This is an Ode about Italy. The name Italy comes from “Italia” meaning “Calf Land” perhaps because the Bull was a symbol of the southern Italian tribes (lines 1-2). It is the birth place of the Renaissance which was a period of great cultural achievements in poetry, painting and architecture. Famous artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo Da Vinci were part of this period (lines 3-4). The Italian family stands at the heart of Italian society, prompting children even to their 30s to still stay with parents (line 5). At its speak in A.D 117, the Roman Empire covered 2.3 million miles and about 120 million people. The highest peak of Europe is the White Mountain “Monte Bianco”. (lines 6-7). Italian is a Romance language descended from Vulgar Latin with more Latin words than any other Romance languages (line 8). There are 2 independent states within Italy: the republic of San Marino (line 10) and the Vatican city (line 11). 2 Italians in particular contributed to the 18th century’s enlightenment: Casare Beccaria (1738-1794), whose essays on crime and punishment led to bread reforms on the treatment of prisoners and criminals and Giambattista Vico (1668-1774), a philosopher rhetorician and historian who is often thought to have ushered in a modern philosophy of history (lines 12-14). The “three fountains”, Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), Francesco Patrarch (1304-1374) and Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) are arguably the 3 most famous Italian authors of all times (line 14). Italy is the home to world class fashion designers (Nino Cerrati, Valentino, Armani, Varsace, Gucci and Prada) and sport Cars (Ferrari and Lamborghini) (line 20). The Sardinian islands are famous for their ‘witches’ who make health portions for local people (line 17). The leaning Tower of pisa was built in 1173 and began to lean soon after, probably due to a poorly laid foundation (line 17). Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an Italian-born scientist. When he argued that the Earth revolved around the sun, the Catholic Church imprisoned him in his own house. Carlo Collodi was the Italian Author of “Pinocchio” meaning pine nut (line 21). The Italian wolf is Italy’s unofficial national Animal (line 22). The pre-dinner passeggiata “evening stroll” is one of Italy’s most enduring leisure activities where Italians stroll about the streets to see and be seen (line 23). The University of Rome is Europe’s largest University with 150,000 students (line 26).