president nixon believed that france, italy, and latin america should be ruled by authoritarian regimes, rather than democratically elected leaders.

 pepperoni was invented in the united states, and combines elements of italian and german sausages.

the number of people who claim to be possessed by a devil has been on the rise of late. 500,000 italians claim demonic possession each year.

ferdinand ii, grand duke of tuscany, invented the first sealed thermometer in 1654 ad.

italy is the world's largest exporter - and importer - of olive oil. a large volume of 'italian' olive oil is actually from spain.

it's against the law to mail photographs to italy, as well as any toys not made of wood.

italy's credem bank has 430,000 wheels of parmesan cheese stored in its vault, and makes loans against them.

pretzels were invented by an italian monk who used them as bribes to get kids to memorize scripture.

poveglia island, located near venice, italy, has been the site of plague quarantines going back to roman times. more than 160,000 charred corpses make up much of the island's topsoil, and bones still wash ashore to this day. that may be why the island is uninhabited.

if you live in greece, italy, spain, or germany, you get a holiday bonus each year that is equal to one month's pay - by law.

the vatican has the highest crime rate in the world - 1.5 criminal cases for every person, 20 times higher than the rest of italy.

because of a genetic mutation, the residents of limone sul garda in italy have evolved to be extremely resistant to heart disease. the mutation has been traced back to one couple who lived there in the 17th century. as a result, residents live to be 100 years old or more.