

In the Alps you will very likely see marmots, a ground squirrel species, which call each other with very high pitched calling sounds. And if you are very lucky you might even spot a lynx, a wild cat with little hair tuffs on the ears!

Resources for Italy Facts

Central Intelligence Agency. "Italy." WorldFactBook. Last updated 22 March 2023. Last accessed 29 March 2023

Città di Venezia. "Carnevale di Venezia." . Last accessed 29 March 2023

Italia Agenzia Nazionale Turismo "Italia." . Last accessed 29 March 2023

Popular Pages | Italy for Kids

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Italy Facts for Kids | Italy for Kids | People | Geography | Food

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Our Italy Facts for Kids will provide facts about Italy, the country and the people, animals, food and so much more. Enjoy exploring Italy with us!

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Schooling in Spain is state-funded and compulsory between the ages of three and sixteen. However, parents or legal guardians must pay for books, materials, and sometimes uniforms for their children. Generally speaking, there are three categories of Spanish schools in the Spanish education system: public schools ( colegios públicos), which are mostly state-funded; private schools ( colegios privados), which are privately funded; and semi-private schools ( colegios concertados), which are funded partially by the state and partially by private sources.

Once the required schooling is finished, a student can then opt to continue studying in their secondary school (the last two years are called Bachillerato) or move on to a vocational school for intermediate vocational training ( Formación Profesional de grado medio). Only those who finish Bachillerato or higher vocational training ( Formación Profesiónal de grado superior) can be admitted to a university.

Let's look at the different types of schools in Spain.

Spanish Preschool

Preschool education in Spain, called educación infantil, is divided into two cycles. The first cycle is for children 0-3 years old and is optional. Therefore, families have to pay for the first cycle of preschool, although there are aid programs for families in need. The second cycle of preschool education is obligatory in Spain, so students 3-6 can attend public preschool for free.

Spanish Elementary School

In Spain, primary school or colegio is made up of six academic school years; students are between the ages of 6 and 12. The objective is to give Spanish students a common, solid education in culture, oral expression, reading, writing, and math.
In general, the teaching methodology focuses on students' cognitive and social development.

Spanish school hours depend on the school, but there are two main schedules. Some schools run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a two-hour lunch break from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Other schools begin at 9 a.m. and end at 2 p.m., the typical lunchtime in Spain. When school gets out, everyone is free to go home for the most important meal of the day (according to Spanish eating customs).

Spanish Middle School and Spanish High School
Compulsory Secondary Education
After colegio, Spanish students enter Educación Secundaria Obligatorio, or ESO. Students in ESO are between 12 and 16 years old, which would be a mixture of middle school and the first two years of high school in the U.S.
By law, Spanish students must finish the four years of ESO, but if they repeat a year and turn 16 before they finish, they are able to leave school if they wish.

The objective of ESO is for students to develop critical thinking skills and other abilities that will help them in their adult lives, such as working as part of a team.
Spanish Baccalaureate
Bachillerato is non-compulsory, free education for students aged 16 to 18, which would be the last two years of high school in the U.S.

Although it's not required, more and more young people are deciding to stay in secondary school for these last two years. During this time, students acquire more specific knowledge related to an area of study of their choosing: art, science and technology, or humanities and social sciences.

Once students graduate from Bachillerato, they can take the university entrance exam or go on to higher vocational training ( Formación Profesiónal de grado superior).

Intermediate and Higher Vocational Training

Vocational Training in Spain, also known as Formación Professional or FP, is job-specific training that prepares students to enter directly into the workforce. In general, the programs last two years and require students to complete an apprenticeship or internship in a company where they can put what they've learned in the classroom into practice.

The difference between intermediate ( grado medio) and higher ( grado superior) vocational training is the amount of theory the student learns and the level of specialization they acquire as a result.

Spanish University and Higher Education

Spanish university degrees usually require four years of study, although certain degrees require additional years. In accordance with the European Commission of Education and Training, Spanish higher education consists of Bachelor or undergraduate degrees ( Grado) for four-year programs, Master's degrees ( Máster) for two-year post-graduate programs, and Doctorates ( Doctorado) for post-master's education.

University studies are not compulsory, so students are responsible for paying for their own higher education. The price of tuition is much lower in public universities than in private universities. There are many internationally recognized public Spanish universities, such as the Autonomous University of Madrid, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the University of Salamanca, and the University of Alcalá de Henares, among many others.

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Education in Spain - Spanish School System - don Quijote

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Schooling in Spain is compulsory between the ages of three and sixteen. Learn more about the Spanish Education System.

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Vietnam Facts for Kids

Learn some interesting information about Vietnam while enjoying a range of fun facts and trivia that's perfect for kids!

Read about the history, culture, borders, currency, population, capital city, cuisine, popular sports and much more.

The official name of Vietnam is the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Two rivers in Vietnam, the Mekong in the south and the Red river in the north of the country reach the sea spread over huge swampy delta plains. The lands in these areas are very fertile, ideal for growing rice and other crops and home to the majority of the country's population.

Vietnam shares a land border with China to the north, Cambodia and Laos to the west.

There are over 92 million people living in Vietnam (92,477,857) as of July 2013.

The capital city of Vietnam is Hanoi, with an estimated population of just under 6.5 million it is the second largest city in Vietnam. The largest city is Ho Chi Minh City which had a population of just under 7.5 million in 2010.

France gained control of Vietnam in 1890, with Japan briefly taking the nation during World War II. In 1945, Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Vietnamese Communist Party, declared Vietnam an independent country. After fighting between the French and communist Vietnam ended in 1954 the communist North and non-communist South were separated.

1957 to 1975 saw war between North and South Vietnam. Countries including the United States, Russia, and China, became involved. The country was reunified under a communist regime. The 1990's saw economic progress as a free-market system and trade with the West began again.

The currency of Vietnam is called the dong.

Traditional culture of Vietnam involves focusing on humanity (nhân nghia) and harmony (hòa), with family and the community valued highly.

The Vietnamese worship a number of cultural symbols, such as the Vietnamese dragon (mythical holy dragon), the lac (mythical holy bird), the turtle and the horse.

Vietnam is the largest exporter of cashew nuts and black pepper in the world with one-third of the global production. The country is also the second largest exporter of rice behind Thailand.

Vietnam has a high level of biodiversity, it is home to approximately 16% of the world's species.

The cuisine of Vietnam traditionally combines 5 fundamental taste elements including: spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water) and sweet (earth).

Vietnamese food is a blend of Chinese and Thai styles and is considered one of the healthiest cuisines in the world with its combination of fresh ingredients like fresh herbs, seafoods, fruits and vegetables along with fish sauce, shrimp paste, soy sauce and rice.

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Vietnam, other sports of interest include table tennis, volleyball, badminton, tennis, and martial arts.

For more information, check out maps of Vietnam or take a closer look at the Vietnamese flag.

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Fun Vietnam Facts for Kids - Interesting Information about Vietnam

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Vietnam Facts for Kids Learn some interesting information about Vietnam while enjoying a range of fun facts and trivia that's perfect for kids! Read about the history, culture, borders, currency, population, capital city, cuisine, popular sports and much more. The official name of Vietnam is the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

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Football (soccer) is exceedingly popular in Vietnam, and volleyball, badminton, wrestling, bicycling, chess, and dominoes are also widely enjoyed. Since 1952, the country has participated in the Olympic Games, with competitors in swimming and water sports, martial arts, rowing and canoeing, weightlifting, table tennis, and track. Tran Hieu Ngan won Vietnam's first Olympic medal at the 2000 Summer Games (in women's tae kwon do). The Vietnamese game of sepak takraw is a volleyball-like sport played with a rattan ball, a net, and the feet; Vietnam's women's team has been a formidable competitor at the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games, as have the country's entrants in men's and women's martial arts, including, wushu, karate, and tae kwon do. Billiards are also broadly popular in Vietnam, and the country's top players compete internationally. In noncompetitive contexts, urban Vietnamese stroll in great numbers on evenings and weekends, especially in the parks and along the banks of lakes and rivers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Media and publishing

Radio and television services are owned and operated by the state and managed by the Ministry of Culture and Information. Radio reaches more of the population than television, as many rural families are located beyond the range of television transmitters or cannot afford sets. Most daily newspapers are in Vietnamese, but there are also several editions in English, and one in French. An array of periodicals is also available in these languages, as well as in Chinese. Newspapers and magazines operate under the supervision of particular state, party, and mass organizations. Although publishing is regulated by the government, the strict controls of earlier years were somewhat relaxed during the 1980s. Glossy magazines catering to the business community and tabloids of a sensationalist nature began to appear in the 1990s. Despite the loosening of government regulations, criticism of the political system, its leadership, and Marxist-Leninist ideology remains forbidden. Vietnam acquired a connection to the Internet in the late 1990s. At first, the government discouraged widespread access by charging high user fees. Early in the 21st century, fees were allowed to drop, and since then Internet use has been growing exponentially. Much foreign information, however, continues to be screened out by the government.
Gerald C. Hickey Neil L. Jamieson William S. Turley

Origins of the Vietnamese people

Relatively little is known about the origins of the Vietnamese. They first appeared in history as the so-called "Lac" peoples, who lived in the Red River delta region, in what is now northern Vietnam. Some scholars have suggested that the Lac were closely related to other peoples, known as the Viet (called the Yue by the Chinese), who inhabited the coastal region of East Asia from the Yangtze River to the Red River delta during the 1st millennium bce. Others have questioned this view, noting that modern-day Vietnamese share many cultural and linguistic traits with other non-Chinese peoples living in neighbouring areas of Southeast Asia.

Linguistic research, which offers a relatively reliable way of distinguishing the various ethnic groups of Southeast Asia, supports the mixed ethnic and cultural provenance of the Vietnamese people. Modern linguistics places the origin of Vietnamese in the Austronesian language group on the basis of similarities in morphology and consonant clusters. It is largely this linguistic link that has led scholars to speculate that Austronesians formed at least a part of the Lac population. However, like Tai, Vietnamese evolved away from the Austronesian language group as it acquired tones as part of its phonemic structure. This may have been the consequence of interaction with Chinese languages, to which Vietnamese (again, like Tai) bears some similarity of tones, but it is also possible that elements of tonality and grammar might have been adopted directly from Tai. From the monotonic Mon-Khmer language family, Vietnamese derived its fundamental structure and many of its basic words. Early script-as well as much political, literary, philosophical, and technical vocabulary-again trace to the Chinese, who at that time were more culturally advanced than the peoples of the Red River delta.

Ethnographic study also reveals the degree to which ancient Vietnamese culture combined elements found among many other peoples within the region. Totemism, animism, tattooing, the chewing of betel nuts, teeth blackening, and many marriage rituals and seasonal festivals indicate the relationship between the Vietnamese and the neighbouring peoples in Southeast Asia. Although Chinese civilization later became the main force in shaping Vietnamese culture, the failure of the Chinese to assimilate the Vietnamese people underscores the fact that strong elements of an authentic local culture must have emerged in the Red River valley long before China established its millennium of rule over Vietnam.

Legends and early history of Vietnam

Legendary kingdoms

According to legend, the first ruler of the Vietnamese people was King De Minh, a descendant of a mythical Chinese ruler who was the father of Chinese agriculture. De Minh and an immortal fairy of the mountains produced Kinh Duong, ruler of the Land of Red Demons, who married the daughter of the Dragon Lord of the Sea. Their son, Lac Long Quan ("Dragon Lord of Lac"), was, according to legend, the first truly Vietnamese king. To make peace with the Chinese, Lac Long Quan married Au Co, a Chinese immortal, who bore him 100 eggs, from which sprang 100 sons. Later, the king and queen separated; Au Co moved with 50 of her sons into the mountains, and Lac Long Quan kept the other 50 sons and continued to rule over the lowlands. Lac Long Quan's eldest son succeeded him as the first of the Hung (or Hong Bang) kings ( vuong) of Vietnam's first dynasty; as such, he is regarded as the founder of the Vietnamese nation.

This legend and other related legends, most of which received their literary form only after 1200 ce, describe in mythical terms the fusion, conflicts, and separation of peoples from the north and south and of peoples from the mountains and the coastal lowlands. The legends show the immortals as mountain dwellers, while the people along the coast are descendants of the dragon lords-a division found in many legends throughout Southeast Asia. The retreat of Au Co and 50 of her sons into the mountains may well be a mythical record of the separation into distinct groups of the proto-Vietnamese in the Red River delta. Those who left the lowlands could be the ancestors of the Muong, who still live in the hills surrounding the delta and are the only ethnic minority of Vietnam closely related in language and customs to the Vietnamese.

According to legend, the Hung dynasty had 18 kings, each of whom ruled for about 150 years. Their country, called Van Lang ("Land of the Tattooed Men"), is said to have included not only the Red River delta but also much of southern China. The last of the Hung kings was overthrown in 258 or 257 bce by a neighbouring warlord, Thuc Phan, who invaded and conquered Van Lang, united it with his kingdom, and called the new state Au Lac, which he then ruled under the name An Duong. Au Lac existed only until 207 bce, when it was incorporated by a former Chinese general, Trieu Da (Chao T'o in Chinese), into the kingdom of Nam Viet (Nan Yue in Chinese).

This kingdom covered much of southern China and was ruled by Trieu Da from his capital near the present site of Guangzhou (Canton). Its population consisted chiefly of the Viet who had earlier been driven by the Chinese from their kingdoms south of the Yangtze River. Trieu Da, after ending Chinese domination and killing all officials loyal to the Chinese emperor, adopted the customs of the Viet and made himself the ruler of a vast non-Chinese empire. After it had incorporated Au Lac, Nam Viet included not only the Red River delta but also the coastal lands as far south as modern-day Da Nang. The end of Au Lac in 207 bce marks the end of Vietnamese legend and the beginning of Vietnamese history, as recorded in Chinese historical annals.

After almost 100 years of diplomatic and military duels between the Han dynasty of China and Trieu Da and his successors, Nam Viet was conquered (111 bce) by the Chinese under the Han emperor Wudi. Thus, the territories occupied by the ancestors of the Vietnamese fell under Chinese rule. Nam Viet was divided into nine military districts with Chinese names, the three southernmost of which, later called Giao Chau, covered the northern half of what is now Vietnam.

Early society

When China extended its rule over Vietnam, the people of the Red River delta were in transition from the Bronze to the Iron Age, although some stone implements were also still in use. These ancestors of the Vietnamese were already experienced at cultivating rice. They had learned how to irrigate their rice fields by using the waters from rivers that were backed up by the tides. Plows and water buffalo were still unknown (the land was prepared for cultivation with polished stone hoes), but the proto-Vietnamese are thought to have been able to produce two rice crops annually. They supplemented their diet by fishing and hunting. Their weapons were mainly bows and arrows; the bronze heads of their arrows often were dipped in poison to facilitate killing such larger animals as elephants, whose tusks were traded for iron from China.

The social organization of the early Vietnamese, before Chinese rule, was hierarchical, forming a kind of feudal society that until the mid-20th century existed among the Tai and Muong minority populations of northern Vietnam. Power was held by tribal chiefs at the head of one or several communities. These chiefs were civil, religious, and military leaders, and their power was hereditary; they were large landowners who kept the mass of the people in virtual serfdom. At the head of this aristocracy stood the king, probably the most powerful of the tribal chiefs.

Archaeological work and, to a lesser extent, ancient Chinese records have revealed that religion was characterized by propitiation of numerous supernatural beings and spirits. Some spirits were those of dangerous animals; while others were those of deceased rulers or other important persons. A great religious festival, almost a carnival, was held at the beginning of spring and was marked by abandon and promiscuity.

In all these respects, the inhabitants of the Red River delta, prior to their subjugation by the Chinese, showed numerous affinities with most of the people of mainland and insular Southeast Asia. It was not until several centuries after the imposition of Chinese rule that the Vietnamese developed more distinct ethnic characteristics.

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Vietnam - Vietnam - Sports and recreation: Football (soccer) is exceedingly popular in Vietnam, and volleyball, badminton, wrestling, bicycling, chess, and dominoes are also widely enjoyed. Since 1952, the country has participated in the Olympic Games, with competitors in swimming and water sports, martial arts, rowing and canoeing, weightlifting, table tennis, and track.

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Information for kids K-6 about celebrations and customs of some Vietnam festivals, especially Tet or New Year, and some other popular Vietnam festivals. Part of a series about the country. Includes easy to read section for early readers. For school and homeschooling projects or just reading for int

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Vietnam is a long, narrow country in Southeast Asia, shaped like the letter 'S'. At its narrowest, it is only 48 km wide.

To the west, Vietnam has borders with Laos and Cambodia, and in the north, a border with China. The South China Sea is to the east and south, forming a three and a half thousand km coastline.

The Mekong River in the south and the Red, or Hong, River in the north both flow into the South China Sea in flat areas called deltas. Deltas form where rivers flow into the sea and are the most fertile agricultural areas.

Altogether there are more than 200 rivers flowing from the highlands to the coast.

The mountains, forests, wetlands and coast provide many habitats that support a large number of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds, including some found nowhere else, such as the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, Vietnamese greenfinch, Chu Yang Sin flying frog, and the Vietnam water snake.

The lotus, pine, bamboo and chrysanthemum are regarded as 'the four graceful plants', with the lotus being a symbol of commitment and optimism for the future. It is also a particular Buddhist symbol of purity.

Official name of country: The Socialist Republic of Vietnam Type of government: Communist state Head of State: President Head of Government: Prime Minister

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Vietnam is a long, narrow country in Southeast Asia, shaped like the letter 'S'. At its narrowest, it is only 48 km wide. To the west, Vietnam has borders with Laos and Cambodia, and in the north, a border with China.

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Information for kids K-6 about Vietnamese food, its essential ingredients and qualities, its preparation and cooking. Part of a series about the country. Includes easy to read section for early readers. For school and homeschooling projects or just reading for interest.

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India loves to celebrate. You could probably find a festival of some sort going on somewhere in India every day of the year. Festivals are the celebration of togetherness in India, often joining people of different traditions and religions in the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation.

There are many auspicious days in India, most of which are celebrated with great zest and full-blown sensory experiences. Some last for a day, others go on for weeks. Let's look at a few of the main ones, and the ways in which you can enjoy them, even if you don't have plans to travel to India.

Rakhi

Rakhi is a festival, meaning "a knot of protection." On this day, a sister demonstrates her love and affection for her brother by tying a thread on his right wrist and praying for his prosperous future. In return, the brother blesses her with good wishes and pledges to protect and guide her for the rest of his life. Nowadays, this has extended beyond family members, and Rakhi threads and gifts are exchanged as a sign of friendship.

According to the Hindu mythology, it is believed that on this day the deity Yamuna used to tie a sacred thread on her brother Yama's (God of death) wrist. Yama was so touched by the custom that he declared that whoever got a Rakhi tied from his sister would become immortal.

How to Celebrate: On this day, tie a colored string around the wrist of those with whom you share brotherly or sisterly love.

When to Celebrate: August 18, 2016 and August 7, 2017

Navaratri

Navaratri, or the Nine Days of Mother Divine, is a celebration of good over evil, which parallels our own threefold spiritual journey of preparing the way, setting our intention, and living Truth.

The festival honors a mythological battle between Mother Divine and the forces of ignorance, which raged for nine days until the Light illuminated the darkness. The nine days are divided into three sets of three days each, during which you may choose to enliven different archetypal energies within you.

During the first three days, focus your intention on removing impurities and actions that no longer serve you. Honor the Goddess Gurga by putting your personal life in order, cleaning your home, paying the bills, etc.

Now that you have cleared the path, for the second set of three days, focus your intention on abundance in your life. This can be material, physical, emotional, or spiritual. Also express gratitude for all the blessings you are constantly receiving. During these days, you honor the Goddess Lakshmi.

During the final three days, your attention should be on cultivating Wisdom, Truth, and Purity in your life through inner reflection, sacred readings, and study. These actions honor the Goddess Saraswati.

How to Celebrate: The final tenth day is Victory Day, a time for celebration and welcoming new beginnings.

When to Celebrate: October 1-9/10, 2016 and September 21-29/30, 2017

Diwali

Diwali is one of the most beautiful and joyous times in the Indian calendar, filled with love and rejoicing. It is a festival of new beginnings, light, abundance, and fulfillment-a celebration of wisdom over ignorance, enjoyed by everyone.

Diwali marks a time for clearing out the old to make room for the new, a time for assessing your strengths and weaknesses. Homes and offices are thoroughly cleaned but it is also a time for inner reflection. Diwali is when you look into your own heart and mind, and ask, "What cleaning needs to be done here?" It's a time to let go of old grudges, angers, and judgments, and to make room for compassion, forgiveness, and love.

During the festival, it is customary to decorate your home with lights. This represents the light to dispel the darkness of ignorance and the light that shines from within your own heart to illumine the coming year.

Diwali celebrates the return of Lord Rama from exile, when the people of his kingdom lit lamps along the road to welcome him home. Diwali is also the welcoming of Maha Lakshmi Devi, the goddess of abundance, purity, grace, and beauty, who is asked to lavish Her blessings of prosperity on all aspects of our lives.

How to Celebrate: During Diwali, take some time for your own inner reflection, recognize the Divinity within, and light a candle or lamp in your window to welcome new beginnings. Diwali is also a time for giving gifts, especially sweets and candies.

When to Celebrate: October 30, 2016 and October 19, 2017

Holi

Also known as the festival of colors, Holi celebrations start on the night before with a bonfire, where people gather to release whatever no longer serves them, into the flames. The next morning is celebrated as a free-for-all carnival of colors, where participants chase and color each other with dry powder and colored water. Anyone and everyone is fair game-friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children or elders.

Holi signifies the arrival of spring, the end of winter, and, for many, a day to meet others, play and laugh, forget the past, forgive, and repair broken relationships.

This ritual is said to be based on Krishna's playful splashing of the milkmaids with water, but mostly it celebrates the coming of spring with all its beautiful colors and vibrant life.

How to Celebrate: Visit special friends on this day and, if you're in India, be sure to wear your oldest clothes!

When to Celebrate: March 13, 2017

Shivaratri

As archetypal energy, Shiva represents Pure Space, Silence, and Potentiality-the core aspects of your essence. Maha Shivaratri, or the "Night of Shiva", is an inner journey of meditation. Legends says it marks the wedding day of Shiva and Parvati. Some also believe that on this night, Shiva as Nataraj performed the 'Tandava' dance of the primal creation, preservation, and destruction. Another legend tells that it was on Shivaratri that Shiva manifested himself before Brahma and Vishnu as a column of Light with no beginning or end, and was recognized as Lord of the Universe.

Shiva supposedly is in such a good mood on this day that he will grant any wish so long as the devotee only eats fruit, drinks milk or water, and stays awake all night chanting his mantras.

Many miracles are said to happen on this night. The sick can be healed, saints levitate or walk on water, some fly magically, and many receive Divine revelations. Married women pray to the Goddess Parvati for the well-being of their husbands, while unmarried women pray for a spouse like Shiva, the ideal husband.

If you can't stay awake all night, chant Om Namah Shivaya a few times before bed.

When to Celebrate: February 24, 2017

Guru Purnima

The relationship between a disciple and his/her Guru is very special. Guru Purnima is the day when students express their deep gratitude for the blessings they have received from their Guru and the Guru pledges his/her spiritual support for the coming year. On this day, disciples will travel from all over India to bring gifts to their Guru.

How to Celebrate: If you have a Guru or a special teacher, offer your love and gratitude.

When to Celebrate: July 8, 2017

Kumbha Mela

The Kumbh is the greatest congregation of human beings on the earth. Some say India is like going to another planet-well, the Kumbh is like going to another universe! Great saints, gurus, sadhus, some in beautiful costumes, others naked, many of whom are rarely seen outside of their forest or mountain hermitages share their blessings with millions of pilgrims over a two-month period.

In mythological times, there was a great battle between the gods and the demons over ownership of the pot ( Kumbh) containing Amrit, the nectar of immortality. Fortunately, the gods won and the nectar was safely carried to heaven. During the struggle, four drops of nectar fell to the earth in India. Each of these four places (Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain), now hosts a Kumbh every 12 years.

Huge tent cities are set up on the banks of the holy rivers to accommodate and feed up to 70 million visitors. Sacred chants and ceremonies continue round the clock and the river is said to flow with nectar, washing away lifetimes of karma for all who bathe in it.

When to Celebrate: The next Kumbha Mela will be in Haridwar in 2022, but each January through February a smaller (3 to 4 million people) Marg Mela is held in Allahabad.

Join Dr. Deepak Chopra and more than 40 of the world's preeminent thinkers, philosophers, doctors and scientists to journey into life's deepest mysteries and seek answers to its biggest questions at our Sages and Scientists Symposium. Click here to learn more.

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7 Main Festivals of India-and How to Celebrate Them

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India loves to celebrate. You could probably find a festival of some sort going on somewhere in India every day of the year. Festivals are the celebration of togetherness in India, often joining people of different traditions and religions in the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation.

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India is a large country with the second biggest population in the world and many different languages, cultures, religions and climates.

India's People
When Indian people greet each other they place their hands together and say "Namaste". This means, "I bow my head to you." Older people are treated with great respect in India. When greeting an elder, some Indians may touch their feet as a sign of respect. India's people come from many backgrounds. Some are very wealthy while others are very poor. Most people live modestly in the large cities. Religion is very important in the culture of India. Most people are Hindu or Muslim, but Christianity, Sikkhism, and Buddhism, and other religions are also practiced. Clothing in India varies by area. Most women wear a sari made of colorful silk or cotton. The sari is one long piece of material that is draped around the body like a dress. Many men wear a dhoti. A dhoti is a white piece of cloth that is wrapped around the hips and pulled through the legs. Not all people dress traditionally in India, but the clothing is always loose due to the heat. Most children in India attend school. Some schools are modern and have books and computers. In poor areas of the cities or in remote areas, there can be 40-60 students in one classroom with little or no supplies. Most schools teach in English because there are too many regional languages. India's Homes
The homes in India are as varied as the people. Most people live very modestly in small apartments or homes in large cities. Many just outside of the large cities live in moderate homes with balconies and gardens. There are also very wealthy people who live in large, modern homes with servants.

India's Culture
The people of India have many languages, religions, and cultures. Religion has been very influential in the music, dance, festivals, and clothing of India. The unique sound of India's music is often created with an Indian instrument called a sitar. This instrument looks similar to a guitar, except that it has a very long neck. There are 18 official languages, but over 1,600 languages and dialects spoken in India. English is commonly spoken in India.

India's Foods
Many of India's people are vegetarians, meaning they don't eat meat. Hindus believe that the cow is a sacred animal and never eat beef. Much of the food in India is flavored with spices such as cinnamon, garlic, and cumin. Most meals include rice, vegetables, bread, and yogurt.

India's Activities
Watching movies is a popular pastime in India. Bombay is the center of India's film industry. Indian children play soccer and badminton and board games like Parcheesi and backgammon. Basketball is becoming more popular in recent years.
India's Animals
India is home to lions, tigers, antelope and Indian elephants. Wildlife lives mostly in northern India, but the natural habitat is shrinking because of India's growing population. Elephants are sometimes used to help plow fields or to move and carry heavy items. There are also many reptiles including the king cobra, pythons, crocodiles, and monitor lizards.

India's Holidays and Celebrations
Diwali is a joyous celebration that takes place on the last day of the last month in the lunar calendar. This is usually at the end of October. During this five day holiday, people light oil lamps and set off fireworks. The holiday is also to worship the goddesses Kali and Lakshmi. People thank them for their good fortune and strength. Diwali is also the beginning of the new year. It is a time for people to reflect on the importance of their lives. They begin the new year with good habits.

India's LandIndia has the second largest population in the world. The land of India has many forms including plains, mountains, and tropical areas. The climates change so much in India that India is said to have three seasons- the hot, the wet, and the cool. India's Cities and Landmarks
Calcutta is one of the most populated cities in the world. It is home to more than 10 million people. Monsoons can bring so much rain to Calcutta that the city can be flooded for months. India's cities are a unique mix of modern and traditional ways of living. The busy streets of the city are crowded with buses, taxis, and cars as well as rickshaws (a type of cart drawn by person or bike) and sometimes camel, cows, or other livestock. Only a small percentage of people in India own a car. Buses, trains, and walking are the primary ways people travel in India. The Taj Mahal is a popular tourist destination in India. It is also one of the most famous buildings in the world. The white marble monument was built by a 17th century ruler as a gift to his wife.

India's Facts: Area: 1,269,346 sq. miles
Capital City: New Delhi
Population: 1 billion
Main Languages: Hindi, English, and Urdu
Currency: Rupee
Products: rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry

References:
All images from Microsoft Office Clip Art and Gallery licensed through Microsoft Front Page and Microsoft.
Map images from Lonely Planet,http://www.lonelyplanet.com
Graham, Leland and Brandon, Traci. A Trip Around the World. North Carolina: Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company, 1996.
Graham, Leland and Brandon, Traci. Another Trip Around the World. North Carolina: Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company, 1996.
Adams, Ganeri, and Kay. The DK Geography of the World. New York: DK Publishing, 1996.

Please do not copy information, text, or images from this site without permission.
Copyright 1999-2003.

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India is a large country with the second biggest population in the world and many different languages, cultures, religions and climates. India's People When Indian people greet each other they place their hands together and say "Namaste". This means, "I bow my head to you." Older people are treated with great respect in India.

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Traditional Chinese Festivals are the life-blood of Chinese life and culture. They are all rich in tradition, history, great food, dazzling lights and flashy decorations! Take a look at these wonderful celebrations!

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Ancient Chinese believed music cleansed people's minds. There were around 70 types of traditional musical instruments. The instruments were a string, wind, and percussion. These are ten of the most common traditional instruments.
Xun
The xun is one of the oldest musical instruments. It is older than 7,000 years. People first used a type of oval stone or bone to hunt. They would throw these stones at their prey. The stone made a whistling sound as the air flowed through the natural holes on the stone. Now the instrument is made from clay or ceramic to look like an oval stone and the holes are added so music can be made by blowing in the mouthpiece of this flute instrument.
Chinese Chimes
Chinese chimes are made from different metals. The chimes are made flat like two tiles pieced together with sharp corners. This helps to make the sound flow faster, making it possible to play them as a rhythmic instrument of several bells together in a group. The bells make two high pitch notes depending on where you strike the bell. They also have decorated patterns on them of humans, dragons and beasts.
Xiao
The Xiao is a vertically played bamboo flute with 6-8 finger holes. The melody of this flute reminds the listener of a lonely moon in the autumn night sky. This flute works on the same principle of blowing air over an empty bottle to make a noise.
Sheng
The sheng is a wind instrument made out of bamboo. It was used to accompany dancers in their performances and is now used for melody in orchestras. There can be many pipes, but the first sheng had 17 pipes with a curved mouthpiece.
Pipa
The pipa is a four-stringed lute with 12-26 frets on a pear-shaped body. The musician holds the instrument upright and plays with plectrums attached to each finger of the right hand. A smaller version is called a liuqin.
Guzheng
The guzheng was first made with a bamboo frame and silk strings. It is a Chinese zither of 18-23 strings and movable bridges. This instrument is typically played by plucking the strings.
Guqin
The guqin is also known as the seven-stringed qin. The body is a long and narrow wooden sound box with seven strings stretched along the top of the box. On the edges are 13 inlaid jade markers. Catalpa wood is used for the base and there are two holes to help make the sound.
Erhu
The erhu is one of the most popular Chinese string instruments. It is a two-stringed vertical fiddle that plays both traditional and contemporary music in China today.
Drums
The drums have been used in Chinese culture for over 3500 years. One of their first uses was for sacrificial and worship ceremonies. Drums were also used for farming and warfare.
Bamboo Flute
The bamboo flute or dizi has eight holes including one blowhole. It is widely used in folk music, opera, and orchestras. The flute is made from either white or purple bamboo. The slender, lightweight instrument is a common one for many people in China.

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Ancient Chinese believed music cleansed people's minds. There were around 70 types of traditional musical instruments. The instruments were a string, wind, and percussion. These are ten of the most common traditional instruments. Xun The xun is one of the oldest musical instruments. It is older than 7,000 years.

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With the largest population in the history of the world, and a history that is arguably richer than any other country, China has a fantastic tradition of sports, dating back to the time of the emperors. Although they have participated in traditional modern sports such as basketball, baseball, and football for over a century, there are numerous other Chinese sports that are great for kids to play to both have fun and get the physical stimulation that they need.

Badminton

A simple and inexpensive game, due to the little equipment it needs, badminton is played with a net that is similar to volleyball, small rackets, and a "birdie" (or shuttlecock). The sport is so popular in China that there are amateur leagues across the country, and people of all ages play it regularly.

Tug of War (Bahe)

Bahe is a traditional Tug-of-War game in which participants stand opposite each other while holding a long, flexible object (often a rope or twine). Players pull on their end of the rope as hard as possible to drag the other team towards them. Not only is Bahe an ancient Chinese sport (created during the Tang Dynasty between the years 618 and 907), but millions of Chinese children regularly participate in it while growing up, and continue to do so as adults.

Martial Arts (Kung Fu)

Kung Fu is a traditional form of martial arts fighting that has been popular in China for centuries. Its tradition has grown immensely over the past few decades, and its teachings has spread to America and dozens of other countries throughout the world. Although it is a violent fighting style, the principles of Kung Fu advocate peace and respect, rather than violence. Nonetheless, Kung Fu remains a method of self-defense, along with a great way to stay in shape and have fun.

Table Tennis (Ping Pong)

One of the most popular games in China, Ping Pang Qiu (the official name) is played by nearly every Chinese child growing up. The country has produced some of the biggest legends of the sport, and regularly competes for the gold medal in the Olympics. Only needing a table, small paddles and a light ball, the game is inexpensive to play, and is fun to learn. Today, China has an estimated 300 million regular table tennis players.

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With the largest population in the history of the world, and a history that is arguably richer than any other country, China has a fantastic tradition of sports, dating back to the time of the emperors. Although they have participated in traditional modern sports such as basketball, baseball, and football for over a ...

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More wheat than rice is eaten in the north. Steamed dumplings are a special dish, as are spring rolls.

Peking Duck too is a famous dish from the north. The city of Xi'an is famous for its dumplings known as jiaozi.

There are many different types of dumpling and each type is shaped differently, depending on what is inside. Some contain chicken, some pork, and there is one dumpling which is pinched to make three sections, each containing a different filling.

Peking Duck

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More wheat than rice is eaten in the north. Steamed dumplings are a special dish, as are spring rolls. Peking Duck too is a famous dish from the north. The city of Xi'an is famous for its dumplings known as jiaozi. There are many different types of dumpling and each type is shaped differently, depending on what is inside.

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| Published in Education in the World | Written by Wade Tackett
These days education in China looks really impressive, especially if we consider the stunning scores Chinese students got on a recent international testing.
The Program for International Student Assessment test students from 65 countries in Math, Reading, and Science. Last time, the number one in all three categories was China. For example, the USA ranked 25th in reading, 23rd in science and 28th in math.

Some critics make hay of these results, highlighting that only a small segment of Chinese students was allowed to take a test. However, China is still a winner in a worldwide school race. The educational system here is pretty rough, but it seems to be effective. Let's take a closer look.

The Compulsory Education Law adopted a decision requiring citizens to have at least 9 years of school education to complete middle school.

Children begin pre-school at the age of three

Typically, Chinese kids are enrolled in a pre-school for three years. After three years of pre-schooling is over, they begin elementary school at the age of six.

Most of Chinese classes start at 7:30 AM and end at 5:00 PM. There are some districts that have school days longer than nine hours, but all schools have classes that last at least eight hours.

Most parents spend more than 14% of their income on their children's education. Financial Times report that in 2008 Chinese parents have spent more than $12.9 billion on additional afterschool tutoring.

The number is expected to increase by 2016.

Additional Saturday classes

Many students attend Saturday classes in science or math. If not, they will have to take part in more one-on-one tutoring activities.

In fact, only 35% of Chinese pupils watch TV more than two hours a day. By contrast, 84% of American students watch TV more than two hours.

The most rigorous curriculum in the world

The students of middle school are required to study Math, Chemistry, Physics, Chinese, and English intensively. These are 5 core subjects on the middle school entrance exam they will have to pass.

Statistics says that an average Chinese student is a grade ahead in math compared to students of elite public schools in New York.

Entrance exams everywhere

Chinese students have to take entrance exams for middle school, for high school, and then for college. The results of exams and tests and the connections your family have are crucial factors in students' future career. Students that are not qualifying for top schools are left future uncertain.

Some researchers report that using calculators in middle school makes higher level mathematics more difficult at the university and college levels.

High level of youth literacy

In China, schools pay great attention to their pupils' literacy. Naturally, the level of literacy is defined as an ability to recognize more than 2,000 Chinese characters in urban areas and more than 1,500 in rural areas. The literacy among young people (the ages between 15 and 24) is more than 99.4%.

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Published in Education in the World | Written by Wade Tackett These days education in China looks really impressive, especially if we consider the stunning scores Chinese students got on a recent international testing. The Program for International Student Assessment test students from 65 countries in Math, Reading, and Science.

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2023 is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit! Join in the celebrations here at National Geographic Kids with these cool facts about China, from its ancient empire to the modern day...
Facts about China

1) The Chinese New Year celebration lasts for 15 days.

2) In China, every year is represented by one of 12 animals.

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3) China's Bailong Elevator carries visitors more than 300m up a cliff's edge.

4) You can buy green-bean-flavoured ice pops in China!

5) In Ancient China, soldiers sometimes wore armour made from paper.

6) In 2010 a 2,400-year-old pot of soup was unearthed in Xi'an, China.

Did you know that we have a FREE downloadable Imperial China primary resource? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!

9) People race boats with dragon designs at a Chinese festival in the spring.

10) Chinese monal birds sometimes build nests in caves.

11) Put together, all of China's railways lines could loop around earth twice!

13) 7th-century Emperor Tang of Shang had 94 'ice men' who made him ice-cream.

15) Asiatic golden cats in the country's south sometimes communicate by spitting.

16) Developed about 5,000 years ago, the earliest chopsticks were used for cooking, not eating.

17) Hong Kong has more skyscrapers than any other city in the world.

18) Chinese white dolphins, which live off southern China, are often pink.

20) China's Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys live at a higher altitude than any other primate except humans.

21) More people speak Mandarin, a Chinese Dialect, as their first language than any other language in the world.

22) China is home to a cluster of ancient rock pillars called the Stone Forest.

23) China's Leshan Giant Buddha, a gigantic stone statue, has 5.5-m-long eyebrows!

24) China's giant pandas are good swimmers.

25) Many Chinese emperors considered themselves to be descendants of dragons.

27) Half of all pigs on earth live in China.

28) It took around 37 years to make the Terracotta Army, a set of around 8,000 clay soldiers built in Xi'an to guard an Emperor's tomb. Take a look at these super-impressive statues in the video, below!

29) Dogs get special treats on one day of the Chinese New Year celebration.

30) Chinese brides often wear red, a colour considered to be lucky.

Country fact file: China

Read our in-depth profile to discover more facts about China....

OFFICIAL NAME: People"s Republic of China

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Communist state

CAPITAL: Beijing (Peking)

POPULATION: 1,393,783,836

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Chinese, Mandarin

AREA: 9,596,960 square kilometres

MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Himalayas

MAJOR RIVERS: Yangtze, Yellow

China's geography

Stretching 5,000 kilometres from east to west and 5,500 kilometres from north to south, China is one seriously huge country! It has lots of different landscapes, too, including mountains, high plateaus (areas of level high ground), sandy deserts and dense forests.

One-third of China's land area is made up of mountains. The tallest mountain on Earth, Mount Everest, sits on the border between China and Nepal.

Chinese people and culture

With a population of over 1.3 billion, China has more people than any other country on Earth. About a third of the population lives in cities, and the rest of the people live in the countryside.

Arts and crafts have a long history in China. Thousands of years ago, the Chinese were some of the first people to use silk, jade, bronze, wood and paper to make art. The artistic writing called calligraphy was invented in China.

Much of China's modern beliefs and philosophies are based on the teachings of a government official who lived nearly 3,000 years ago - Kongfuzi, also known as Confucius. He taught people the value of things such as morality, kindness and education.

China's nature

China's diverse habitats are home to hundreds of species of animals and plants. More than 3,800 species of fish and hundreds of amphibians and reptile species live in the rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

China's forest wildlife is threatened by logging and clear-cutting (clearing the land of all trees) for farmland. Expanding deserts in the north are also reducing animal habitats. The good news is that the Chinese government has created more than 1,200 reserves to protect plant and animal species.

The giant panda lives in the misty mountains of central China and nowhere else on Earth. They can usually be found in thick bamboo forests, where they feast on the leaves of this woody evergreen plant. Sadly, due to habitat loss and hunting, these beautiful bears are on the endangered species list, and it's estimated that only around 1,800 remain in the wild. Although that doesn't sound like many, panda numbers have actually grown by 17% since the 1970s - good news! You cancheck out our panda facts, here.

China's government and economy

China is ruled by a very powerful central government. A huge workforce and lots of natural resources have driven economic change. This has forced the communist* government to allow more economic and personal freedoms, but it has come at a huge cost to the environment, too.

Many experts predict that the 21st century will be the 'Chinese century.' Whether or not that proves to be true, there is no doubt that what happens in China will affect many other nations.

Chinese history

China is the home of one of the world's oldest civilisations, but it has only recently become a 'modern' nation. In the last 20 years, China has changed faster than any other country in the world.

Ancient China was a land of invention. For centuries, China was much more advanced than most other countries in science and technology, astronomy and maths. The Chinese invented paper, the magnetic compass, printing, tea porcelain, silk and gunpowder, among other things.

Did you enjoy these facts about China? Then visit our geography section to take a trip around the world and discover Japan, Peru, Brazil, South Africa, France, the Bahamas ... and more!

* Communism is a system which aims to create a society where everything is shared equally among the people.
* A republic is a form of government where the people elect their leaders to run the country

Words adapted from kids.nationalgeographic.com. Photos: Getty Images UK.

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30 cool facts about China! | National Geographic Kids

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Discover this astonishing country with our facts about China! From famous celebrations and ancient emperors to its wildlife and history...

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Here are some interesting China Facts which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids.

China Facts for Kids

Population: more than 1.423 billion people live in China (2023). The majority of the people live in cities and towns.

Capital: Beijing with 21 million inhabitants is not only China's capital city but also the second biggest city after Shanghai.

Name: People's Republic of China (PRC)

Government: Republic, communist state

Languages: Mandarin or Standard Chinese (official language), while Cantonese (Yue) and Shanghainese (Wu) are among other most spoken languages

Literacy: More than 96% can read and write.

Religion: No main religion, as religious memberships are not supported by the government. Main religions are Buddhist (18%), Christian 5%, Muslim 1.8%, Taoist, Hindu and Folk Religions (22%)

Flag colors: red with five golden stars

National day: 1 October - in 1949 the People's Republic of China was formed

National symbols: dragon and giant panda

National colours: red and yellow

National anthem: 'March of the Volunteers'

History: For many centuries, China has been one of the most advanced civilisations accomplishing major scientific and artistic treasures. The Xia and Shang dynasties are considered as the oldest Chinese civilisations. Over the centuries many emporors ruled the country, the last emperor of China, the last ruler of the Qing dynasty, was Pu Yi who abdicted in 1912. In the 20th century the world was shaken by bloody wars and from 1937-1945 Japan occupied large industrial areas in China and took over the Chinese government. Since 1949 the Communist Party of China rules the country. The president of the People's Republic of China is Xi Jinping - since 2013.

Where is China? - China Map

China is located in the eastern parts of Asia and is the largest country that is entirely situated in Asia.

Chinaborders 14 countries.The countries bordering China are: Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar (formerly called Burma), Laos, Vietnam and North Korea (you will find them on the map below).

China has 23 provinces including the island of Taiwan.

(Please note: Taiwan is an independent country and has its own currency and government. Taiwan is officially called "Republic of China", but not part of China, however, China sees Taiwan as part of the country and as a rebel province as Taiwan is not recognised as a sovereign state by the UN.)

There are also two SARs, which are Special Administrative Regions, that have some autonomy: Hong Kong and Macau in southern China.

China for Kids | China Geography

China is the fourth largest country in the world after Russia, Canada and the USA.

Although China is so large, there is only one timezone!

Most people in China live in the eastern parts of the country, the western parts are only sparsely populated.

The Pacific Ocean forms the natural border in the east and southeast and southwest of the country. In the west, there are the Himalayas, which is the highest mountain range in the world.

Most of the western parts of the country lie on the Tibetan mountainous plateau. In fact, mountains make up the majority of the landscape, dominating over 70% of the landmass.

The huge country has many different climate zones ranging from tropic zones to arctic zones.

In the north, there is the vast Gobi Desert. Deserts make up about 20% of the country.

China Facts | China Superlatives

China is the second most populous country in the world as it is home to almost one fifth of the world population.

The highest mountain on the border with China is the Mount Everest, the world's highest mountains, with 8,848 metres (29,000ft).

The longest river in China is the Yangtze River with over 6,300km (3,914miles) in length. This is also Asia's longest river.

China has the world's longest sea-crossing bridge. The Hongkong to Zhuhai-Macao bridge was opened to traffic in October 2018.

The Gobi Desert which stretches over China and Mongolia is the largest desert in Asia.

China Facts
Attractions for Kids

Great Wall of China: Walk along parts of the over 8,850 km/ 5,500 miles long Great Wall which once was the border of the old Chinese empire. The wall stretches across China from the Korean border into the Gobi desert. This is the longest wall in the world and newer archeological findings report that the entire defence works including the Great Wall and all its branches stretches over 21,000 km/ 13,000 miles! Did you know, that the name in ancient Chinese actually meant 'The 10,000-Mile Long Wall' or 'Incredibly Long Wall'?

Terracotta Warriors: See the over 5000 sculptures of life-size soldiers, made from terracotta, in Xian. The sculptures which are on one of the world's most famous archeological sites, are older than 2,000 years.

Forbidden City in Beijing: The Forbidden City houses the Palace museum with the Chinese Imperial Palace and the Summer Palace, that were still used until 1911.

Potala Palace in Lhasa/Tibet: This is where every Dalai Lama has held his official residence until the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950

Wolong Giant Panda Nature Reserve near Chengdu: See the pandas in their natural habitat and visit the breeding and research centre to learn more about the endangered pandas.

Guilin: The rough limestone karst mountains along the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo are very picturesque. People enjoy rafting on river.

'The Bund' in Shanghai: Shanghai is the largest and most populated Chinese city with the busiest port in the world. The Bund is the megacity's main shopping and business district.

Hong Kong: Visit Victoria Harbour. Enjoy the amazing views of the skyscrapers along the shoreline or get to the top of Victoria Peak and have a bird's eye view of the city and the harbour.

Read more about awesome China family attractions and Chinese landmarks here: Landmarks in China
China Facts | Chinese People

Almost one in five people on our earth live in China, while the country is smaller than the USA. The Chinese government lifted the one-child policy in 2016, now Chinese parents are allowed to have two children.

China surpassed India in population numbers in April 2023.

Many Chinese live in the 'megacities' of the country. Megacities are cities with more than 10 million inhabitants. Six of the 33 megacities in the world are located in China.

In rural areas the living standard is still very poor and many people live there live in huts or along the rivers in stilt houses.

The Chinese love music and opera plays, although the voices of the Chinese opera singers may sound strange to our ears.

Chinese New Year, also called the Lunar New Year, is the biggest celebration on the Chinese calendar. The Chinese calendar start at the end of January/early February each year and every year another animal sign symbolises the strength and the weaknesses. There are 12 zodiac/animal signs and thus every 12 years the animals signs start over again. 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit. Read more here. 2024 will be the Year of the Dragon.

Children look very much forward to the Chinese New Year celebrations which are two weeks long celebrations over the new year when they get gifts, often money wrapped in red envelopes or red packets, from family and friends. Popular 'Lion Dances' also take place during this time. The dragon is the most celebrated symbol of prosperity and strength.
Which zodiac sign are you? Read more about the Chinese New Year celebrations here.

China Facts | Chinese Language

Although Mandarin Chinese is the official language, in many regions other languages are spoken such as Cantonese, Shanghainese, Hainanese or Mongolian.

The Chinese writing is done from top to bottom in little symbols or signs, called 'characters' of which an adult usually knows about 8,000 different characters. With 13 years most Chinese children can read and write 3,000 characters.

Some Chinese words good to know:

Ni hao! means Hello!

Xie Xie means Thank You

Gong Xi Fa Cai means Happy Chinese New Year

China Facts | Chinese Food

The traditional diet in China contains low amounts of protein such as meats or dairy products. Many Chinese dishes are vegetable and soya based. Chinese often eat/drink soup for breakfast and rice based dishes are eaten throughout the day.

Soy, vegetable and rice products are the most common ingrediences in Chinese dishes. Chinese mainly eat with chopsticks and drink their soups instead of eating them with a spoon as we do. Here is some typical Chinese food:

Springrolls: The fried rice paper rolls are surely the most famous food export

Chow Mein: stir-fried egg noodles with chicken strips

Tofu: soy bean curd used in many dishes

Sweet and sour pork: fried cubed pork and fried vegetables in a sweet and sour sauce often made with capsicum peppers and pineapple

Peking Duck: duck roast with crispy thin skin, often served with plum sauce

Dim Sum: Steamed dumplings filled with minced meat or vegetables
Read more about Chinese Food on our new special page here: Food in China
China Facts | China Animals
Read more about endangered animals in China on our special page here: Animals in China
There are many endangered animal species living in China. Among them are the Giant Panda, the South Chinese Tiger and the Chinese Alligator.

China economy

China is part of the BRICS countries - together with Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. China is already considered a world superpower by many. China's economic strength rivals that of the USA and the USA.

The country is rich in natural resources and the top producer of aluminium and iron ore, cobalt, graphite and processed copper among other minerals.

The huge Asian country is also the world's top producer of rice and beer!

The main trading partners are the USA, Japan, Australia and Germany.

Popular Pages

China Facts | Resources

Central Intelligence Agency. "China" CIAWorldFactBook. Last updated 15 August 2023. Last accessed 23 August 2023

BBC News. "World's longest sea crossing". BBC. 23 October 2018. Last accessed 23 August 2023

Maggie Hiufu Wong. "China's Top Megacities". CNN World. Updated 6 March 2019. Accessed 23 August 2023

Miriam Hoffmann. "China Family Adventure". Last accessed 2 February 2022. Great resources to learn more about China can be found on this site. The informative and well laid out website is written and maintained by a Chinese expat and her children and gives comprehensive information and important China facts.

China Highlights. Another good site for China facts and information the main attractions of China is this one. Click here. Last accessed 23 August 2023

View some great images of the Great Wall on the page of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre here. Last accessed 23 August 2023

Also find good info on TravelChinaGuide on the Great Wall here. Last accessed 23 August 2023

Return from China Facts to Kids-World-Travel-Guide Homepage
Feel free to contact us if you or your school would like to join in our schools project. Looking forward to hearing from u! And enjoy learning more great China Facts soon:-)

Competition 2023 closed

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Competition 2024 will be announced in February

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China Facts for Kids | China for Kids | Geography | Attractions

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Our China Facts for Kids will provide you with country facts, information on people and culture about China for kids

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Italian food is more than just Pasta and Pizza. Not only every region but also, every small village has its own typical dishes, often made with ingredients that can be grown or found only in that area. From wild truffle sauce to wild pig salami sandwich, every little kiosk can be a pleasant surprise for your taste buds. Then, just when you thought the dinner was over, there is the Gelato (ice cream). Sold in cones or colorful tubs, you can get it to go, and for coffee, cappuccino and espresso coffee are just waiting for you on every street corner.
With such a wide variety of food, choosing is definitely the hardest part of any meal.
Just as the weather gets better from North to South, so do the pizza and gelato. The most authentic pizza can be eaten in Napoli where it was originally invented, while the tastiest gelato can be eaten in Sicily, even though, nowadays, Sicilian style ice- cream shops can be found everywhere.

Since the secret of Italian food is simplicity. When ordering a pizza you should ask for a Margherita, this is only tomato and mozzarella. Even better is Buffalo mozzarella, which is a mozzarella made from the milk of buffalo, that only live in the South) When ordering a gelato just go for chocolate, cream, and seasonal fruit flavors. If the gelato maker (gelataio) is good, it doesn't get any better than this.
Italian Clothes. Italian Fashion
In Italy, each region has a traditional costume, however, nowadays, people only wear a traditional costume during special celebrations (these are often agricultural festivals such as the end of the harvest season) and historical parades.
Traditionally a woman's costume consists of a long, wide dress, which must cover her ankles. This is worn with a tight bodice and a short a small waistcoat. Women usually wear a cap or a veil too. The fabric used and also the color of the bodice and dress may denote the region she is from and also her status. Costumes made of silk were very common in Lombardia where the silk industry has flourished since the 16th Century. In the South, costumes were made out of wool or Orbach as it is called in Sardinia.

Traditional men´s costumes were less elaborate. Usually consisting of tight pants tucked inside long boots. Obviously, white trousers dirtied easily and were, in the past, difficult to clean, so white pants were worn only on special days when farmers did not work, or worn by more affluent men who did not work on the land. They also wore a shirt with a tight waistcoat, often a vest or a jacket and a hat. The shape of the hat depended on the region. In the North, people wore harder, more rigid hats, whereas, in the South, people wore a softer one such as a berretta.

Nowadays, however, people dress much more casually.
Italy is famous all around the world for its fashion and style and tourists from all over come to shop and visit famous boutiques in Rome and Milan (such as Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, and many others). Fashion is not just a hobby for wealthy people since you can find some great clothes at street markets too. Sometimes real treasures can be found among the vendors of Porta Portese, a Sunday street market in Rome or La Montagnola (the Friday/ Saturday street market in Bologna) Also, these days, many second-hand shops specialize in vintage clothing.
Italian Festivals, Holidays and Celebrations
In Italy, every village has its own little festival, often related to the typical food of the region, but the most well known are, probably the Truffles Festival of Alba and the Chocolate Festival of Turin (where Nutella was born) and Perugia (where Baci Perugina were invented).
Aside from food festivals, others very famous Italian celebrations include the Carnevale di Venezia (Venice Carnival) and the Palio di Siena. The Carnevale di Venezia is a weeklong event that harks back to the time of the Renaissance, stirring memories of a long-gone era.

Couples dressed in silk and lace and wearing masks, walk around the streets of the old town and through the squares (in Venetian dialect calli and campi) and pose in the most magical corner of the city for the pleasure of both tourists and professional photographers that come from all over the world just to take home some incredible shot.
The Palio di Siena is a horse race that dates back to the Middle Ages and it is still run following the ancient rules and traditions. Every horse in the race represents one of the downtown quarters and competition is fierce. The jockeys ride bareback around the main city square. Many of them fall off, however, since in this race all the attention is on the horse, even a horse with no jockey ( cavallo scosso) can bring its quarter to victory.

Famous Italian Stories or Epics

Italy is full of history so every battlefield, castle, city tower and stone, basically carries its own story or some very peculiar legend. A very famous one is the legend of Azzurrina (the little blue one), the daughter of the Rossena Castle porter. She was called Azzurina because of her odd features: she was a beautiful little girl with exceptionally fair skin and long, blue hair. Because of her strange hair color none of the other kids wanted to play with her, so she was often seen playing alone in the shadow of the castle courtyard. One day a sudden and heavy summer storm hit the valley and from that day she disappeared. All the castle was in despair because she was such a sweet little child that nobody could help but love her, and her parents spent the rest of their lives looking for her everywhere. They often asked the merchants that traveled the main road for news. Still, today, when a summer storm puts an end to the warmest summer days, some people can still hear the sound of a child laughing and playing around the castle courtyard.
Italian Children's Games
When I was in kindergarten, we played 1-2-3- Stella (1-2-3-star) a very simple game that keeps us entertained for hours at a time. One person is 'it' and has to stand to face a wall with his/her eyes closed and 'it' says out loud ´1-2-3- stella´. In the meantime all the other kids have to stand away from the wall (5 meters away was usually the starting point) and move quickly towards it, while 'it' is counting. Once the word 'stella' was said, 'it' could turn and open their eyes while the other kids had to stop and stand still in whatever position they were in when 'it' said 'stella' and turned. Anyone who couldn't stand still had to go back to the starting point. The game ends when someone can touch the wall.
He/she is the winner.
Verbal and Nonverbal Communication in Italy
In Italy, people talk as much with their hands as they do with their mouth. Many foreigners find that very charming and a bit funny, however, it is true that Italian cannot fully express themselves without gestures.
This makes every conversation very theatrical and fun to watch.
When your hands move so much, you end up invading other people's personal, hence, in Italian culture, as in many other Mediterranean cultures, people tend to maintain a short physical distance and touching each other (hands on shoulders, pats on the back) is pretty common even among people that barely know each other. Even greetings among strangers became a kissing affair and, the number of kisses on the cheek that make a greeting proper changes moving from the North (just one kiss or even just one shake of the hand among man who meets for the first time) to the South, where there might be 3 or 4 kisses on the cheek even between people who barely know each other.
Italian Values
Still, nowadays, most Italian people consider themselves Catholics so Italy is full of old and, sometimes, new Catholics churches. The most important is, of course, the church of St. Peters, where the Pope lives and the body of St. Peter is supposedly buried.
In general Italian people are very close to their family and they often don't leave their parent's house until they are about 30 years old. Up to 40 years ago, people were actually only leaving home when they got married, but today things are different and once they graduate from high school or University, many young people move to another city (often a bigger city in the North such as Bologna, Milano or Torino) looking for better working or studying opportunities.

However, even when the kids have left, the mothers don't stop cooking for them and a few times a year a package full of traditional homemade food will appear on the doorstep of a kid who is living too far away to be able to enjoy a traditional Sunday lunch every week.
Italian Fun Facts
Many Italian are highly superstitious so they try to spend the day in bed when Friday 17th comes around. They will change their path if a black cat crosses them, they never walk under a ladder and, when they spill salt, they throw a handful of it over their left shoulder using their right hand so to scare the little demon that stands behind them. Unlike many other cultures, for Italians, the number 13 is a very lucky number and some people always wear a charm in the shape of a number 13, often paired with a little red corn (very similar to a red chili pepper). Golden charms like these are considered lucky and they are often given to young children as a present on the day of their baptism. Even though superstition is slowing disappearing, many people try not to sit 12 guests around their table (13 people at the table with the host) and, when this is unavoidable, they prepare the table for 14 anyway so do not have the night ruined by some unfortunate events they brought on themselves.

Famous Places
Since Italy is full of history, almost every city has at least one famous place, so any travelers could choose for themselves where to go next. However, as a start, everyone should visit Rome at least once.
Rome, the capital of one of the most famous ancient empires can be considered a huge open-air museum.
Florence is the place where The Renaissance reached its highest peak of beauty and culture.
Venice, probably the most beautiful and romantic city in the world was once also one of the world's most important trading cities.
Examples of Italian arts such as paintings and statues can, nowadays, be admired in many museums of the world, but nothing beats the magic of seeing a Michelangelo or a Leonardo Da Vinci in their place of origin, walking in the city where the artist lived and breathing the air that they breathed.

When in Rome: Beautiful Must -See Places of Rome.
The Pantheon
The Pantheon is a temple/church in Rome. It is absolutely beautiful and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every month. The original Pantheon was built in 27 BC-25 BC under the Roman Empire, during the third consulship of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and his name is inscribed on the portico of the building. The inscription reads, M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT, "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time, built this."

The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of granite Corinthian columns under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus), the Great Eye, open to the sky. The weight of the dome is concentrated on a ring of voussoirs 8.5 meters in diameter (almost 30 feet), which form the oculus. A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda. In the walls at the back of the portico were different sections for statues of Caesar, Augustus, and Agrippa. The large bronze doors to the cella, once plated with gold, still remain, but the gold has gone. The pediment was decorated with a sculpture in bronze showing the Battle of the Titans, holes can still be seen where the clamps, which held the sculpture in place were fixed. It is adorned with paintings and a garden.

Roman Colosseum.
The Colosseum's name has long been thought to be derived from a colossus (a 130-foot or 40-meter statue) of Nero close by. The statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Sol or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was replaced several times by the head of succeeding emperors. At some time during the Middle Ages, the statue disappeared; people believe that since the statue was bronze, it was melted down for usage of other things. Evidence of its base may be found between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Roma and Venus.
The Colosseum is an arena, a huge and vast space of masonry walls and can be seen miles away because of its height and width. The Colosseum measures 48 meters high, 188 meters long, and 156 meters wide. There are 80 arches on each of the first three levels, making 240. The wooden arena floor was 86 meters by 54 meters, and covered by sand. Its elliptical shape kept the players from retreating to a corner and allowed the spectators to be closer to the action than a circle would allow. Over 100,000 cubic meters of travertine stone was used in its construction.

Many plays and fights were viewed in this area.

The Temple of Venus and Rome
This is the largest temple in Ancient Rome. It is located at the far east side of the Forum Romanum, near the Colosseum. It was dedicated to the goddesses Venus Felix (Venus the Bringer of Good Fortune) and Roma Aeterna (Eternal Rome). The designer was emperor Hadrian. Construction on the temple began in 121AD.
It was officially inaugurated by Hadrian in 135AD but the building wasn't actually finished until 141AD under Antoninus Pius.
The building measured 110m in length and 53m in width. It was placed on a stage measuring 145m in length and 100m in width. The temple is made up of two main chambers (cellae), where the cult statue of the god was, in this case, the statues of Venus, the goddess of love, and Roma, the goddess of Rome, both of them seated on a throne. The cellae were placed symmetrically back-to-back. Roma's cella faced west, looking out over the Forum Romanum, Venus' cella faced east, looking out over the Colosseum.

Pastiera di maccheroni AND MORE!!! Fun and Fast Italian Recipes for Kids
Pastiera di maccheroni
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped, 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped, 9 ounces pancetta, cubed, 18 ounces ground pork, 2 tablespoons freshly chopped rosemary, 1 x 14 ounce can cherry tomatoes, Salt and pepper to taste, 2 3/4 cups (11 ounces) penne rigate, 4 large eggs, 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Follow these steps .......
-In a large saucepan, heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil and sauté the onion and carrot for 5 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
-Add the pancetta with the ground pork and rosemary and cook, stirring continuously, until browned all over, about 5 minutes.
-Pour in the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat for an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool to room temperature.
-Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and add to the meat sauce. Stir well and let cool.
-Preheat the oven to 350°F.
-Break the eggs into the pan of cool pasta and sauce, then add the grated Parmesan. Mix together.
-Brush the remaining oil over the side and base of an 8 1/2-inch round nonstick baking dish with sides about 2 inches deep. Pour in the pasta mixture and spread out evenly.
-Cook in the center of the preheated oven for 20 minutes until crispy and set.
-Once cooked, let rest for 5 minute-it will be easier to cut and serve, as the layers will hold together. VOILA!!!!

Turkey Sausage & Tortellini in Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce
Ingredients: 1 pound Italian-style turkey sausage, casing removed, 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free), 1/2 cup water,1 can (about 14.5 ounces) diced, undrained tomatoes, 1 pound frozen cheese-filled tortellini, 2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves, grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
-Cook the sausage in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often to break up the meat.
-Pour off any fat. Stir the soup, water, tomatoes, and tortellini in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes or until the tortellini is tender.
-Stir in the basil and serve with the cheese, if desired.

Arugula Pesto, Ricotta, and Smoked Mozzarella Pizza
Ingredients: Cornmeal, for dusting, 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese, 2 garlic cloves, crushed, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded smoked mozzarella cheese, 1 packed cup (1 ounce) arugula, Flour, for dusting, 1 (1-pound) ball store-bought pizza dough, Olive oil, for drizzling, 2 plum tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
How To:
-In a food processor, blend the ricotta, garlic, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add the smoked mozzarella and arugula. Pulse until just combined but still chunky.
-On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 14-inch circle, 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Spread the ricotta mixture on top, leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange the tomato slices on top and drizzle with olive oil.

Mama Mia! Homemade Italian Pizza Recipe for Parents to have fun with their Kids (Mama Mia part 2)
Ingredients: 1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, divided 1/2 cup water (105 F to 115 F), 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can whole canned tomatoes, undrained 1 medium onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 small red bell pepper, cored and seeded 1/2 small green bell pepper, cored and seeded 4 fresh medium mushrooms, 1 3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese , 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese , 1/3 cup sliced black olives, 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
Directions: -To proof yeast, sprinkle yeast and 1/2 tsp sugar over warm water in small bowl; stir until yeast is dissolved.
- Let stand 15 minutes or until mixture is bubbly. (If yeast does not bubble, it is no longer active. Always check the expiration date on yeast packet. Also, water that is too hot will kill the yeast; it is best to use a thermometer.)
- Place 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/4 tsp salt in medium bowl; stir in yeast mixture and 1 tbsp. oil, stirring until a smooth, soft dough forms.
- Place dough on lightly floured surface; flatten slightly.
- To knead the dough, fold dough in half toward you and press dough away from you with heels of hands.
- Give the dough a 1/4 turn and continue folding, pushing and turning.
- Continue kneading, using as much of the remaining flour as needed to form a stiff, elastic dough.
- Shape dough into a ball; place in a large greased bowl.
- Turn to grease the entire surface. Cover with clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise in warm place 30 to 45 minutes until doubled in bulk.
- Press 2 fingertips about 1/2 inch into the dough. The dough is ready if indentations remain when fingers are removed.
- For sauce, finely chop tomatoes in can w/knife, reserving juice.
-Heat remaining 1 tbsp. oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook 5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds more. Add tomatoes and juice, tomato paste, oregano, basil, remaining 1/2 tsp. sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt and black pepper
-Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Pour into small bowl; cool.
-Punch dough down. Knead briefly (as described in step 3) on lightly floured surface to distribute air bubbles; let dough stand 5 minutes more.
-Flatten dough into a circle on lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough, starting at center and rolling to edges, into a 10-inch circle. Place the circle in greased 12-inch pizza pan; stretch and pat dough out to edges of the pan. Cover and let stand 15minutes.
-Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Cut bell peppers into 3/4-inch pieces. Wipe mushrooms clean w/damp kitchen towel and thinly slice (trim stems if desired).
-Mix mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses in small bowl. Spread sauce evenly over pizza dough.
-Sprinkle with 2/3 of cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
-Then remove from oven and raise oven temp to 400°F (200°C).
- Arrange bell peppers, olives, mushrooms, and chicken on top of the pizza. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top, and bake at new oven temp for a further 10 minutes or until cheese is completely melted, and looks done.

Mama Mia!!! What you didn't know about Pizza.......
No trace can be found of the inventor of pizza because it was considered a meal for peasants in Italy. No person of higher rank would be caught eating it. Over centuries, it quickly became a household favorite comfort food.
Food historians have come to a unanimous decision that pizza- like dishes were eaten by many people in the Mediterranean including the Greeks and Egyptians. To our pizza-loving readers, did you know that modern pizza has been attributed to the baker Raffaele Esposito of Naples? In 1889, Esposito who owned a restaurant called the Pizzeria di Pietro baked what he called "pizza" especially for the visit of Italian King Umberto I and Queen Margherita. Gennaro Lombardi at 53rd and 3rd Spring Street in New York City in the United States of America opened the very first pizza shop here in 1905.
Why is the pizza round? Actually, a lot of pizza comes in squares, but to save space, people would make pizza round so that it could fit into a box without compromising the actual food. Americans eat approximately 350 slices of pizza per second. And 36 percent of those pizza slices are pepperoni slices, making pepperoni the number one choice among pizza toppings in the United States. That's a lot of pizza!!!

From the Electronic Battery to Buffalo Wings, Italian Inventors and Crazy Things!!!
Buffalo Chicken Wings--- Teressa Bellissimo---- 1964
Electric Battery----- Alessandro Volta---- 1800
Jacuzzi----- --- Jacuzzi Brothers-----1968
Ice Cream Cone----- Italo Marcioni-----1896
Pretzels------- Italian Monks----- Circa 610 AD
Thermometer----- Galileo Galilei------1593
Wheel Lock----- Leonardo da Vinci----16th century
Telephone----- Antonio Meucci-----1871
Piano------ Bartolomeo Cristofori------1709
Big Mac----- Jim Delligatti-------1976
Catapult----- Dionysius the Elder of Syracuse----399 B.C.
Eyeglasses---- Salvino D'Armate-----1268-1264
Radio------- Nikola Tesla----1895
Scissors---- N/A----1500 B.C.
Yo-Yo---- Romans---N/A
Liposuction--- Dr. Giorgio Fischer---1974
Cursive Handwriting Aldus Manutius---N/A
Ambulance-- Mountain Troops---1872
Carbon Paper-- Pellegrino Turri---1806
20 Helicopter --- Enrico Forlanini---1877

Popular Children's Literature of Italy
Aesop's Fables (Dover Children's Thrift Classics):
(Author- Aesop, Pat Stewart) Ages 4 to 8
- The Adventures of Pinocchio: The Story of a Puppet.
(Author- Carlo Collodi, Iassen Ghiuselev) Ages 9 to 12
- Pompeii.
(Author- Peter Connolly) Ages 9 to 12
- The Buried City of Pompeii: What It Was Like When Vesuvius Exploded (I Was There)
(Author: Shelley Tanaka, Greg Ruhl)
Ages 9 to 12
- Vulca the Etruscan (Journey Through Time Series)
(Author: Roberta Angeletti, Beatrice Masini) Ages 8 to 12
- Leonardo and the Flying Boy.
(Author: Laurence Anholt) Ages 8 to 14
- Bravo, Zan Angelo!: A Commedia Dell'Arte Tale With Story & Picture.
(Author: Niki Daly) Age 10+
- The Legend of Old Befana.
(Author: Tomie De Paola) Ages 4 to 10
- Big Anthony: His Story.
(Author: Tomie De Paola) Ages 4 to 8
- Opera Cat.
(Author: Tess Weaver, Andrea Wesson) Ages 4 to 8

Historical Figures of Italy: Painters, Hero's, and More, for kids!!!
Donatello:
Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi) was born in 1386 and died on December 13, 1466. He was a famous sculptor and artist in Florence in the Early Renaissance period. Famous statues include Gattamelata and David.
Columbus:
Cristoforo Columbo (Christopher Columbus) was born in 1451 and died May 20, 1506. He was an explorer and trader who sailed to America, reaching it on October 12, 1492. His discovery initiated the colonization of the Americas.
Michelangelo:
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born March 6, 1475, and died February 18, 1564. Michael Angelo was a Renaissance sculptor, architect, painter and poet. Angelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, sculpted the famous David and Pieta, and designed the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Galileo:
Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer, astrologer, physicist, and philosopher closely associated with the scientific revolution. Galileo was born February 15, 1564, and died January 8, 1642. Galileo improved the telescope, observed various aspects of astronomy, developed the first and second laws of motion, and found proof to support Copernicanism. The conflict Galileo experienced with the Roman Catholic Church is seen as an example of the freedom of thought conflict.
Versace:
Gianni Versace created the Italian clothing business known as Versace in 1978. Donatella Versace with Santo Versace as CEO now heads "Versace". As one of the world's leading international fashion houses, Versace designs, markets and distributes luxury clothing, accessories, and fragrances, makeup and home furnishings.
Roman Centurion:
Originally a term for an officer commanding one hundred soldiers. As the rank developed several degrees of elevation, so did the number of men under the centurion's command. These officers were chosen for their intelligence and courage in battle. They were expected to lead the charge as an example.
Niccolo Machiavelli:
A highly placed bureaucrat and diplomat in the Florentine republic, whose writings over a wide range of topics gave us a penetrating view into renaissance culture and politics. For almost five hundred years, men in high places have been influenced and encouraged to follow his outline for power, as stated in his book Il Principe (The Prince), based somewhat on his familiarity with the notorious César Borgia.
Emperor Nero:
From 54 to 68 AD. Adopted by Emperor Claudius, he succeeded him upon his death. His reign was characterized by extravagance and tyranny. Morally weak and extremely sensual, he was guilty of many murders, including his own wife's. He was accused of allowing the fire that destroyed two-thirds of Rome to burn. Nero escaped being overthrown by committing suicide.
Pope Alexander VI:
A member of a dynasty of Spanish popes, he was seen as one of the "seven bad popes," but he was no better or worse than others of his time. He bought his election to the papacy, practiced nepotism with his large family, and tried to strengthen the papacy through the conquest of central Italy.
Cesare Borgia:
He was Machiavelli's model for his ideal ruler, "The Prince." He was very passionate about revenge and avenging murders.

Girls
ADRIANA: Feminine form of Latin Adrianus, Spanish Adrián, and Italian Adriano, all meaning "from Hadria."
ALLEGRA: Italian name meaning "cheerful and lively."
ANJELICA: Variant spelling of Italian Angelica, meaning "angelic."
ELISABETTA: Italian form of Greek Elisabet, meaning "God is my oath."
GABRIELLA: Feminine form of Italian Gabriele, meaning "man of God" or "warrior of God."
GIOVANNA: Feminine form of Italian Giovanni, meaning "God is gracious."
BALBINA: Little stammerer or stutterer, Also the name of a Catholic saint and early Roman martyr
ARIETTA: Small melody is sung by a soloist; variant of Aria
CARMELA: Garden, orchard, vineyard; Mount Carmel in Israel is considered a paradise.
DONNALEE: Lady; from the respectful title Donna

Boys
ARSENIO: Italian and Spanish form of Latin Arsenius, meaning "virile."
BERNARDINO: Pet form of Italian Bernardo, meaning "bold as a bear."
CLEMENTE: Italian, Portuguese and Spanish form of Latin Clementius, meaning "gentle and merciful."
DORIANO: Italian form of Latin Dorianus, meaning "of the Dorian tribe."
ELIA: Italian form of Hebrew Eliyah, meaning "the Lord is my God."
EMILIANO: Italian and Spanish form of Latin Æmilianus, meaning "rival."
GERVASIO: Italian, Portuguese and Spanish form of Latin Gervasius, meaning "spear servant."
GUIDO: Italian name derived from medieval Latin Wido, meaning "wide."
JOVANNI: Italian form of Latin Johannes, meaning "God is gracious."
LEONARDO: Italian, Portuguese and Spanish form of German Leonhard, meaning "lion-strong."
Learn Italian

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Italian food, music, language, and Interesting facts

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Italian food is more than just Pasta and Pizza. Not only every region but also, every small village has its own typical dishes, often made with ingredients that can be grown or found only in that area. From wild truffle sauce to wild pig salami sandwich, every little kiosk can be a pleasant surprise for your taste buds.