From Mount Etna to the trulli of Alberobello, to Rome's Colosseum, Italy is packed with important sights. Still it is a lesser known of the Italy fact that it has 55 world heritage sites.

-The Sistine Chapel welcomes over 20,000 visitors per day

Painted by Michelangelo in 1512, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City is one of the most famous monuments in the world. While certainly the most impressive, it's actually just one of a number of fabulous frescoes that decorate the chapel.

-13 of Shakespeare's 38 plays are set in Italy

Romeo and Juliet is set in the city of Verona (you can even visit "Juliet's balcony" for yourself), while Julius Caesar takes place in Rome. Othello and the Merchant of Venice are set in Venice (no surprise there) while Much Ado About Nothing is based in the Sicilian city of Messina. Even though there's no evidence that the Bard spent time in Italy himself, his depictions of the country are surprisingly accurate.

-Tourists throw €1,000,000 into the Trevi Fountain each year

According to myth and legend, tossing a coin into Rome's Trevi Fountain guarantees you'll return to the Eternal City. And it seems everyone likes Rome so much they want to return, because roughly €3,000 of change is thrown in the Trevi Fountain every day. This amount to a staggering million pounds a year. In case you were wondering: the money is collected and donated to charity.

-The country was under a dictatorship for 20 years

The fascist dictator Benito Mussolini ruled over Italy from 1925 until 1945. Before assuming control of the country he served as prime minister for three years, from 1922. Known as Il Duce (which means the leader), Mussolini started out as a radical socialist but aligned himself with Adolf Hitler in the lead up to World War II. He was killed in 1945 by partisan troops.