Letters Home From - Italy

by Lisa Halvorsen

Here's a unique approach to learning about world cultures and countries. In each first-person account of an international trip you'll experience a country through the eyes of a young traveler. Presented as if you are receiving a letter home from your best friend each day, you'll find out all about the country's land, people, cities, religion, wildlife, food, daily life, history, and much more. The Letters Home From ... series is like taking a trip around the world without ever leaving your chair! Each title

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was in the mood to read books about Italy, because I recently read a book set in Italy, and have another one to read. I saw this in my library's catalog and decided to try it.
I wasn't expecting this to be in journal format, as if a kid wrote it. Apparently I didn't pay close attention to the title.

I liked the part 'I closed my eyes for a moment, and I could almost hear the shouts of a long-ago political rally.' It really brings it to life, and we're able to use our some of our senses to picture and hear it.
The Vestal Virgins once had 50 rooms and was attached to the Temple of Vesta, goddess of fire.

The Colosseum was originally called the Flavian Amphitheater. Emperor Vespasian began building it in AD 72. It had 80 entrances, including 4 just for the emperor and his guests. It had 3 levels of seats with an awning along the top to protect against the sun and rain. It could hold up to 50,000 people. I was so surprised to hear there's a lot of stray cats in the Colosseum. They're protected by the government. The Colosseum was used for wild animal fights and contests between gladiators. The Christian martyrs who died while fighting are buried in catacombs beneath the city. I had heard that Christians were made to fight.

The pantheon was built in 27 BC by Marco Vispanio Agrippa as a temple to all gods.
I love that Rome is called the "eternal city." It's the largest city in Italy.
The Spanish steps were where, in the 1700s, the most beautiful men and women in Italy waited to be chosen as artists' models. I've never heard of that!

The most famous fountain is the Trevi fountain, with a statue of Neptune. The guide told them to face away from the fountain and throw a coin into the water. That means you'll return to Rome someday. If you throw a second coin in, you can make a wish.
For lunch, they stopped at a sidewalk cafe and stared with an antipasto (appetizer). Each of Italy's 20 regions has it's own specialty dishes.

St. Peter's Basilica is the world's largest church. You can view the statue of the Pieta. It was carved from marble by Michelangelo when he was 25.
Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine chapel while lying on his back, it took him 4 years. I thought the last book I read said 11 years.

The National Archaeological Museum in Naples has artifacts from nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum. When archaeologists excavated the city more than 200 years ago, they found intact houses, temples, and shops, and even a bakery with bread still in the oven.
Mount Etna is the highest and most active volcano in Europe.
They drove along the Amalfi coast to Paestum, which was once a Greek city called Poseidonia. It has the Temple of Athena, and two temples for Hera.

A book on Italy I read before this mentioned Saint Francis, how he wanted to be a soldier but had a vision telling him God wanted something different for him, but it didn't say that he was born into a wealthy family, and gave up his riches to be a monk.

Siena is on 3 hills, and broken into 17 districts. Each distract, known as a contrada, is represented by an animal, like a goose, eagle, or elephant. One is a dragon.

Each year 10 districts are chosen to compete in the Corsa del Palio (Parade of the Banner). That was a little reminiscent of the Hunger Games. There's a procession with flag bearers, musicians, horses, and riders. Everyone dresses in medieval costumes. The main event is bareback horse racing around the Piazza del Campo.

The San Giovanni is a cathedral with a blue ceiling and gold stars, that resemble the night sky. An inlaid marble floor contains biblical scenes.
-Florence is the "cradle of the Renaissance."

The Ponte Vecchip was built on the Arno River in 1345. The shops were originally for blacksmiths, tanners, and butchers. A corridor was added that allowed the Medici family, rulers of Florence, to move about without having to come in contact with the public. Wow!

The Church of Santa Croce has the tombs of Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Galileo.
The Florentines have a soccer match in June where they wear medieval costumes to commemorate a match in 1530. It lasts 3 days and ends with a firework display.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was built in the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles).
Venice has 150 canals, and more than 400 bridges.
On the Canale Grande (Grand Canal), the main waterway, in Venice, you can watch gondolas and vaporetti(water buses) carry ppl and goods.

That's cool at the Basilica di San Marco, four bronze horses stand guard, and the clock tower displays the phases of the moon and the signs of the zodiac. Every hour, lifelike bronze figures strike the bell.
The Bridge of Sighs connects Doges' palace to the old prison, supposedly named for the sighs of prisoners being taken to trial.
Murano has the Glassworks Museum. Eyeglasses were invented in Venice in the 13th century. Glassblowers make vases and other objects.

I like at the end, it says they said "arrivederci" (goodbye) to Italy, so kids can learn an Italian word. Actually, there could have been more Italian words put in throughout! She wonders when she'll return to Italy, and although she learned a lot about the history, culture, and daily life of the Italians, there's so much more she wants to see and do, showing that there's so much Italy has to offer you can't learn it all in one trip.

This was written in an engaging way that can be more interesting than reading a plain informational book. I think kids will really like this, because it's got great info in it, and it covers the most famous parts of Italy, in a fun way. That's a good idea for children's literature to write it in this way, because I think it'll make learning funner for them.
I didn't expect to find any new information in here, because it was so short, and I just got done reading a very detailed book on Italy, so I was really surprised to find new things in here that I'd never heard before. That was really cool. However, after a while, I got impatient for it to end. It kept covering more cities, more architecture, more sites, and I was just ready to get done with it. It's weird how it felt long, even though it was only 32 pages.