OUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER

Luca 
My favourite character is Guido Orefice. Roberto Benigni played this part in the film "La vita e` bella". He had a hat, a shirt and a jacket. He's a good character and I like him because he's very very funny. 

THE UNITED KINGDOM

THE UNITED KINGDOM

The United kingdom is made up of 4 Countries : England, Wales, Scotland, , Northern Ireland.
The capital is London.
It is a costitutional monarchy,The actual queen is ELISABETH II



THE GOVERNMENT:

The King or Queen:
Britain has a Constitutional Monarchy.
The King or Queen rules symolically:
They can enter the House of Lords when
they open Parliament each year, but not
the House of Commons.

The House of Lords:
Some Lords have inherited family
titles and some have titles
because of their work.
The main job of the House
of Lords is to check new laws.

The House of Commons:
At a general Election the British
people elect Member of
Parliament (MPs) to the House
of Commons.There are 650 MPs.
-MPs meet and decide laws.
-The Government runs the
country. The leader of the
Government is the Prime
Minister.
-Parliament checks what they
are doing.

LANGUAGES IN THE UK

The UK divided in: Walles, northern Ireland, Scotalnd and England.


In every region different languages are spoken.


In Scotalnd  people speak Gaelic, in Ireland  Irish, in Wales Welsh and in England  English.

           

UNION JACK

In 1536 the Act of Union joined England and Wales. The  Union Flag, also called the "Union Jack", symbolises the union of England,Wales and Scotland  in 1707. It's a union of the crosses of St George (England), St Andrew (Scotland) an St Patrick (Irleand)

LANDSCAPE

The landscape is mainly hilly, mountains aren't very high , the highest peak is BEN NEVIS , in Scotland (1343 mt)


Other important mountain ranges are the Pennines and the Grampians.
Rivers 
Thames, Severn , Mersey.
Rivers aren't very long, the longest one is the Thames,  (346 km)
 Seas


















SCOTLAND:
Traditions:

TARTAN:

-The tartan is a special design of the woolen fabrics of the Scottish Highlands;
-The kilt is made of tartan fabric;
-Tartan was originally made from wool, today we also use other materials;
-This design (in Italian is called Scottish) is obtained with threads of different colors that are repeated with a defined pattern, the same both in the warp and in the weft.

KILT:

-The kilt is a male garment that consists of a piece of cloth wrapped around the waist (similar to women's skirt) and connected;
-In ancient times the kilt was made from a piece of fabric long enough to be then placed on the shoulder (after being rolled up around the waist.

BAGPIPE:

The bagpipe is a musical instrument aerofono reservoir (or aerophone bag)




Typical dishes:

-Porridge: dish of oatmeal, served with salt and a little of whiskey;

-Hotch- Potch: Broth is prepared by boiling together mutton, beef and chicken;

-Shortbread: shortbread, not too sweet, with its salty note;

-Steak and oyster pie: pie with beef and oysters

ENGLAND:

OXFORD STREET 

Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors.

The first department stores in Britain opened on Oxford Street in the early 20th century, including Selfridges, John Lewis and HMV.

The street suffered heavy bombing during World War II, and several long standing stores including John Lewis were completely destroyed and rebuilt from scratch.

WESTMINSTER PALACE

The palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the house of commons and the house of lords, the two houses of the parliment of the united kingdom. 

The palace of Westminster features three main towers:

- Victoria tower, which occupies the south-western corner of the palace. 

-Elizabeth tower, commonly known as Big Ben,  occupies the north corner of the palace. as well.

-The octagonal central tower stands over the middle of the building

REGENT STREET

Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London.

The street was completed in 1825.

The street is known for its flagship retail stores, including Liberty, Hamleys, Jaeger and the Apple store.

The Royal Polytechnic Institution, now the University of Westminste, has been based on Regent Street since 1838.

WEST END THEATHE

West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.

Theatre in London flourished after the English Reformation.
Theatres were closed in 1642 by the Puritans .

During the 1950s and 1960s, many plays were produced in theatre clubs, to evade the censorship then exercised by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. The Theatres Act 1968 finally abolished censorship from the stage in the United Kingdom.

FORTNUM & MASON

FORTNUM & MASON IS A OFFICIAL SUPPLIER OF THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY. I BORN WITH WILLIAM FORTNUM E HUGH MASON, THEY DECIDED TO OPEN THE NEW GASTRONOMIC COMPANY.

IT'S FOUND A MAYFAIR, THAT FOR PICCADILLY ARRIVED IN GREENPARK AND HYDE PARK

THE GASTRONOMIC COMPANY WIDENS WITH CHARLES FORTNUM, GRANDSON OF WILLIAM

BRITISH MUSEUM

BRITHISH MUSEUM IS FREE TO ALL VISITORS. THE FAMOUS COLLECTION IS ROSETTA STONE. IT'S A STONE WITH THREE BLOCKS OF TEXT:  HIEROGLYPHIC , DEMOTIC AND GREEK. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE HIEROGLYPHIC WASN'T KNOWN BUT GREEK AND DEMOTIC WAS KNOWN. WITH ROSETTA STONE UNDERSTAND THE TEXT OF HIEROGLYPHIC.

TIPICAL FOOD

BRITISH BREAKFAST (EGGS, SAUSAGES, BREAD, MUSHROOMS...)

PUDDING DI YORKSHIRE (BATTER WITH GRAVY)

TOAD IN THE HOLE (SAUSAGES WITH BATTER)

FISH AND CHIPS

PIE AND MASH WITH PARSLEY ALCOHOLIC DRINK (SALTY CAKE WITH MEET)

THE POUND STERLING

 The pound is the currency used in Britain,  Northern Ireland and in many former British colonies. The libra is  the "£" or "L" as a symbol of British pounds.

NOTTINGHAM CASTLE

 Once it was a fascinating and impressive 17th century mansion, built on the existing Royal Castle from the middle ages, today has an interesting Museum and an art gallery with collections of paintings, decorative paintings and objects of military use. Here there is a beautiful statue of Robin Hood that portrays the beloved outlaw in the act of  shooting  an arrow. It is situated near the River Trent and the forest of Sherwood. Another castle is  Belvoir, belonging to the Dukes of Rutlamnd since 1508. The Castle reserve many mysteries, one in particular the underground tunnel that saved many people during World War II.  All Castle still speaks of the figure of Robin Hood and his stories that appear in this castle .

NORTHRN IRELAND

               
Typic ballet of  Northern Ireland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjqSugshlYE

Ulster Folk and Transport Museum 

Traditions of Northern Ireland 

Since 1998, the Ulster Museum, Armagh Museum and the Ulster American Folk Park have been administered by the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland.

The Linen Hall Library, the oldest library in Belfast, has endured many changes of fortune since its foundation in 1788, but has maintained a vision of providing access to literature and local studies to the population at large.

The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption.

It is located in Country Anmir on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills. It was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1986, and a national nature reserve in 1987 by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, the Giant's Causeway was named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven or eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres thick in places.

Much of the Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast World Heritage Site is today owned and managed by the National Trust and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern Ireland. The remainder of the site is owned by the Crown Estate and a number of private landowners.

Go link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Museum

Go link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Museum

Go link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_Belfast

Go link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Republican_History_Museum

Food and Drink

The best known traditional dish in Northern Ireland is the Ulster fry. Two other popular meals are fish and chips or 'Bangers and Mash' (Sausages and Creamed Potatoes).

A unique speciality to Northern Ireland is Yellowman. Yellowman is a chewy toffee-textured honeycomb and is sold in non-standard blocks and chips and is associated with the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle, County Antrim, where it is sold along with other confectionery and often dulse.

Dulse is commonly used in Ireland, where it can be used to make white soda bread. It can be found in many health food stores or fish markets and can be ordered directly from local distributors. it is also traditionally sold at the Ould Lammas Fair. It is particularly popular along the Causeway Coast. Although a fast-dying tradition, many gather their own dulse. Along the Ulster coastline from County Down to County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, it is eaten dried and uncooked as a snack.

Ulster Fry in the photo

Languages

English is the most spoken language in Northern Ireland. There are also two recognised regional languages in Northern Ireland: the Irish language (see Irish language in Northern Ireland) and the local variety of Scots known as Ulster Scots. Northern Ireland Sign Language and Irish Sign Language have been recognised since 29 March 2004. A third, British Sign Language is also used.