MarcoGram February 2006 -- Spotlight on Italy

Spotlight on Italy
As the world prepares for the opening of the XXth Olympiad on February 10, this month's MarcoGram casts a spotlight on the nation hosting this year's Olympic Winter Games -- Italy. From its rich and colorful culture to its fascinating history, Italy and its people consistently have played a prominent role in the course of human events. Use the activities below to get your students thinking about this remarkable country, then scroll down for more links and resources on this topic.

A portion of The Creation of Adam (c. 1511), a fresco by artist Michelangelo in Rome's Sistine Chapel--one of the most celebrated examples of Italian art.

1. Suggested grade level: 9-12. From the days of the Roman Empire to the 21st century, and particularly during the Renaissance era, Italian artists of all kinds have had an immense impact on human culture. Famous Italian artists such as da Vinci, Michelangelo, Puccini, Vivaldi, Dante, Brunelleschi and Donatello are widely considered to be among the greatest of all time in their respective fields. Their influence and that of other Italian painters, composers, writers, architects and sculptors continues to be felt around the world.

Can you give some modern examples of the influence of Italian art on American culture? (Answers will vary. Some possibilities include Dan Brown's novel The DaVinci Code, the music of Andrea Boccelli, and the persistent popularity of Raphael's Two Angels. Students might also mention Italian fashion designers, such as Versace or Armani.)

In perhaps the most stunning homage to Italian art and architecture, the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was designed in part to evoke the Classical Roman temple, the Pantheon. Show students some images of the U.S. Capitol, available on the website of the Architect of the Capitol, and compare them to images of the Pantheon. What similarities do the two buildings have? (Both have a dome, rotunda with a cubic pattern, columns, marble floors and ornate archways.) Why do you think the architects of the Capitol chose to replicate these design points? Mention to students that both buildings have statues and frescoes as well that may be difficult to see in the online photos. Most of the Capitol's frescoes were painted in the 19th century by Constantino Brumidi, an immigrant from (where else?) Italy!

Learn more about some famous Italian artists, writers and composers and their works in:

"A Storybook Romance: Dante's Paolo and Francesca" (9-12) from EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities

"Aida and Its Relevance to the World Today" (9-12) from ARTSEDGE, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

"Renaissance Humanism in Hamlet and The Birth of Venus" (9-12) from ReadWriteThink, International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English

Fibonacci
(1170-1250)

2. Suggested grade level: 6-8. The Italian mathematician Fibonacci, also known by his real name, Leonardo of Pisa, was one of the greatest geniuses of number theory of the Middle Ages. It was he who discovered a number pattern, now known as the Fibonacci sequence, that numerically describes many patterns that appear in nature. In the early 13th century, Fibonacci was asked to figure out how many rabbits could be produced from a single pair in a year's time, given certain conditions. In solving the math problem, he developed the Fibonacci sequence, which is: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144…

How is each number in the sequence derived? (Each number is the sum of the two previous numbers.) What is the next number in the pattern? (233) What patterns in nature do you think might be defined by a mathematical sequence like the Fibonacci sequence?

The Fibonacci sequence appears repeatedly in the natural world -- the number of leaves, flower petals and seeds that a plant will produce is typically a Fibonacci number. Nautilus seashells exhibit the Fibonacci sequence in the pattern of their spirals. Give students the opportunity to observe this phenomenon firsthand by bringing into class a pineapple, a pinecone and a sunflower. Allow students to observe each closely in an attempt to uncover an application of Fibonacci numbers in each specimen. Discuss their findings. (Pineapple scales tend to be patterned in rows of 8, 13 and 21; rows of pinecone scales occur in patterns of 5, 8 and 13; sunflowers' petals and seeds are usually arranged in pairs of 21 and 34, 34 and 55, 55 and 89, or 89 and 144.)

Explore the Fibonacci sequence and other number patterns in:

"Exploring Other Number Patterns" (3-5) from Illuminations, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

"The Fibonacci Series" (6-8) from Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science

3. Suggested grade level: K-2. Have you ever seen a mummy at a museum or on a television show? If you have, then you probably know that in some ancient civilizations, the bodies of people who had died were dried out and wrapped tightly in cloth to preserve them just as they were at the time of their death. Now, can you imagine an entire city being turned into a mummy? That's kind of what happened to the Italian city of Pompeii, which stands at the foot of a large volcano called Vesuvius. Nearly 2,000 years ago, Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the city and the 20,000 people who lived there under cinders and ash, and preserving that moment in time forever.

What do you think daily life was like for people who lived in Pompeii 2,000 years ago? How was it the same as our lives today? How was it different?

Pompeii was all but forgotten until 1599, when it was rediscovered. Archaeologists who later went to the city to dig were amazed by what they saw -- a whole city that had been preserved by the hot ash that fell upon it many centuries before. Show students the following images of buildings and artifacts recovered from the ruins of Pompeii:

Pottery (Note: Click on each image to enlarge.)
Market
Bakery with Millstones and Oven
Streets
Garden

Ask students to identify each image. Are structures or items like these still in use today? Where would you find them? How have they changed since the time of Pompeii? How have they stayed the same?

Find out more about volcanoes like Mount Vesuvius in:

"Earthquakes and Volcanoes" (3-5) from Xpeditions, National Geographic Society

"Erupting Volcanoes!" (K-2) from Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science

4. Suggested grade level: 3-5. Italy is a part of the continent of Europe, which is home to more than 700 million people in some 49 independent nation-states. Many of these nations have been in existence for a very long time and have developed their own language, culture and customs, as well as their own form of currency. In Italy, the lire used to be the main unit of currency, as the dollar is in the U.S. However, in 1992, 12 European countries, including Italy, agreed to convert their currency into a single currency that could be used throughout Europe, making trade between nations much easier. The new currency is called the euro, and it officially replaced the lire and other traditional units of currency in January 2002.

If you were traveling in Italy, you would use euros to make purchases, just as you would use dollars here in the U.S. However, their value is not the same -- one U.S. dollar does not equal one euro. When you travel to Europe, you have to exchange your American dollars for euros. As of January 20, 2006, €1.00 = $1.20.

Imagine you will be traveling to Turin, Italy, for the Winter Olympics. Using the current exchange rate, how much money in American dollars would it cost you to purchase a €5 flag to cheer on your team? (€n = $n x 1.20 so €5 = $5 x 1.20 = $6) If you wanted to buy a pizza that costs €10, how much would this be in American dollars? (€10 = $10 x 1.20 = $12)

Discover differences between currencies used throughout the world in:

"Making Cents out of Centimes" (3-5) from EconEdLink, National Council on Economic Education

"What Face do you Use?" (3-5) from EconEdLink, National Council on Economic Education