How many historic personalities can claim to be an accomplished painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer?
It has been claimed that Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) is the only person in all of history to fit that description.
Two of da Vinci’s paintings are perhaps the most famous paintings of all time, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. In addition, his manuscripts are full of anatomical, mathematical, optical, mechanical, geological, and botanical studies. Light years ahead of his time, he diagramed helicopters, tanks, workings of solar power and much more.

The height of the Renaissance period is exemplified by the master artist, sculptor, painter, architect, and poet Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, (1475 – 1564). He has been described as the greatest artist of his age and some say, even as the greatest artist of all time.
Michelangelo considered himself more as a sculptor than anything else, as his great love was working with marble. 
At the very top of the list of Michelangelo’s classical works are the beautiful frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.  Other legendary works include the Statue of Bachus, the Pieta, the 17-foot depiction of King David, Moses and the Creation of Adam.

The birthplace of opera been attributed to Italy and a major figure in the long history of Italian opera singers, the great tenor Enrico Caruso (1873 – 1921), can be said to top the list.
Enrico Caruso sang in every major opera house, not only in Italy, but also throughout Europe, North America, and South America.
Caruso’s formal training began at the tender age of 18 under the tutelage of Guglielmo Vergine.  Within three years, Caruso made his remarkable operatic debut, in Mario Morelli’s L’amico Francesco in Naples at the Teatro Nuovo. A string of impressive performances followed, launching a career that would lead him to become the most celebrated and highest paid singer of the opera world.

When you think of world class fashion, the name of iconic Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani should be on the top of your list. Armani launched his illustrious career in 1975 and built his company into a billion-dollar mega conglomerate.
The Armani label features his signature menswear line together with a luxury fashion line and an array of accessories, footwear, cosmetics, and home decor.
Armani has been the recipient of numerus international   fashion industry awards including the Award for Best International Designer, Lifetime Achievement Award for Menswear and for Art and Fashion from the CFDA.

Any Italian will emphatically tell you that there are only two types of pizza in the world: Italian Pizza and all other pizza.
Just as there might be a debate as to what pizza is the best tasting there is also one regarding the origin of the word itself , with many suggesting that the word “pizza” is thought to have come from the Latin word pinsa, meaning flatbread.
An archeological discovery found a preserved Bronze Age pizza in the Italian Veneto region. But it was not until in the Middle Ages, that pizza developed a more modern look and taste.  And, it was only in the 18th / 19th centuries, with the introduction of tomatoes to Italian cuisine, that the modern pizza appeared. 
History aside, when in Italy, tasting the different varieties of authentic Italian pizza is an absolute must.

Pasta or pizza, whichever you prefer, both of these authentically Italian dishes have become popular everyday dishes around the globe.
Legends abound regarding the origin of pasta, the most common being that the famous Venetian traveler, Marco Polo brought back pasta from his trips to China. However, it appears more likely that nomadic Arab traders brought pasta to Italy via the Silk Road trading route prior to Marco Polo’s travels.
Whichever way they arrived in Italy; Italians are said to eat over sixty pounds of pasta per person yearly – as opposed to an average of twenty pounds per person in the USA.
Pasta can be served as dried (pasta secca) or fresh (pasta fresca), and there are approximately 350 different shapes and varieties of dried pasta in Italy, named after each specific region or area. Fresh pasta is often made with slightly different ingredients than dried pasta: in northern Italy they use all-purpose flour and eggs while in the south, semolina and water are used. 

Gelato or Ice Cream? What’s the difference?
The word Gelato in Italian means frozen, and Gelato is a popular Italian type of ice cream. A key difference between Gelato and ice cream, at least American ice cream, is that it contains two thirds less butterfat and less air, giving it a more intense flavor.  Gelato is considered to be the healthier snack, with its all-natural ingredients and less fat content.
Gelato is also served at a temperature that is 10-15 degrees warmer than ice cream.
Gelato traces its origins to the 16th century and its introduction may be credited  to Bernardo Buontalenti, of Florence, who served it at the royal court of Catherina dei Medici.