Italian History Quiz

This month, the questions are all about Italian History. Answers can be found on Page 36.

1. In what year was reunification, or Risorgimento, of the state of Italy completed?

1. On Christmas Day 800AD, in Rome, who was crowned by Pope Leo III, Emperor of The Holy Roman Empire?

1. In which city was the Margarita pizza first served, allegedly named after Queen Margarita, who apparently liked it because it featured the colours of the Italian flag?

1. In January 49BC, uttering the words “Alea Iacta est,” translated as “The die is cast,” Julius Caesar led his legion across which river, in defiance of The Roman Senate, precipitating a civil war? Thankfully, for him, he was victorious, as this act of defiance was a capital offence.

1. Which Italian City State and centre of commerce was the backdrop for a Shakespearean play, famous for a court scene debating the payment of a debt, in the form of “a pound of flesh?”

1. On February 11th 1929, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gaspari signed the Lateran Treaty, officially creating the world’s smallest nation state, known by what name?

1. Pak Doo-Ik is commemorated by cast iron stud marks in a Middlesbrough lawn, marking what sad event in Italian history?

1. Standing seventeen feet and carved from a single block of Marble, the famous statue of David resides within The Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence. Who was its illustrious sculptor?

1. Who, wearing a red shirt and riding a white horse, was an instrumental figure in Italian unification?

1. Which Florentine family financed the building of Saint Peter’s Basilica?