"Polish and Italian Culture in a pill is" a small guidebook which is the result of a wonderful cooperation between these two European countries in  an eTwinning project "Culture a window opened to the world". 

Table of contents

Italy

General information.................................................................................................p.4

The emblem............ ................................................................................................p.5

National Animal.....................................................................................................p.6

Four largest cities....................................................................................................p.7

Main rivers.............................................................................................................p.9

The highest mountain...............................................................................................p.10

Vatican City ............................................................................................................p.11

Monuments .............................................................................................................p.13

National Poet ..........................................................................................................p.15

Festivals ..................................................................................................................p.16

Table of contents

Poland

General information.................................................................................................p.17

The emblem.............................................................................................................p.18

National Animal.....................................................................................................p.19

Four largest cities....................................................................................................p.20

Main rivers.............................................................................................................p.22

The highest mountain...............................................................................................p.23

Jasna Góra.. ............................................................................................................p.24

Monuments .............................................................................................................p.26

National Poet ..........................................................................................................p.28

Festivals ...................................................................................................................p.29

Summary...................................................................................................................p.30

Italy - general information

The capital city: Rome

The currency: Euro

Population: 59,281,982

Area:301 338 km2

Flag

The emblem of Italy

(Italian: emblema della Repubblica Italiana) was formally adopted by the newly formed Italian Republic on 5 May 1948. Although often referred to as a coat of arms (or stemma in Italian), it is technically an emblem as it was not designed to conform to traditional heraldic rules.

National Animal of Italy.

The wolf is the national animal of Italy. This animal belongs to the family of canidae, together with animals such as dogs, jackals and dingoes. In the genus canis, which the national animal of Italy belongs, the wolf is the most specialized member.

Four largest Italian cities:

1.Roma (Rome), population: 2,648,843

2Milano (Milan), population: 1,305,591

3.Napoli (Naples), population: 1,046,987

4.Torino (Turin), population: 921,485

Three main rivers in Italy are:

the Po, Adige and Tiber Rivers

The Po River is 652 kilometers long and has a drainage area of 70,091 square kilometers.

The Adige is 410 kilometers long and has a drainage area of 12,200 square kilometers.

The Tiber River is 405 kilometers long and drains an area of 17,375 square kilometers.

The highest mountain

is Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco).

It rises 4,808.7 m.

Vatican City

As the smallest independent state in the world, it’s easy to pretend that a visit to Vatican City during your stay in Rome doesn’t involve leaving the country of Italy – but technically speaking, that’s just what you’re doing...

Vatican City is a tiny walled enclave on the western side of the Tiber River in Rome. The city-state covers roughly 110 acres, and although it’s incredibly small it contains some of the most popular attractions in the entire Italian peninsula.

Notable monuments of Italy

Colosseum (Rome)

St. Peter's Basilica (Rome)

Vatican Museums (Rome)

Siena Cathedral

Ponte Vecchio (Florence)

Tower of Pisa (Pisa)

National poet is Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri , commonly known by his short name Dante Alighieri or simply as Dante (Italian:1265 – 1321), was a major Italian poet of the Late Middle Ages. His Divine Comedy, originally called Comedìa (modern Italian: Commedia) and later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio, is widely considered the most important poem of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language.

Festivals:

The Carnival of Venice (Italian: Carnevale di Venezia) is an annual festival held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival ends with the Christian celebration of Lent, forty days before Easter, on Shrove Tuesday (Martedì Grasso or Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday. The festival is world-famous for its elaborate masks.

Poland - general information

The capital city: Warsaw

The currency: Zloty

Population: 38.5 million 

Area: 312,700 km2

Flag

The emblem of Poland

The White Eagle (Polish: Orzeł Biały) is the national coat of arms of Poland. It is a stylized white eagle with a golden beak and talons, and wearing a golden crown, in a red shield.The White Eagle emblem originated when Poland's legendary founder Lech saw a white eagle's nest. When he looked at the bird, a ray of sunshine from the red setting sun fell on its wings, so they appeared tipped with gold, the rest of the eagle was pure white. He was delighted and decided to settle there and placed the eagle on his emblem.

National animals of Poland

The European Bison 

White-tailed eagle