Italy in numbers

By attributing numbers to monuments, places, services, and much more, you will discover something unique about this incredible country.

1. The only three active volcanoes in Europe
Stromboli, Etna and Vesuvius are the only three active volcanoes in Europe. All three are located in Southern Italy, and Etna is also the most active volcano in the world!

Etna, Sicily

2. Fifty UNESCO sites
Italy, with its fifty extremely beautiful sites that are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is currently the country with the highest number in the world.

3. The shortest river in the world
In the province of Verona, precisely in Malcesine, you can find the shortest river in the world, which is only 175 m long. It is called "Ri" and crosses the hamlet of Cassone, then flows into Lake Garda.

4. The smallest country in the world
The Vatican State is recognized as the smallest autonomous country in the world. In fact, its area measures only 0.44 km².

Vatican City

5. 140 types of pasta!
Did you know that there are 140 types of pasta in Italy? It is incredible to say!
In addition to spaghetti, there are bucatini, penne, pennette, tagliatelle, lasagna, fettuccine, cannelloni, rigatoni, orecchiette, and much more.
The distinction is made on the basis of the shape, the type of flour used, the preferred cooking method and the presence of the egg or filling in the dough.
Some varieties are produced only at a regional level, while others, despite being produced throughout Italy, are known by a different name from region to region.

Pasta

6. The oldest university in Europe
The University of Bologna is the oldest university in all of Europe: it was founded in 1088. This is where you get your “Laurea Magistrale”, which is equivalent to the English “Master's Degree”. In Italy, 13 other universities are more than 500 years old.

7. Restaurant for two
On the subject of curiosity, Italy also boasts a very small restaurant called “Solo Per Due” and, yes, it is only for two people, because it has only one table. We are in Vacone, in the province of Rieti, in the Region Lazio, and this Italian restaurant is the smallest in Italy and in the whole world.

8. The mother of pizza
Italy is the place where pizza was officially born. In fact, this was invented right in our country around 1860 in Naples.

Pizza

9. The first car with an internal combustion engine
The first car powered by a petrol engine was designed and built by an Italian, Eng. Enrico Bernardi in 1884.

10. Bank
Italy also has the oldest bank in the world still in business: Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, operational since 1472.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena

11. Annual coffee quantities
That is why Italians gesticulate so much when they speak! Is it the effect of coffee? Every average Italian consumes 3.7 kg of coffee per year, and around 14 billion coffee are produced every year.

12. The birth of Nutella
Italy is the place where Nutella was born. This delicious product has all Italian origins: it was invented in Cuneo, in the Region Piemonte, in 1964 by Ferrero, starting from previous experiments on a cream called Supercrema.

Nutella

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