Fun Fact Friday

Keeping with the travel/Italy theme, a few fun facts about Italy!


(source)

~ Italy is only slightly larger than Arizona ~ The average Italian makes $26,700 a year, but residents of Northern Italy can make as much as $40,000
~ Italy's unemployment rate is 8.6%, but can be as high as 20% in the Southern part of the country
~ Italy is the 4th most visited country in the world with 40 million tourists per year
~ The average Italian consumes 26 gallons of wine per year
~ The area around Venice is the wealthiest in Europe
~ "Ars longa, vita breva" means "Art is long, life is short" and refers to the Italian's love of leisure.  (*I could totally adopt this way of life)
~ The colors of the Italian flag represent three virtues: Hope (green), Faith (white), and Charity (red)
~ Italy has 3 active volcanos: Vesuvius, Etna, and Stromboli
~ The Vatican City (at 108.7 acres large) is the only nation in the world that can lock it's own gates at night
~ There are currently more than 500 types of pasta eaten in Italy today

*facts found here and here