Italy - Peninsula Of Contrasts (1952)

[Music] along the Southern Shores of Europe an oddly shaped Peninsula is thrust into the Mediterranean Sea Italy and though Italy looks like a boot it is an odd boot indeed it dips its toe into some of the warmest bluest Waters in the world while at the top its snowcapped mountains are open to Cold Wind yes this is Italy a peninsula of contrast at once oldfashioned modern and up toate artistic and religious where the people of today live side by side with the relics of a long and Rich [Music] path the contrasts begin in the north where high mountains form the border of the country these are the Alps whose snow covered Peaks have protected Italy for centuries from the threat of invasion but at the same time the these rugged mountains have also isolated Italy from peaceful contact with her neighbors to the north the Highland farmer tends flocks of sheep and goats on the Mountain Meadows or harvests grain with primitive tools these Northern Mountain dwellers have had closer contact with their Swiss and Austrian neighbors than the Italians many who live in these mountains even speak two languages Italian and German and the bond Children of the region often bear a closer resemblance to Northern Europeans than to the people who live in the rest of Italy there is a natural beauty to these mountain regions that is continually refreshing but every deep walled Alpine Valley reminds us that roads through the mountains are few and costly railroad operations are also difficult and expensive sometimes the northern Italians find it more practical to use cableways to reach Mountain Villages often a cable car Rises High into the mountains past the many waterfalls that are common in the Alp and that are an important source of power for Northern Italy Mountain Streams harnessed by huge hydroelectric plants run the trains and the cable cars light the cities and make the industrial Machinery turn all over Northern Italy most Italian industry is in the North in the wide po valley largest flat area in a country ribbed with hills and mountains in the po valley is a city of turine important man ufacturing center nearby is Milan the Industrial and Commercial Center of the nation here in Milan large factories produce automobiles trucks Harvesters and many other machines near the factories and in sharp contrast to them is the Milan Cathedral one of the world's most beautiful buildings a white marble structure whose construction was begun more than four centuries ago the Railway Depot at Milan is the Hub of rail transportation for Northern Italy here in the flat po valley railroads can operate efficiently and highways can be built straight and level and here in the broad flat Fields there is room for the power tools of modern agriculture like tractors plows and Harvesters which run most efficiently on level land the machines and commerce of the po valley make this the most prosperous section of all Italy below the po valley runs another range of mountains they are not as high and rugged as the Alps but their slopes are still not suitable for the use of the farming Machinery seen in the po valley in the same steep Fields where grain is being raised there are olive trees and between them strung on wires are grape Vines through three crops are raised in this one field to get the greatest possible use from the soil on such poor land farmers can rarely afford machinery and oxen are often used to pull Farming tools and carts where there is no machinery and no power water has to be carted into the farmyard by a wagon the farmer's wife often has to carry it into the house bucket by bucket the wife of an appenine farmer often uses corn stocks to heat the bricks in her outdoor oven after the ashes have been swept out loaves of dough are brought from the kitchen put on wooden paddles and pushed into the oven where heat from the bricks will bake them into bread Rural Life in the appenines with its crude farming and cooking methods has been virtually unchanged for centuries some hills are crowned by ancient cities often built over a thousand years ago in medieval times their High walls were protection against warlike neighbors such old cities are very crowded their narrow streets were meant for horses and carts rather than Automobiles and trucks very few houses have electricity and if a housewife talks about running water for cooking and washing she can only mean the public Fountain the girls washing clothes here can look up and see a fine old Cathedral a monument testifying to the patience and skill of their forefathers the medieval Artisans and craftsmen who built these structures with loving care more than five centuries ago among the hills of central Italy is the art center of southern Europe it was here in the bright Mediterranean sunlight of the 16th century that the Dark Ages Drew to an end and the whole Western World opened to the imaginations of men like Leonardo da Vinci of Galileo of Michelangelo the Pono or old Old Bridge was standing over a 100 years before Columbus discovered America on the bridge are shops of Jewelers and silver smith which for centuries have been occupied by skilled Craftsmen here many florentines hand to leather into lovely examples of artistry or with skilled hands carve delicate patterns in objects of silver their work helps preserve the reputation of their City Florence as the birth place of the Renaissance another of the great cities of central Italy is Rome scattered among the modern buildings of the city are ruins that tell the story of the growth and decline of one of History's Greatest Empires about 3,000 years ago Rome was just a small village centered around a Marketplace and protected by a walled fortress on the Palatine Hill as centuries passed Rome conquered her neighbors extending the limits of her Empire to include almost all of Europe and the Mediterranean Shores by this time the simple Village of Rome had grown into a magnificent City and the marketplace had become the Roman Forum the center of government for the great Roman Empire in this huge Arena the col colum games athletic contests and spectacles were held now in modern times the Coliseum is a huge ruin many of the old Roman buildings were destroyed when the empire was invaded by the vandals destruction continued in the following centuries of the Dark Ages today in the ancient Roman Forum only a few marble columns and ruined arches remain of the powerful city which once ruled Europe modern Rome is an important center of the Christian religion and here one large branch of Christianity has its focal point Vatican City the Vatican is only 108 acres in size and is completely surrounded by the city of Rome yet it is a separate nation independent of Italy and governed by the Roman Catholic Church within its walls are Gardens art museums libraries public buildings and quarters for about a thousand persons who live there the city is protected by Swiss guards wearing bright costumes designed by the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo centuries ago the vatican's most important building is St Peter's Cathedral although this huge church was built about 400 years ago it is still one of the world's largest and finest buildings outside the Vatican walls and all around it lies Rome the capital of Italy and a metropolis as modern as any of the capitals of the world Southern Italy's most important city is the seaport of Naples built around a natural Bay Naples has a fine Harbor that attracts shipping from all over the world shipping that brings food that cannot be grown on the rugged Italian soil and the iron ore the oil and the coal that Italy needs for her factories but does not have in her land Naples has the wide Avenues of a busy modern city and it has the narrow and crowded streets that are far more common in southern Italy than in the more prosperous North near Naples is what remains of the ancient Roman city of Pompei perhaps the best preserved ruins ever found M vvus an active volcano erupted nearly 2,000 years ago and smothered an entire living city under a 20ft blanket of Ashes today most of those ashes have been removed much of our knowledge about life as it was lived in the ancient Roman Empire comes from the many inlaid mosaics statues wall paintings and utensils that have been found in the excavation of Pompei along the coast near Naples are many small villages whose people make their living from the sea here Nets are being dried in the same way they have been dried for hundreds of years and are carefully mended before being reset for in the Deep Blue Water offshore the Nets may be damaged by the powerful swordfish or may be filled with tiny octopus both of which are considered delicious in Italy Inland the warm sun and temperate climate produce a wide variety of citrus fruits and winter vegetables which are often shipped to Northern cities to supplement the produce of the po valley in the rugged appenine mountains of southern Italy narrow Terraces must be cut into steep hillsides to permit cultivation Terraces which must be reinforced with rock walls if the oil is to be held in place every inch of every Terrace is intensively cultivated grapes grow on overhead Vines while Tomatoes corn and other garden vegetables ripen underneath such intensive cultivation is the Italian Farmers answer to the problems that arise when many people live on very little land Italy including Sicily is about 130th the area of the United States of America the United States has a population of about 150 million persons but in tiny Italy there are nearly 50 million or about 10 times as many for each square mile of land the problem for Italy is very acute for as we have seen Italy is a country with very little level land and where farm machinery is difficult to use efficiently one of Italy's basic problems is overcrowded land in Italy a great effort is made to promote the tourist trade every year thousands of Travelers come to Italy with money to spend the country needs that money to purchase food and raw materials in foreign lands the tourist can find many attractions in Italy he finds a pleasant climate fine restaurants and Resort Hotels he may be drawn to the north drawn by the breathless beauty of Alpine ice and snow and by the brisk pleasures of thrilling winter sport or he may visit the Bread Basket of Italy the po valley with its many flat Farms efficient transportation and the huge Industrial and Commercial centers of Turin and Milan in the appenine mountains the visitor May Wonder at the Fortified cities of medieval time in Florence he may relive the past where the Renaissance began and see how its spirit is still evident there in the art and craftsmanship of modern Italy he may visit Rome and realize that 2,000 years ago this was the center of the known civilized world or he may go to the Vatican to find some of Christianity's most revered shrines farther south tourists visit Naples to see the port the modern city the famous volcano Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompei or they may go Inland to see how the farmers struggle to weak a living from the tiny Terraces on rugged appenine hillsides though poor in land and weak sources Italy with its many contrasts is an appealing modern country rich in Beauty and cultural backgrounds her art and monuments tell how the people of Italy have played a long and vital part in the history of man and have contributed great things to the progress of civilization [Music]